Whitehall-Coplay School District teachers made their presence known at the school board meeting Monday night.

Teachers, all a part of the Whitehall-Coplay Education Association union, attended the meeting wearing bright yellow shirts that read "Fair Contract Now!" on the front and had the name of the association on the back.

During the public participation part of the meeting, Nancy Buckno, chief negotiator for the association, made a statement to the board.

"The members of the school board say they are proud of this district's educational excellence. We teachers are also proud of our school district and the work we do in the classroom each day to educate our students," she said. "Additionally, we have made sacrifices for our schools. We helped the district alleviate its fiscal crisis by agreeing to a full-year salary freeze in the 2011-12 school year and again, for half a year, in 2012-13. Consequently our pay scale is substantially lower than teachers in neighboring school districts."

The union, she said, is now asking the board to demonstrate its commitment to the district by investing in teachers.

"Teachers are the backbone of our school system," Buckno said. "Therefore, I look forward to reaching an agreement that recognizes this outstanding group and attracts and retains the very best teachers."

The teachers in attendance applauded Buckno's statement.

Once the applause came to an end, district Solicitor Jeffrey Sultanik spoke on behalf of the board.

"The board wants to come to a collective bargaining agreement and wants what is in the best interest of the school. The board is mindful of where the teachers stand [in pay] as opposed to other districts," Sultanik said.

"Honestly, we could spend a lot of time talking about comparisons," he said, adding the last three agreements came through third parties that compared this district to others.

"These agreements were all adopted by the board and the association and is what brought us to this point," Sultanik said. "Unlike other districts that have been forced to engage in layoffs, this board is committed to persevering the educational setting and proud to say we've not had any force layoffs in the last decade. We are prepared to try and get to a fair contract, we've had official and unofficial meetings, we've showed what we could afford to pay."

Sultanik said the board is concerned that the discussions of the contracts didn't start off well.

According to Sultanik, the association first asked for an 8-percent increase plus step – a credit given for additional experience – for a total of a 12-percent annual increase. This was recently modified to a 3-percent increase plus step, which equates to 7.5 percent for a year, but that won't settle the contract.

Sultanik said that the next bargaining meeting is Sept. 30.

"We are concerned, based on the reactions, that we won't be able to get there," he said. "We're committed to move for a fair contract."

When asked after the meeting about the contracts, Whitehall-Coplay Education Association President Joe Krempasky said that the board's initial increase was zero.

"We've been open to talk to them and they're not interested. This is just causing the taxpayer to pay for this to play out," Krempasky said. "We want to catch up, we want to see some gains, but not in one swoop."

Buckno explained the steps in the district.

"We have more steps than most districts, but a teacher working nine steps here can get paid the same as a teacher working for Catasauqua on their first step."

"Although they didn't lay off any teachers, we lost positions in attrition," Krempasky said. "While the reserve fund grew, we were still taking freezes. They pay for things, but not for workers."

Buckno said that the district pays for "books and bricks."

Although the teachers are working without a contract, they are picketing to get information out. Krempasky said, there is "always a possibility of a strike."

After the meeting, Sultanik spoke to The Press about the situation.

When asked if he thought a resolution would be expected soon, he responded, "I don't think so. I think the association's plans are unrealistic to what the district is available to pay. Which is why I proposed to go with a third party and get fact finding," Sultanik said.

"Going to the facts, it's a constructive way to try and address this. As it stands it's possible to get it resolved by the end of the year."