Schools
WTEA 'Outraged' By Board President's Remarks
Association reacts to Przybylski's public statement regarding ongoing contract negotiations.
Warren Board of Education President Greg Przybylski's willingness at Tuesday night's public meeting to reveal information on the ongoing contract negotiations between the district and the teachers union has "outraged" the Warren Township Education Association.
In a statement released Wednesday night, Fran Blabolil, president of the WTEA, said Przybylski "continues to antagonize the impasse situation between the BOE and the Warren Township Education Association with the remarks he shares with the public."
Przybylski provided a summary statement at Tuesday night's meeting that described the board as offering 3.5 percent increases over two years and acceptance of the medical plan. He said the WTEA was seeking 3.5 percent increases over three years and language holding the board to cover any increased health-care costs that might arise.
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"By sharing information, the board president continues to denigrate the process with his public remarks," Blabolil said in the statement. "More importantly, the remarks do not move either side closer to a settlement and only serve to demoralize the staff of the Warren Township Public Schools."
"Despite the fact that the law forbids it, Przybylski continues to fan the flames of discontent with information intended to mislead the public into believing that the members of the WTEA are acting unreasonably," Blabolil said.
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The WTEA has been without a contract since July 1, 2010. Negotiations began in the fall of 2009.
"The WTEA will not negotiate with the public or in the public arena; we will not violate the bargaining process no matter how many times the board chooses to," Blabolil said.
"But the members of the WTEA will also not stand for this type of behavior. WTEA members have been working for two years without a new contract, and any actions on their behalf to demonstrate their united efforts to support their bargaining team will continue."
The WTEA's full statement can be found on its website.
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