Notification from: Uniontown Area Education Association

Notification from: Uniontown Area Education Association

This is the email I received yesterday...

Please call your State House Representative immediately and ask them to oppose the Boyd amendment to Senate Bill 389. This amendment would allow school districts to furlough employees without any regard for seniority. Rather, the school boards would be permitted to furlough employees on the basis of test scores or other factors they deem relevant. Further, the legislation would prohibit bargaining over the issue of seniority in future years.

PSEA strongly opposes this language. PSEA, in good faith, negotiated with House and Senate leaders to find compromise language that permitted economic furloughs but maintained seniority rights for professional employees. The Boyd amendment walks is a significant departure from this agreement.

Allowing furloughs to be based on factors other than seniority creates a subjective and arbitrary process that could open the door to abusive employer practices that undermine educational quality. While furloughing the most experienced and educated school employees could result in the greatest cost savings, it also hurts the educational environment. Research tells us educator experience matters for student achievement. Please urge your State House Representative to vote no on the Boyd amendment to Senate Bill 389

The amendment could be voted on as soon as tomorrow, September 28th, so your prompt action to make the call is essential.

Once you’ve made contact with your State Representative, don’t forget to email me or fill out the ACE feedback form at
https://www.psea.org/generalfrm.aspx?ekfrm=1810

Thank you, again, for all you do.