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With the first day of school less than three weeks away, the city’s teachers union says it is prepared to strike while negotiating a new contract with the School District of Philadelphia. The unresolved state budget, however, remains a barrier.
The public school year starts Monday, Aug. 25, but the union contract expires at the end of this month. The 14,000-member Philadelphia Federation of Teachers represents counselors, nurses, office workers and paraprofessionals, such as nonteaching assistants, as well as teachers.
“We look forward to working with the PFT on a proposal that honors the hard work of our educators,” said Monique Braxton, Philadelphia school district spokesperson, in a statement. “As we approach the expiration of the current contract, we’re optimistic that we can reach an agreement with the PFT that services our students, our staff, and our families.”
The district “highly values” teachers and support staff, she said, and will continue to engage in good faith negotiations.
Arthur Steinberg, PFT president, said in a statement that the two sides have made progress on some issues for improving members’ working conditions, but the district has been slow to meet it halfway on others.
“Amid a district-wide staff shortage that left teachers, counselors, classroom assistants and so many other educational professionals juggling duties beyond our own job descriptions, the district must make changes that both slow attrition of burned-out employees and attract teachers and specialists to Philadelphia public schools,” Steinberg said.
The PFT has been tight-lipped about its demands, but seeks to expand the paraprofessional pathway program, which helps move support staff into teachers, lower class sizes and sets limits on caseloads for counselors and nurses. It also wants to end a policy that penalizes employees for using sick leave days.
Any strike by the PFT would be complicated by a few factors. One is the lack of the state budget, which was supposed to be passed by June 30, but is still pending. Millions of dollars are being held up and that creates uncertainty for the school district. The other is potential cutbacks by SEPTA, absent more funds, which will make it difficult for some students to get to and from school. It could make for a very stressful start to the school year.
In June, 94% of PFT membership voted to authorize a strike. Later that month, union members joined with Superintendent Dr. Tony Watlington Sr., other school district officials and school board members in a visit to the state capital in Harrisburg to urge the passage of the budget and the fair funding for schools.