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<p>DALLAS TWP. &#8212; For the second time in the last two school years, Dallas School District teachers will go on strike Friday and there will be no class for students.</p><p>A last-minute attempt to reach a contract agreement was denied by union leaders Thursday.</p><p>The district&#8217;s negotiation committee presented the Dallas Education Association with a counter-offer that included a 2 percent salary increase and raised the lowest salaries under the 2014-15 pay matrix up to $49,000, Vito DeLuca, district solicitor said.</p><p>&#8220;This would make Dallas (School District) one of the highest starting salaries in Luzerne and Lackawanna counties,&#8221; he said.</p><p>Michael Cherinka, the president of the Dallas Education Association, clarified the district&#8217;s offer, stating the proposal would freeze teachers&#8217; wages at their current level and provide a 2 percent annual increase, which would not account for years of service or earned educational credits.</p><p>&#8220;They threw away the salary matrix,&#8221; Cherinka said. &#8220;Their offer was regressive.&#8221;</p><p>Both parties do agree the expired 2014-15 pay scale is broken, but union leaders want to see the matrix fixed and reinstated, Cherinka said.</p><p>Under the expired pay matrix, Dallas teachers received raises for each year (columns) up to 16 years and every six college credits above a bachelor&#8217;s degree (steps) &#8212; up to 36 credits beyond a master&#8217;s degree.</p><p>The 2014-15 matrix started with minimum annual earnings of $34,501 and would take an educator 15 years to reach a maximum wage of $80,866.</p><p>DeLuca said the district cannot afford the union&#8217;s proposal that was built on the old matrix and consisted of salary raises that increased up to 4.5 percent to 12 percent.</p><p>The cost of the union&#8217;s offer exceeds the amount the district could raise taxes to cover, DeLuca said, stating it would reach about $600,000.</p><p>&#8220;Under the Act 1 Index, the district could only raise taxes up to 3 percent,&#8221; the solicitor explained. He noted that would not cover the union&#8217;s proposed salary hikes, plus a 10 percent increase in health care costs and an 8 percent rise in pensions.</p><p>The district raised taxes 2.25 percent for the 2017-18 school year.</p><p>Cherinka and DeLuca said there are no current negotiation sessions scheduled, but both parties are willing to meet.</p><p>The Dallas School District is closed until further notice. Teachers are slated to picket at 8:30 a.m. Friday.</p><p>The state Department of Education will notify the district and union when teachers need to return to class.</p><p>Under state law, teachers can strike twice in one year. The first strike must end in time to complete 180 instructional days by June 15. The second strike must end in time to complete 180 instructional days by June 30.</p><style>
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<div class="neCaption">Dallas School District teachers hold up protest signs to vehicles that drive by at Hildebrandt Road and Conyngham Avenue in Dallas Township as part of an &#8216;informational picket&#8217; Tuesday. </div></div><div class="metaInfo"><photo0>https://www.timesleader.com/wp-content/uploads/2017/09/web1_Pg2Dallas.cmyk_.jpg</photo0><caption0>Dallas School District teachers hold up protest signs to vehicles that drive by at Hildebrandt Road and Conyngham Avenue in Dallas Township as part of an &#8216;informational picket&#8217; Tuesday. </caption0><photoCredit0></photoCredit0></div></div>
<div class="metaInfo"><bylineMeta><p>By Eileen Godin</p><p>egodin@www.timesleader.com</p></bylineMeta></div><div class="metaInfo"><shirttailMeta><p>Reach Eileen Godin at 570-991-6387 or on Twitter @TLNews.</p></shirttailMeta></div>

Negotiation attempts fail — Dallas teachers to go on strike Friday