The Quaker Valley School Board on Tuesday, March 12, voted unanimously 8-0, with 1 absent, and 0 abstaining to approve the contract with the Quaker Valley Education Association (QVEA). This union represents 157 teachers in the Quaker Valley School District.
“We thank the teachers for great collaboration, and we are thrilled to reach an agreement where teaching and learning continues to grow in our schools and communities. We are grateful to the QVEA leadership team for an amicable and professional process and thank the teachers for their dedication to the children of Quaker Valley,” says Quaker Valley Superintendent Tammy A. Andreyko.
Union members ratified the contract on Friday, March 1. The new contract includes:
- 2% annual increases. In prior years, 3.2% - 3.7% was typical.
- 193-day teacher calendar; the prior contract included 196 teacher days. These days are captured through the removal of spring conferences beginning in 2020, and by removing one in-service day. This provides minimal loss to teacher professional development, and no loss of instructional time for students.
- The teachers will continue to pay 10% of health care costs, which is one of the highest contributions among school districts in Allegheny County.
"District officials made us aware of the financial challenges that they faced and we were happy to do our part. QVEA is proud to have a long-standing partnership with the District and School Board that is based on transparency, trust, and mutual respect. We're pleased to have reached consensus on this new four-year contract,” says QVEA President, Mr. Jeff Sebastian.
"Quaker Valley has the best teachers, and we are thankful for their leadership. This contract reflects salary increases below the state index; a lower amount than agreed upon for decades. With this contract the teachers have shown they empathize with the financial challenges facing public schools, while also demonstrating a willingness to work with the District to remain committed to our common goals,” adds School Board President Mrs. Sarah Heres.
The agreement is valid July 1, 2019-June 30, 2023.