Mar 31, 2016 3 min read

WAYNESBURG – Contract negotiations between Central Greene School District and its teachers’ union appear to have stalled after the school board rejected a proposal last month.

The school board voted 7-2 during its March 15 meeting to reject the tentative agreement that members from each side’s bargaining committee had reached and thought would receive full board approval.

The only two votes in favor of the contract were by school directors John Jacobs and Sharon Bennett, both members of the district’s bargaining committee that helped craft the framework for the proposal. The district’s other two committee members include Superintendent Brian Uplinger, who is serving as the chief negotiator, and business manager Jim Shargots.

Board President Andrew Corfont declined to discuss why they rejected the agreement, which received tentative approval from the union before it was presented at the district’s monthly meeting.

“There were a number of issues, and really at this time I don’t want to discuss them,” Corfont said. “We’re still meeting and we want to meet with them first.”

But union President Melissa Wilson said there have been no discussions about the contract since Uplinger emailed her the night of the school board meeting informing her of the board’s decision. She declined to release details of the proposal, but said the union was surprised by the outcome since the bargaining teams had reached a consensus.

“This wasn’t a proposal; it was a tentative agreement that both parts worked on,” Wilson said. “We brought the contract (details) back to our membership and we assumed the board’s table team was doing the same for the other seven members.

“We’re dismayed and very disappointed.”

The Central Greene Education Association’s 165 members have been working without a new contract since June.

Wilson said the union is not considering a strike at this time.

Wilson said the teachers want to meet with the school board to discuss what problems it had with the current proposal.

“We’re ready to come back to the current agreement that was on the table. If they’re not willing to do that, then they need to come back to us,” Wilson said. “But they have to get in touch with us, and there’s been no talk on their end. We just hope that they reconsider.”

Corfont said the school board is prepared to have its bargaining committee continue negotiations, but he doubted a resolution would be reached in April. The school board will hold its next workshop meeting at 6:30 p.m. April 12 in the Central Greene administrative office building.