School district extends workers' contract

With less than two weeks to go before its expiration, the School District of Philadelphia and the Philadelphia Federation of Teachers have decided to extend the school workers' contract. The District and the union that represents teachers, nurses, librarians and support staff, say they'll keep working to try to beat the new November 30th deadline.

Listen:

Audio clip: Adobe Flash Player (version 9 or above) is required to play this audio clip. Download the latest version here. You also need to have JavaScript enabled in your browser.

Philadelphia School District Chief of Staff Tomás Hanna says the contract extension was necessary in part because of the recent state budget impasse.

Hanna: We just wanted to be certain – what are we getting? What's it going to look like? You know we're looking at a multi year deal, agreement. And we just have to be really clear what the budget parameters are so that we can have a good contract.

Philadelphia Federation of Teachers President Jerry Jordan says salaries and benefits are just some of the sticking points.

Jordan: We're talking about educational issues – things that will help to improve student outcomes. For instance class size. We would like to see class sizes reduced in our schools in order for the kids to get more attention from the teachers.

During the contract extension, union members will keep the same wages, health benefits and working conditions.

Related Stories:

• Teachers at Jewish day school strike
• Officials say health plan will save millions
• Residents find new ways to get around
• Nurses say Temple’s offer includes a “gag clause”
• Digest This: Healthcare professionals and grief
• Healthcare professionals and grief
• Nurses protest medical school event