Crowd offers contract support Teachers attend meeting to urge board to sign off on new deal. Thursday, May 17, 2007 • By ANDREA EILENBERGER • The Express-Times FRANKLIN TWP. | Warren County Technical School teachers packed the school board's meeting room Wednesday night to support a tentative agreement reached after a year and a half of contract talks. Members of the Warren Tech Education Association said the typed agreement the board sent them earlier this month contained changes to which they hadn't consented. They urged the board to correct the errors and sign off on the version both sides agreed to. "They have been very patient in supporting the negotiating team and waiting for the process to come to an end," Warren Tech Education Association President Ed Yarusinsky said. Richard Patricia, negotiation chairman for the association, read a letter stating the team discovered "over 20 errors, spelling mistakes, deleted items and added language that was never agreed upon." While some of those errors were corrected, there are changes that need to be addressed, he said. About 50 teachers and support staff have been working without a contract since June. The process has been frustrating, and association members said they are eager for it to end on a positive note. "This is not the place to negotiate," school board President Harold Warne said during the meeting. Patricia's letter states the old contract remains unchanged unless modified by the memorandum of agreement and all other proposals not mentioned in it are considered withdrawn. "That means that the negotiations are over and it is now time for both sides to ratify the new agreement," Patricia wrote. "If the board refuses to do so, we will take any and all necessary action to enforce the agreement that we entered into." Outside of the meeting, Patricia declined to discuss how the issues between the sides were resolved under the tentative agreement. Negotiations were previously stalled over the school board's request teachers pay health care premium costs. They suggested increasing the salary guide for new employees if the teachers accepted the insurance concessions. Patricia wouldn't discuss specifics but said the health care premiums issue under the tentative agreement was in the teachers' favor. He said the teachers gave up their "share of issues that were on the table in response to some of the things" the board wanted. He also said the "salary guides look fair and equal" for every teacher. There are currently about 420 students enrolled in the school, which offers a dozen programs including culinary arts, communications, visual and theater arts, automotive, machine trades and health sciences. Reporter Andrea Eilenberger can be reached at 610-258-7171 or by e-mail at aeilenberger@express-times.com. © 2007 The Express-Times. Used with permission.