Teachers snipe at district's ideas

Contract negotiations are finally getting testy between the Philadelphia School District and the city teachers' union, nearly eight months after the two sides started talking.

In a caustic, one-page letter sent to 16,000 union members late last week, Philadelphia Federation of Teachers President Jerry Jordan said that district officials say that they want reforms in public, but have failed to translate such talk into contract proposals.

"They talk about increased safety personnel, the need for libraries that are properly staffed and art and music teachers in every school," Jordan wrote. "They talk about improved professional development and support for teachers and staff.

"But across the table, they are not willing to put into the contract any language that addresses these serious issues."

Also missing from contract talks, Jordan said, are proposals to reduce class sizes, improve discipline and boost the number of counselors, nurses, psychologists and social workers in the 165,000-student district.

The union leader also complained about the one-year contract that the district has offered, rather than the traditional four-year deal.

"Contract expirations increase resignations and retirements," Jordan wrote in opposition to the one-year offer. "Employees need a basic long-term financial and health-care picture before they make career decisions about working in the school district."

The PFT's contract - along with those of the district's four other unions - expired Aug. 31. The unions representing school administrators, police and blue-collar workers have accepted one-year deals containing 3 percent raises.

To allow negotiations to continue, the cafeteria-workers union agreed to a one-month contract extension that expires at the end of this month, while the PFT agreed to a two-month extension, which expires Oct. 31.

District Superintendent Arlene Ackerman on Friday issued a statement in response to Jordan's letter. She explained the need for a one-year contract but was silent on his concerns about proposals.

"With a new administrative team now in place, we have asked for a one-year contract to allow time to review the current proposals and determine whether or not they are appropriate moving forward," wrote Ackerman, who became superintendent June 2.

"Following in the footsteps of the city of Philadelphia, we believe a one-year agreement would give PFT and the district time to concur on a multi-year contract that will benefit our staff and accelerate the achievement of our students."

Following Wednesday's meeting of the district's governing School Reform Commission, Ackerman said that the district wants contract talks to include discussion of a longer school day and a differentiated pay system - raising all teachers' salaries and paying even more to those who are deemed successful or who work in hard-to-staff positions and schools.

Jordan, at the time, responded that the contract already contains provisions to pay certain teachers more and that lengthening the day does not guarantee a more productive day for teachers and students.

In his letter, Jordan labeled as "troubling" a string of district proposals that call for: shortening teachers' preparation periods, forcing them to stay after hours for professional development, increasing the number of night meetings, ending tuition reimbursement for members, increasing members' co-payments for doctor visits, introducing co-pays for hospital stays, expanding employee contributions for insurance premiums and eliminating overtime for some workers.

In addition to teachers, the PFT represents librarians, nurses, counselors, classroom assistants, noninstructional support staff, secretaries, food-service managers and professional/technical employees.