DANVILLE- The teacher strike in the Danville Area School District may be averted but not everyone is on board with it. Three candidates for Danville school board were asked about the new contract, while addressing the public at an event held by the Danville League of Voters Thursday.
Current school board president Alan Schappert, “I still do not have the full details of it. The other directors who weren’t present in the last session to my knowledge don’t know it. I do know from what I have learned that the authority was exceeded. They had no authority to say we have a tentative agreement.”
Candidate Derl Reichard was asked if he is sympathetic toward teachers, “Are we sympathetic to the teachers? No I’m not. There’s just some things that people don’t’ understand. They need too much and all the rest have to suffer for it. I think they’re in a position where they are well taken care of at this point in time to move way on and to leave everyone else behind is unfair to the rest of us.”
Candidate and current Berwick Superintendent Wayne Brookhart, “I’m not here to bash the teachers. There’s a difference between individuals in the union and the union itself. The union’s a political end and the teachers are people, and I think they’re great. But everybody has the ability to pay. There’s a lot of haves and have nots here. There are people who are comfortable paying and people who are not. That’s where we get to where we’re right now.”
Teachers had been working without a contract since 2012. A tentative agreement was reached Wednesday. The teachers will vote on the proposed agreement on October 28. No official announcement has been made public. (Matt Catrillo)