DUBOIS – It’s been in the works for almost three years now. After a strike last fall and an agreement to come back to work, the DuBois Education Support Professional Association accepted a contract from the DuBois Area School District Board of Directors.
On Wednesday night, the board approved the agreement between the two entities, which is effective retroactively from July 1, 2006, and will run through June 30, 2011.
“The DuBois Area School District and Board of Directors are pleased that the contract negotiations between district and the DuBois Education Support Professional Association have come to a conclusion,” said Dennis Raybuck, board member and chief negotiator.
Tension between the school board and DESPA reached a head on Oct. 5 when DESPA went on strike. The support staffers went back to work after reaching a tentative agreement before a motion for injunctive relief was set to be heard before Clearfield County President Judge Fredric J. Ammerman on Oct. 17.
Raybuck stated that the district and the board were said that it took three years for the support staffers to accept. He stated that little had changed in the contract, and hoped that the support staffers would remember keeps many of the facts regarding the contract in mind when it comes time to renegotiate in 2011. He also said that had DESPA accepted the offer 17 months ago, when their membership would have benefited from full retroactive back pay. As it stands, the back pay will go back to the 2005-2006 school year.
While many of the specifics were not discussed during the meeting, afterward it was stated by Sharon Kirk, superintendent for the DuBois Area School District and E. Lloyd McCreight, board president, that the district would pay for individual health care policies for DESPA members who worked 1,640 hours. The staffers would have to pay for any other family member’s policy. That would include a co-payment program as well, which is similar plans other district employees have.