TOWER CITY — The union representing Williams Valley’s teachers and the school board appear to be one step closer to creating a pact agreeable to both sides.
Although the vote to approve, or reject, the latest contract offer was not known, the Williams Valley Education Association did vote Monday morning on an offer, according to Superintendent Donald Burkhardt.
“We don’t have a signed, approved contract yet,” Burkhardt said Monday afternoon.
If the WVEA did give the contract the nod, then the school board would probably take a vote on the agreement at the board’s next meeting at 7:30 p.m. Thursday, according to Burkhardt.
WVEA lead negotiators are Seth Shuey, Stephen Barner and Kathi Welsh.
All members of the school board have been involved with the negotiating process, Burkhardt said.
They include President Daniel Stroup, Vice-President John Mika, Treasurer Christopher Stroup, Board Secretary Jennifer Kramer; and members David Ferraro, Tedd Johns, Tracey L. Minnich, Joanna Stroup and Michael Minnich.
According to The Republican-Herald archives, in 2013, WVEA and the board reached an early-bird, three-year contract agreement which gave instructional staff in the association an average pay hike of $1,500 in each of the three years of the pact. At that time, there were 105 teachers in the union.
No terms, or length of Monday’s contract offer were released.
The current contract is slated to expire June 30, 2016.