Nov 26, 2015 3 min read

McMURRAY – More than 4,000 students who attend school in Peters Township School District return to their classrooms today following a teachers’ strike that already lasted four weeks and still has the potential of pushing the last day of school to June 30.

That uncertainty remains because the district and the union representing district teachers have not come to an agreement on a new contract. The Peters Township Federation of Teachers had been working without a contract since Aug. 31, the day school started. Teachers walked off the job at the end of October.

So what does this mean for teachers and the district? Final best offer and nonbinding arbitration, according to Gretchen Love, the district’s attorney during its negotiations with the teachers, which began in January.

But because this is nonbinding arbitration, both sides can reject the arbitrators’ decision.

“The arbitration procedure requires both parties to provide their final best contract offer with supporting documentation to a panel of three arbitrators – one selected by the district, one selected by the federation and a third neutral arbitrator who is selected from a list provided by the American Arbitration Association,” Love said.

The central issues between the district and its 285 teachers are salaries and health care costs. The average teacher in the district makes in excess of $70,000 a year. The last time district teachers went on strike was 2000.

Within 10 days of the selection of the arbitration panel, the arbitrators must schedule hearings to receive evidence on the final best offers from the two sides, Love said. The panel must then issue a written decision within 20 days after evidentiary hearings are completed.

At the same time, the union and the district must each post their final and best offers at the district’s office on East McMurray Road for 10 days of public comment.

The entire process could take about 60 days to complete. Teachers are forbidden by law to strike during the arbitration process, she said.

If, however, nonbinding arbitration fails to bring an agreement, a second strike could take place. And if one takes place, then it would likely be in the spring because of the arbitration time frame.

The work stoppage has sharply divided Peters. A Nov. 16 school board meeting was moved to Peters Township Middle School to accommodate more than 300 people in attendance. Striking teachers wore blue shirts, while parents, who did not want the district to agree to a contract it could not afford, wore red shirts.

In addition, there were reports of dead animals left at picketing sites, including a spray-painted deer. It was later discovered by Peters police the deer was left by four boys, ages 16 and 17, as a prank.

Jeannine French, superintendent of Peters Township School District, said she is happy to have the students back.

“We are excited to have our students and teachers back in the classroom,” she said. “We are looking forward to hitting the ground running and picking up where we left off.”

At the present time, the last day of school in the district is scheduled for June 15. Graduation day for seniors is June 10.