No, the board did not hire an additional attorney for the negotiations. Our solicitor, from Stock & Leader, has been assisting with the HEA negotiations. No new legal counsel was brought in for this process.

• While the contract has expired, both parties are working under the same terms and conditions of the expired contract. The current term of the HEA contract ended on June 30, 2024.  The contract remains in effect until a successor agreement is negotiated. Last year’s teacher salaries and benefits continue as is until a new agreement is reached.

• As of October 9, 2024, teachers have worked 37 days without a contract. As a reminder, teachers are only contractually required to work 189 days. They only get paid for the 189 work days.

HEA has provided the board with three (3) formal proposals

• • • Proposal 1 - 12/20/23

    • Proposal 2 - 8/13/24

    • Proposal 3 - 10/9/24

The Board has provided HEA with five (5) formal proposals

• • • Proposal 1 - 12/20/23

    • Proposals 2a, 2b, and 2c - 5/30/24

    • Proposal 3 - 9/13/24

• The board does value our teachers and the board must balance other priorities because, ultimately, we need to be fair to our taxpayers, staff, and students.

• Based on the Board’s 9/13/24 and HEA’s 10/9/24 proposals, assuming a 4-year contract, the difference is in excess of $2.4 million.

• The amount a Board can raise taxes is limited by the Act 1 index, which is set annually by PDE and adjusted for each school district.

• For the 2024-25 school year, the adjusted Act 1 index was at an all-time high of 6.3%. 

• For the 2025-26 school year, the adjusted Act 1 index for Hempfield is 4.8%.

• The Act 1 index is projected to continue to decrease in the coming years.

The board would need to raise taxes by 2.66% every year of the contract. This increase does not include raising taxes for the increasing costs of other budgetary items such as:

• Other staff: wages, healthcare, and PSERS rates
• Debt service (repayment of bonds taken for the upkeep of district facilities)
• Investment in repair, maintenance, and potential expansion to district facilities.
• Increases in costs for educational and extracurricular programs
• Student Transportation

• The starting salary for a teacher with a bachelor’s degree and no teaching experience would be $64,500 for the 24-25 school year.

• For 25-26: $67,000

• For 26-27: $69,500

• For 27-28: $72,000

• • The highest salary for a teacher with a doctorate degree and 14 years of teaching experience would be $103,175 for the 24-25 school year.

  • For 25-26: $105,290

  • For 26-27: $107,076

  • For 27-28: $108,988

• County information is not yet available for the 24-25 school year, but the average for the remainder of the county was $77,232 for 23-24. 

• Hempfield teachers are $6,592 or 8.5% over the average for the remainder of the county.

• The board is proposing the following average salary increases for HEA:

• • • 3.5% for the 2024-25 school year

    • 3.4% for the 2025-26 school year

    • 3.1% for the 2026-27 school year

    • 3.0% for the 2027-28 school year

• The annual average over the 4-years is 3.25%.
  
  
• The prior contract had an average increase of 2.8%.

• $6,134,011 or 13.65% over the course of the contract.  

• $44,909,832 = base wages in 23-24 and given the board’s proposed salary increases, the base wages at the end of the four (4) years would be $51,043,843. This means there would be a cumulative increase in base wages of 13.65%.

• No. Teachers can also earn stipends for additional responsibilities such as being a mentor teacher, club or class advisor, coach, assisting with sporting events, etc. 

• In addition, teachers can earn additional salary increases, called column movement, by earning additional graduate credits or degrees paid for by the district.

  • • On the current salary scale, there are seven (7) opportunities to move beyond a bachelor's degree: 

      • Bachelor’s Degree + 30 credits

      • Master’s Degree

      • Master’s Degree + 15 credits

      • Master’s Degree + 30 credits

      • Master’s Degree + 45 credits

      • Master’s Degree + 60 credits

      • Doctoral Degree

    • On 9/13/24, the board proposed the following dollar increases for each column movement on the salary scale:

      • For 24-25: $2,525

      • For 25-26: $2,550

      • For 26-27: $2,500

      • For 27-28: $2,450

*The majority of Hempfield’s bargaining unit is at Master’s Step 14

• While HSD salary percent increases have been below the county average, teacher salaries have been well above the county average for many years. 

• On 9/13/24 the board proposed the following average salary increases for HEA:

  • 3.5% for the 2024-25 school year

  • 3.4% for the 2025-26 school year

  • 3.1% for the 2026-27 school year

  • 3.0% for the 2027-28 school year

• The annual average over the 4-years is 3.25%.

• Retroactivity to pay increases will have to be negotiated to balance out the financial impact of the total cost of the new collective bargaining agreement.

• For every 1% increase to HEA base salaries, taxes increase by .61% for the 24-25 school year.  Increases in subsequent years will vary based on PSERS (retirement) rates and compounding wages.

• • Teacher total compensation includes not only base wages but also district-paid payroll (retirement, social security, medicare, and workers comp) and insurance benefits (medical and dental).  Below are three (3) examples of a teacher’s total compensation.  Please note that this does not include vision reimbursement, tuition reimbursement, or additional stipends available to teachers.

  
  
  

  Teacher #1 - Bachelor's Step 1 (2023-24)
  Base Wage:	$62,033.00
  Retirement:	$21,091.22
  Social Security:	$3,846.05
  Medicare:	$899.48
  Workers Comp:	$446.64
  Dental (Single):	$929.52
  Medical (Single):	$12,475.80
  Total:	$101,721.71

  Teacher #2 - M+30 Step 14 (2023-24)
  Base Wage:	$93,103.00
  Retirement:	$31,655.02
  Social Security:	$5,772.39
  Medicare:	$1,349.99
  Workers Comp:	$670.34
  Dental (Family):	$1,773.84
  Medical (Family):	$22,014.36
  Total:	$156,338.94

  
  
  

  Teacher #3 - Doctorate Step 14 (2023-24)
  Base Wage:	$100,752.00
  Retirement:	$34,255.68
  Social Security:	$6,246.62
  Medicare:	$1,460.90
  Workers Comp:	$725.41
  Dental (Single):	$1,773.84
  Medical (Single):	$22,014.36
  Total:	$167,228.81

  
  
  
  
  
  

• Teachers are required to work 7.5 hours, inclusive of a 30-minute duty-free lunch, for 189 days. 

• Teachers are also required to attend two (2) school evening activities per year. This includes back-to-school night and one more building event. 

• Elementary teachers get an average of 87 minutes out of the 7.5 hours. 

• Middle school teachers get 46 minutes out of the 7.5 hours.

• High school teachers get 80 minutes out of the 7.5 hours.

• Brand new Hempfield teachers are permitted to take twelve (12) graduate credits per year until they receive their level 2 certificate from the state. This means each new teacher has the opportunity to receive up to $6,192 a year for tuition reimbursement. 

• Hempfield teachers who are not new to teaching are permitted to take up to nine (9) graduate credits per year. This means each teacher, not new to teaching, has the opportunity to receive up to $4,644 a year for tuition reimbursement.

• Yes, Hempfield teachers are provided with reimbursement for vision care and hearing appliance expenses incurred by the professional employee or dependent spouse and dependent children in an amount not to exceed $350 per employee per school year. The employee may accumulate a maximum amount of $650.

• The district contributes at a rate of 33.9% on annual earnings. As long as the state fulfills its reimbursement obligations, the district will receive 50% in reimbursement subsidy.

• Yes. Teachers receive district-paid disability benefits that provide them with two-thirds of their pay for up to two years.

• Teachers receive 10 sick days a year and they may accumulate these days if they are not used. Teachers may also use up to ten (10) accrued sick days per year as family illness days to be used for the care of immediate family members.

• Yes. Teachers receive three (3) personal days a year and may carry up to five (5) days on a yearly basis. 

• Yes. Up to three (3) teachers a year can receive full pay and benefits and the district pays the tuition for nine (9) credits during the semester.  The district also incurs the cost of the long-term substitute to replace the teacher on sabbatical. It is important to note that the PA school code only requires half-pay for educational sabbaticals.

• No. They cannot use instructional time or paid time to advocate union positions.