Catherwood LibraryILR School

Teachers in the North Penn School District in Montgomery County, Pennsylvania did not report to work this morning, forcing the board to cancel classes for students. The school board and the North Penn Education Association remained in negotiations until around 8pm Sunday night, when final offers were rejected on both sides. Students were notified beginning at 8:30pm that classes would not be held Monday. If the strike goes its full duration, classes could be canceled for up to seven days. The main issue of contention is pay raises - the board's final offer was a little over an 18% raise over five years; the union was hoping to get 23%. The board says the union's final offer would require a property tax raise of 25% over the next five years - a sum they call 'unmanageable.' The union's final offer removed $1.25 million from an earlier agreement reached through non-binding arbitration.