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<p>DALLAS TWP. &#8212; Before it agrees to any new negotiation sessions with the teachers union, the Dallas School Board is waiting for a cost analysis of the union&#8217;s Nov. 14 contract proposal, school attorney Vito DeLuca said Thursday.</p><p>John Holland, the Pennsylvania State Education Association region field director, emailed DeLuca this week with a list of nine dates designed to restart negotiations between the two parties.</p><p>The dates range from mid-December to mid-January.</p><p>&#8220;I have not heard anything back from the board,&#8221; Holland said.</p><p>Nearly four years of negotiations came to a halt Nov. 14 after the union denied the school board&#8217;s Oct. 30 contract proposal, and the union&#8217;s counter-proposal was deemed financially unsustainable by the board.</p><p>The board promptly canceled the pending Nov. 15 session, which spurred Holland to announce his intent to file an unfair labor practice complaint against the board for refusing to bargain.</p><p>Holland has not filed the claim yet, noting he has 120 days to file under state law.</p><p>DeLuca confirmed he received Holland&#8217;s email, but said the union has not responded to an email sent last week by James Gattuso, a school board and negotiation committee member.</p><p>The email sent to Michael Cherinka, the Dallas Education Association president, asked the union to provide a financial breakdown of its Nov. 14 offer and a detailed salary matrix.</p><p>The union&#8217;s proposal &#8220;merely provided numbers,&#8221; DeLuca said. It included a $3 million total increase in salary in annual increments of $450,000 to $550,000.</p><p>It also called for $900,000 in retroactive pay for two previous years.</p><p>&#8220;We are waiting for a response from Cherinka on Gattuso&#8217;s request before setting a date,&#8221; DeLuca said of future negotiations.</p><p>On Thursday, Cherinka confirmed he did receive the email Nov. 22, the day before Thanksgiving.</p><p>&#8220;I was away for the holiday and so was John (Holland),&#8221; Cherinka said. &#8220;You can&#8217;t expect a quick turnaround over the holiday weekend. The timing was poor.&#8221;</p><p><strong>Salary matrix &#8216;very generous&#8217;</strong></p><p>Gattuso&#8217;s email also stated incoming school board members Susan K. Allen, Edward Dudick Jr. and Christine J. Swailes were briefed on negotiations.</p><p>With the new board members about to take their seats, the union rescheduled its Nov. 22 strike date to Jan. 22.</p><p>Gattuso, Charles Preece, and Jeff Thomas &#8212; who served on the district&#8217;s contract negotiation committee &#8212; will be replaced by the newcomers.</p><p>Allen is committed to resolving the contract issue but notes she cannot serve on the board&#8217;s negotiation committee because she is a teacher at the Tunkhannock School District.</p><p>&#8220;I can provide insight on both sides,&#8221; she said.</p><p>&#8220;We did have a meeting where we reviewed the district&#8217;s last proposal,&#8221; Allen explained. &#8220;It seemed to address the four main (contract) issues.&#8221;</p><p>The proposed teacher salary matrix was &#8220;very generous,&#8221; she said.</p><p>But she added: &#8220;I don&#8217;t feel up to speed (on negotiations). I have not had an opportunity to see the union&#8217;s offer.&#8221;</p><p>Dudick and Swailes could not be reached for comment.</p><p>The Dallas School Board will hold a reorganizational and general purpose meeting at 7 p.m. Dec. 4 in the administration building. The new board members will be sworn in at that time.</p><style>
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<div class="neCaption">Allen </div></div><div class="metaInfo"><photo0>https://www.timesleader.com/wp-content/uploads/2017/11/web1_SusanAllen01-1.jpg</photo0><caption0>Allen </caption0><photoCredit0></photoCredit0></div><div class="neFile"><img class="neImage" src="https://www.timesleader.com/wp-content/uploads/2017/11/web1_DeLuca-3.jpg">
<div class="neCaption">DeLuca </div></div><div class="metaInfo"><photo1>https://www.timesleader.com/wp-content/uploads/2017/11/web1_DeLuca-3.jpg</photo1><caption1>DeLuca </caption1><photoCredit1></photoCredit1></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>

Dallas board waiting on analysis before setting new negotiation sessions