Board votes to accept fact‑finder report in teacher contract dispute under Act 88

The school board voted on Sept. 9 to accept the nonbinding fact‑finder report issued under Act 88 (Public School Code) in the district's collective bargaining dispute with the Elizabethtown Area Education Association. The fact finder, W. Timothy Berry, held hearings in August and issued recommendations on Sept. 2; board solicitor Jeff Litz presented the process to trustees before the vote.

What happened: Solicitor Jeff Litz summarized the statutory framework for Act 88 fact finding, including the legal requirement that each party accept or reject the fact‑finder's recommendations in their entirety. Litz said the association filed a request for fact finding after negotiations stalled; the neutral held virtual hearings on Aug. 12 and issued a report with nonbinding recommendations on Sept. 2. The association notified the Labor Relations Board of its decision yesterday; the board acted on the report during the Sept. 9 meeting.

Vote: A roll‑call vote accepted the report. The board's recorded votes were in the affirmative (recorded in the meeting roll call). Jeff Litz told the board that if both parties accept the fact‑finder's recommendations the parties would proceed to finalize a written collective bargaining agreement and follow standard ratification steps; if the board had rejected the report, further steps under Act 88 would have been triggered, including public release and a new negotiation phase.

Quote: Litz said, “Either accept it all or you reject it all,” summarizing the Act 88 requirement that the parties accept or reject the fact finder's recommendations in their entirety.

Administrative follow‑up: The administration and counsel said they will work with the association to prepare a written agreement consistent with the fact‑finder's framework and return to the board for any necessary ratification steps.