Redbank Negotiations: Parties Fail to Reach Agreement

Leon Aristeguieta

Leon Aristeguieta

Published September 28, 2021 4:35 am
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NEW BETHELEHEM, Pa. (EYT) — The ongoing contract negotiations saga at Redbank Valley School District suffered another setback as district and union negotiators failed to reach an agreement.

Meeting last Thursday, September 23, the Redbank Valley School Board Bargaining Committee presented the Redbank Valley Education Association a “best and final” offer for the RVEA’s consideration, which was rejected.

In a letter from the district’s Chief Negotiator, Robert Zaruta, he claimed Redbank School District’s “proposal represented a compromise and was made in an attempt to find middle ground between the District’s and Teachers’ prior proposals.

“The District’s proposal increased recurring costs associated with the five-year proposal by approximately $110,000.00 as compared to its prior proposal. Additionally, the District proposal demonstrated a willingness by the District to use a significant amount of its remaining fund balance to help pay for the salary proposals in order to maintain a balanced budget.”

The district’s proposal would give the teachers five different options to chose from for wage increases, increased co-pays from the 2021-2022 to the 2023-2024 school year, and reduced district contributions to employee health savings accounts from 55 percent in 2021 to 45 percent in 2023.

The proposal also called for the formation of a joint committee between the school board, school administration, and RVEA to investigate the possibility of a new health insurance provider.

According to Zaruta, the RVEA presented a counterproposal of their own after rejecting the district’s offer, and said, “the Teacher Committee’s proposal sought approximately $130,000.00 more in recurring costs over the five-year contract than the teachers sought in their August 30, 2021 proposal.”

In a press release from Sunday, September 26, the RVEA described the September 23 negotiations as “very disappointing and fruitless,” and explained the union sent a request for voluntary non-binding arbitration between the parties.

The release states:

RVEA is willing to continue to meet and negotiate, but the district has decided to give a Final and Best Offer. We feel that decision by the Board would make future meetings unproductive. Instead, we propose ending the strike, returning the students to the classroom, and hope arbitration will lead to a settlement.

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