By DAN SOKIL

A new year may have brought with it a new presidency, but not much has changed in the ongoing contract dispute between the Souderton Area School District and the district's teachers union.

Both Bill Lukridge and Jeffrey Sultanik, head of the teachers union and district solicitor, respectively, agree the new year has not brought any progress toward a new bargaining agreement between both parties.

"Right now there's nothing to report, but once there is, we'll be sure to let everybody know," Lukridge said.

The district and teachers union have been in nonbinding arbitration since September, after a 15-day strike at the start of the 2008-09 school year.

The three-person arbitration panel, consisting of one neutral arbitrator and one representing each side, is required by state law to issue a set of recommendations to both parties after a period of fact finding.

At this point, according to Sultanik, no timeline has been announced by the panel, so the dispute still remains in a holding pattern.

Fortunately for some students, one potential problem was avoided last week, and the high school Jazz Ensemble will finish its 2008-09 season.

The jazz band controversy began after the ensemble's winter concert on Dec. 12, when Jazz Band Director Adam Tucker sent a letter to

parents in early January outlining a potential work stoppage if no new contract agreement was reached by February.

"I have spoken with my music department colleagues and we believe, due to the lack of movement from the board of directors, all after-school activities that correspond with our school day music classes should cease to occur until a settlement is negotiated," reads the letter.

Fortunately for the young musicians, it seems Tucker has changed his tune: his $1,560 supplemental contract to direct the Jazz Band for 2008-09 was approved by the school board on Jan. 22.

"Adam Tucker, the Jazz Band director, has agreed to continue the Jazz Band season without interruption. He has agreed to the supplemental contract for that position," said district Superintendent Charles Amuso.

That news came as a relief to Dennis Chaney, father of four Souderton Area students, including two in the high school.

"I just think the entire process that the teachers are putting these kids through it atrocious. It is unbelievable the amount of pressure they're putting on the children at this point in time, when they're unable to even voice an opinion on the strike situation without teachers getting irritated and upset," Chaney said.

In Souderton Area, the secretaries and aides also have been working without a contract all year.

Teachers and the school board of the neighboring North Penn School District are trying to avoid that kind of situation Souderton Area has experienced, according to district Director of Business Administration Michael Frist.

"Those talks were started in October, and we've had several meetings already that have been very fruitful, and so we're continuing that process," said Frist.

The district's contract with the North Penn Education Association expires on Aug. 30, but Frist said both sides are well ahead of the state-mandated timeline, which would have required discussions to begin by Jan. 10.

"Obviously, we've seen what has happened in the Souderton Area School District, and that's the reason that we and the teachers association both agreed that we wanted to sit down and talk early," Frist said.

Calls to Gary Smith, Pennsylvania State Education Association representative for the Souderton Area School District, and to Alan Malachowski, President of the North Penn Education Association, were not returned by press time.

By: David Hare

LANSDALE — At a meeting of the North Penn School Board on Thursday, president Vincent Sherpinsky announced administrative salaries for the 2010-11 school year will be frozen at current levels. The decision is in direct response to a dismal national economy and its impact on the school district and the state, Sherpinsky said.

“No one saw this coming this bad, this fast,” he said. “Frankly, it’s pretty scary.”

The salary freeze will save the school district about $300,000 next year, he added.

For the current school year, 60 administrators received raises totaling $6.4 million, according to school district records. Last year, raises totaled $6.2 million for 61 administrators.

At Thursday’s meeting, board member Joseph Walsh praised the administration for “sacrificing” salary increases “in these tough times.”

Sherpinsky concurred, saying, “these are difficult timers for all of us. We hope to communicate a positive message from this action.”

Still, with the recent news out of Harrisburg that the state’s 2008-09 budget deficit is likely to hit $1.9 billion by the end of the fiscal year June 30, Sherpinsky made no attempt to soften the impact.

“There are no sacred cows here. Everything and anything needs to be put on the table for discussion so we can take a hard look at balancing our costs,” he said. “This goes from the bottom to the top. I don’t care who you are, you could be effected.”

This weighing of “cost versus value,” he said, will likely result in “cutting back, eliminating or postponing” expenditures on school programs, jobs, or both.

In about two weeks all 501 school districts in Pennsylvania should know how much money they can expect next year from the state. Sherpinsky said he was praying North Penn’s cut is “in the black.”

“Even if what we get from the state is flat or the same as last year, we’re still in trouble,” he said.

CLICK HERE to read a commentary by Souderton resident Charl Wellener.

Souderton Area School District Superintendent Charles Amuso and Assistant to the Superintendent R. Bradley Clemens each saw their pay increase by 4 percent in 2008-09, according to information released by Brenda Jones Bray, director of business affairs for the school district.

Amuso (left) at a school board meeting. Reporter file photo

Amuso’s contract was approved on Nov. 23, 2004, and runs from Feb. 9, 2005, through June 30, 2009. His 2008-09 salary increased to $163,105 as of July, 1, 2008, a 4 percent increase from his 2007-08 salary of $156,832.

Clemens’ contract was approved on Aug. 9, 2007, and runs from July 1, 2007, through June 30, 2012. His 2008-09 salary increased to $140,400 as of July 1, 2008, a 4 percent increase from his 2007-08 salary of $135,000.

Salary increases for the rest of Souderton Area’s district officials were approved by the district school board at monthly meetings in 2008.

Both Amuso and Clemens’ pay increases, however, are based on their annual evaluations and terms of their contracts, so annual board approval is not required, according to Bray.

Amuso’s 2007-08 evaluation was completed in November 2008 and Clemens’ was completed in October 2008.

Both earn a contribution to a 403(b) plan based on those performance evaluations; Amuso’s contribution for 2007-08 was $6,000 and Clemens’ was $5,000, according to Bray.

The Souderton Area SD special school board meeting scheduled for Tuesday January 13 was canceled. No make-up date has been announced.