Peters Twp. taxpayers need to see contract
Exactly a month ago, Peters Township School District and its teachers’ union announced an agreement was reached on a contract, ending a long and bitter battle including a strike that pushed the school year toward the end of June. General provisions of that accord were outlined at that time, but not the details.
Getting the details is the job of journalists, but when The Almanac newspaper asked to see the contract, it was denied. It filed a state Right to Know request, only to be answered: “Your request for a copy of the contract has been denied because the signed contract does not exist.” A district official previously said the contract language was still being finalized.
Is there a contract, or is there not? If it’s still being “finalized,” what sort of provisions and being added, subtracted or changed? Are teachers aware the agreement they voted to approve is still being tinkered with? Taxpayers ought to be concerned the package they’re paying for may be different from what they’ve been told.
If there is no signed agreement – a month after an accord was reached – does that mean an impasse that could result in another strike? Who knows?
It’s possible neither the district nor the union is eager to make the gory details of their compromise public. But the public has every right to know how its money is being spent and how its 4,000 children are being educated.
The Almanac, which is owned by Observer Publishing Co., will appeal the district’s denial and keep pestering it for those details until they are revealed, because that is what journalists do, and that is what the public expects from them.