Updated: Teachers in Jenkintown and Pottsgrove agree to pay freezes

This post has been updated to include new information about the Pottstown District.

As final budget deadlines near, teachers in two suburban school districts have agreed to pay freezes next year.In Lower Pottsgrove School District, teachers will take a one-year freeze as part of their contract renewal. In exchange, there won’t be any furloughs or demotions during the one-year contract extension.

The Mercury reports district administrators and secretaries have also agreed to a salary freeze, and the custodial and maintenance workers from the Teamsters union are talking about doing the same. Pottstown administrators at top and middle levels agreed to a pay freeze in March, but the Mercury reports a vote on the matter ended in a tie, prompting another meeting Wednesday night. Phoenixville and Upper Perkiomen districts have decided on similar freezes.Meanwhile, Jenkintown teachers have also agreed to a pay freeze next year, with the exception of teachers moving to new educational levels on the salary scale. The district expects to save $170,000.