An official from the state teachers’ union commented yesterday on the state budget impasse and the possible connection that might have to contract negotiations in roughly a quarter of the school districts in Allegheny County. “With the lack of movement at the bargaining table in Harrisburg, there’s a lack of movement at the bargaining table of the local school districts” was the official’s take on the matter.
If there was a budget agreement that included a big boost in education funding it is a likely bet that the official would like to see an increase in pay and benefits for the districts that happen to be negotiating now. Teacher contracts that were ratified in 2014 and 2015 in Allegheny County resulted in a range of increases of 2% to 4.7% according to articles on individual districts.
The comments from superintendents from some of the negotiating districts seemed mixed on the impact of no state budget agreement.
Of the ten districts listed in the article, all received, at a minimum, 32% of their 2013-14 funding from the state. On the low end was Baldwin-Whitehall at 32% and Northgate at 33%. Included in the group is Duquesne, which received 78% of its funding from the state. South Allegheny and Sto-Rox were both in the 60-69% range. The biggest district in the County and the second largest in the state, Pittsburgh, received 41% from the state.
