Bensalem Teachers, School Board Reach Agreement

BENSALEM, PA — Bensalem Township's school board and its teachers union have tentatively agreed to a 6-year contract, the district announced.

The district's board of directors is expected to make the collective-bargaining agreement official with a vote on Wednesday. It already was ratified by the Bensalem Township Educational Association on April 16.

The agreement will put to rest more than two years of sometimes tense negotiations between the school district and its educators, who had been working under the terms of an expired contract.

"The school board is pleased that the discussions were carried out professionally and with an understanding and appreciation of the economic constraints being placed on school districts across the Commonwealth and the unique financial impacts facing the Bensalem Township School District," the board said in a news release.

Highlights of the six-year contract, which spans from July 1, 2017 through June 30, 2023
include the following:

• $5.3 million in new spending through the term of the contract
• new salary scale increase steps from 15-22
• evening out a large, approximately $15,000 step on prior scale
• removing "banded steps" on the prior scale where members earned the same salary for 3-4 years
• an effective wage freeze for 2017-18 and 2018-19. Limited step and column movement through the 2020-21 school year
• step increases of $1,500-1,600 based on years of service, starting in 2020-21
• column movement based on academic achievement (average 4.53%)
• healthcare contribution rates remain flat throughout the duration of the contract. Teachers will continue to contribute 17% of the premium of primary health care plans. Others will be offered at a 10% rate
• the district will launch a cyber-school program to begin in the 2019-20 school year
• teachers requesting transfers must commit to two years at that assignment before requesting another transfer. New hires must wait three years
• Teacher work days will be reduced from 192 to 189 for existing members beginning in 2019-20. May 21 will be removed as a work day from the current school year
• The hourly rate for workshops, tutoring and other activities will be $37.28, with a 50-cent increase each year

The board of directors meets at 7:30 p.m. Wednesday in the auditorium at Bensalem High School, at 4319 Hulmeville Rd. in Bensalem