The South Butler County Education Association has requested that a state-appointed fact-finder take part in the contract negotiation process with the school board.
The teachers union made the request to the Pennsylvania Labor Relations Board Monday and the board is expected to act on the request at their next meeting July 18th.
As part of the fact-finding process, each side presents their position to an independent third party who then issues a report detailing an opinion of a fair resolution to topics of disagreement. The South Butler School Board and teachers union then will have the opportunity to vote to accept or reject the findings in the report.
The teachers union previously requested fact-finding in August of 2015. The School Board voted to accept the resulting report while the teachers voted to reject the findings. The two sides last met on June 21st and the contract dispute has been ongoing for over three years.
Written by Ryan Saeler