UCFSD to seek fact finding in teacher contract talks

Teachers union agrees it also wants third-party look at issues By Mike McGann, Editor, The Times The Unionville-Chadds Ford School District and its teachers have, in effect, agreed to disagree over their ongoing negotiations for a new contract, with both sides seeking a Fact-Finding report, as the two sides remain apart on salary and benefit issues. The teachers’ contract expired June 30. While...

Teachers, UCF district face no-win situation

Both sides need to seek lest awful option in contract talks By Mike McGann, Editor, The Times You can’t really call it a war of words — it’s more like a pillow fight of words. The rhetoric of the last week or so between the Unionville-Chadds Ford Education Association and the UCF Board of Education over the ongoing contract talks has amounted to dialogue only a little elevated beyond the “you’re...

Teachers’ union hits school board over negotiations briefing

Board honors retirees including UHS principal  By Karen Cresta, Correspondent, The Times EAST MARLBOROUGH – Unionville-Chadds Ford Education Association President Scott Broomall responded with anger during the public comment portion of Monday night Unionville-Chadds Ford Board of Education meeting, over his surprise at the board’s decision to go public early in the process to negotiate a new...

Letter: Going backwards in Unionville-Chadds Ford?

To The Editor, Unionville-Chadds ford High School is ranked seventh in Pennsylvania and is a top 500 school nationally, according to US News and World Report.  More than 50% of UCF students take AP courses and more than 92% of students score proficient on benchmark exams.  If parents are looking for a place to settle down and raise their kids, you can’t go wrong with UCFSD. Look at the School...

Teacher contract talks halted until January

Attempts for a one-year extension of current deal stymied by gap between proposals By Mike McGann, Editor, UnionvilleTimes.com POCOPSON — Any hopes for an early contract extension for the Unionville-Chadds Ford School District and its teachers appear to have been dashed and further talks between the two sides are expected to halt until January, 2013. While representatives from the district — board...

Board, teachers ratify new contract

Three-year deal calls for status quo, then 3% raises, givebacks on health care in next two years By Mike McGann, Editor, UnionvilleTimes.com EAST MARLBOROUGH — It’s all over, even the shouting, although there was a bit of that at the end. The Unionville-Chadds Ford Board of Education and its teachers union formally ratified a new three-year contract through the 2012-13 school year, Monday night,...

Some progress seen as teacher contract talks resume

Evidence of some thawing as parents push for both sides to compromise and get a deal done to end 15-month dispute By Mike McGann, Editor, UnionvilleTimes.com PENNSBURY — The often contentious talks between the Unionville-Chadds Ford School district and its teachers union seem to be again picking up some momentum — although it remains unclear as to whether there’s any resolution in sight. During...

Column: time for a middle path to teachers’ contract

Deadlock won’t be solved by more posturing and playing politics By Mike McGann, Editor, UnionvilleTimes.com It’s Monday afternoon, and I don’t have the slightest idea of what to write. Another manifesto from the Unionville-Chadds Ford School District popped into my email box Friday afternoon, which to be honest was not a lot different from the manifesto from the Unionville Chadds Ford Education...

Teachers, district spar publicly over contract talks

Both sides claim the other is putting out inaccurate information on the web By Mike McGann, Editor, UnionvilleTimes.com EAST MARLBOROUGH — So much for the era of good feelings. The ongoing talks between the Unionville-Chadds Ford School District and its teachers turned publicly angry Monday night at the Board of Education meeting, as both sides alleged the other is posting misleading information...

Column: When good people make bad decisions

School board, teachers failing to make coherent public case in labor talks By Mike McGann, Editor, UnionvilleTimes.com I’m sure, somewhere, there’s a self-help book called “When good people make bad decisions.” If so, I’d kind of appreciate it if someone would send a crate here to Unionville. The latest wrangling by the school board and the teachers’ union is a case in point — and neither...