Pocono News Section

Northwest Area Teachers On Strike Again

Northwest Area Teachers On Strike Again - Sunday, November 16, 2008 at 6:24PM EST

Reported by: Eric Deabill
Sunday, Nov 16, 2008 @ 06:24pm EST
SHICKSHINNY, LUZERNE COUNTY- School will be closed Monday at Luzerne County's Northwest Area School District. Teachers are set to strike. The walkout affects hundreds of students, parents and the community. They say the school board's negotiating team is just pushing their own personal agendas and won't take a common sense approach to ending the dispute.

They say another walkout is the only way to get the board to listen. Grandparent June Shoemaker said, “What are the kids going to do? They'll have to go longer in the summer and I don't think it’s fair to the kids."

Anger and frustration fill both parents and students. High School Senior Amber Antoniello said, “It’s affecting my senior project, but there's nothing I can really do. Nobody likes it. Nobody's happy about it."

This district is no stranger to strikes. Teachers have hit the picket lines off and on before. They've been without a contract for three and a-half years. 2008 Graduate Carolyn Koncewicz said, “I thought they got their point across last year, but apparently they don't think they did. I don't see what a strike is going to do."

Teachers say salary and healthcare issues are the main stumbling blocks. They say the school board's offer with a five percent healthcare premium and no cap is unreasonable. Northwest Area teacher Pete Malishchak said, “We don't want to get in the same situation as the Scranton teachers, where if there is an increase, the teachers would be asked to bear the whole increase of the healthcare premium. We feel that is unfair to us."

The teachers say they're latest proposal would not require a tax hike and in fact is $700,000 less than the district's proposal. As for school board members, they've held firm to their proposal from last April, something teachers hope will change with Monday's walkout. Northwest Area teacher Pamela Zaremba said, “I really feel meeting and talking in good faith, honestly being willing to negotiate on both sides would bring a resolution to this."