Easton Teachers Agree to Pay Freeze

Teachers in the Easton Area School District have agreed to a salary freeze for next year, a move they say can save the district between $8 million and $10 million dollars.

"Our members did their part,” Easton Area Education Association President  said in a news release.  "We believe these voluntary concessions are more than adequate to address the district’s budgetary concerns for next year, and are far greater than the concessions ."

The school district has threatened to lay off as many as 215 teachers. While the EAEA's news release doesn't mention the word "layoffs," it says that their offer would "save academic programs and ensure reasonable class sizes."

Last week, the school district asked the EAEA to agree to a salary freeze for two years, a request Deely said was "an unreasonable offer."

The teachers want the school board to vote on the offer when it meets April 13, the same day it's scheduled to adopt a preliminary budget. The district is struggling with a nearly $13 million gap in its 2011-2012 budget.