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Hanover Township man sentenced 3 to 6 years for striking probation officer with car

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Same scenario, different reason why Wilkes-Barre delaying payment of bills, says George

<p>DALLAS TWP. &#8212; Stressing things remain fluid, Dallas School District Superintendent Tom Duffy said there are no plans to bring seniors in for classes during the ongoing teacher strike, but also expressed confidence the district could stick to the planned June 9 graduation.</p><p>&#8220;One thing not being talked about is bringing any students in during the strike,&#8221; Duffy said. But there are other options, including making up days from the current strike &#8212; which began Nov. 15 &#8212; by holding classes during the upcoming winter vacation.</p><p>The calendar has a vacation Dec. 26 through Jan. 2.</p><p>&#8220;We could change things, but current expectation is that those will be make-up days&#8221; Duffy said.</p><p>Duffy wouldn&#8217;t comment, but making up strike days that week could, by state law, prolong a second strike if one is called.</p><p>The state allows two teacher strikes in one school year. The first must end in time for students to get 180 school days by June 15 &#8212; the state calculated that, in this case, that means teachers must return to work Dec. 13.</p><p>Following non-binding arbitration, a second strike can be held, but must end in time for students to have 180 days by June 30. If a district makes up the lost days from the first strike by cancelling vacation days, that means the second strike could theoretically last that much longer.</p><p>But making up the strike days now makes some sense for a simple reason, Duffy said, &#8220;If we don&#8217;t come in over the winter break, those days are going to be tacked on at the end of June&#8221; if no second strike occurs.</p><p>Duffy said he believes there are other options the state will allow to help seniors get the days they need by June 9, regardless of strike length.</p><p>In some instances, the state has allowed districts to count time spent on Saturdays preparing for graduation &#8212; something seniors would do during regular school hours ordinarily &#8212; toward the total school days.</p><p>The district is also working out a possible plan with state approval that would let seniors take cyber courses outside of regular classes. Completing one unit in a cyber course would equal one day in school.</p><p>Even that move could hinge on the status of a contract, Duffy said. The expired contract included language regarding teacher involvement in online classes.</p><p>&#8220;The current contract describes how online needs to be done,&#8221; Duffy said. &#8220;I have no idea if a new contract would do that. If we have no contract at all, I&#8217;m not sure what options there are.&#8221;</p><p>The odds of a new contract looked slim after a Monday negotiation session. District Solicitor Vito DeLuca said the two sides remained far apart, with the district offering a total of $450,000 in additional money for salaries per year, letting the union decide how to divvy the money.</p><p>The union wants an additional $550,000 per year, DeLuca said.</p><p>The district has also sought changes in health care coverage, requiring teachers to pay a share of the premium: 4.5 percent in 2017-18, 5 percent the following year, and 6 percent in 2019-20. The union has rejected any premium sharing.</p><p>Union officials have repeatedly countered that the board has been intransigent in negotiations and misleading in public comments.</p><p>DeLuca said the school board has scheduled an informational meeting at 6 p.m. Monday at the high school to update the status of negotiations.</p><p>&#8220;This is not about the value of teachers,&#8221; he said. &#8220;We acknowledge the value they provide to our district. This is a matter of cold, hard numbers.&#8221;</p><p>He reiterated the board&#8217;s position: That by state law the district can&#8217;t raise taxes high enough to pay for what the union is asking.</p><p>The board plans to present the reason for its bargaining stance and &#8220;let the public decide for themselves whether or not we&#8217;re trying to make meaningful efforts to get this resolved.&#8221;</p><style>
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<div class="neCaption">Dallas School District Superintendent Thomas Duffy. Bill Tarutis | For Times Leader </div></div><div class="metaInfo"><photo0>https://www.timesleader.com/wp-content/uploads/2016/11/web1_DallasSchoolBoard_1-cmyk-3.jpg</photo0><caption0>Dallas School District Superintendent Thomas Duffy. Bill Tarutis | For Times Leader </caption0><photoCredit0></photoCredit0></div></div>
<div class="metaInfo"><bylineMeta><p>By Mark Guydish</p><p>mguydish@www.timesleader.com</p></bylineMeta></div><div class="metaInfo"><shirttailMeta><p>Reach Mark Guydish at 570-991-6112 or on Twitter @TLMarkGuydish</p></shirttailMeta></div>

Superintendent: No school during Dallas strike, but graduation on time