The North Pocono Education Association was digging in for a potentially lengthy labor dispute on Friday, the day after a Lackawanna County Court judge ordered a temporary halt to the union's strike.
John Holland, a regional field director for the Pennsylvania State Education Association, said he remains hopeful for a contract agreement, but the union has notified the district that teachers intend to strike on Sept. 9.
"We're in it for as long as it takes to get a fair and equitable contract," Mr. Holland said. "I don't care if it's another year, two years or three years."
Teachers had been on the picket lines for only a few hours Thursday morning when Lackawanna County Judge Terrence Nealon signed the temporary injunction order in response to a complaint by school officials. Students returned to school Friday.
In their argument for the injunction, district officials argued that the strike was illegal because union leaders did not respond to the district's request for "final, best offer arbitration" or allow 10 days to elapse after the offer was made, as required by state law.
Union leaders hope to get the temporary injunction order lifted at a hearing Tuesday. If that happens, they could strike again before Sept. 9.
District and union officials met on Friday and were planning to negotiate again in the near future, perhaps as soon as Monday. Both sides had different feelings about Friday's session.
Mr. Holland said district and union officials exchanged offers. He described the session as productive and said both sides left on a cordial note. But school board member William Burke said the association changed its previous offer, putting both sides "farther apart than ever before."
"I almost feel like I'm wasting my time," Mr. Burke said, describing the session as "very discouraging."
Mr. Burke said the association notified the district on Friday that union leaders were declining the district's offer to participate in non-binding arbitration.
North Pocono teachers do not contribute toward health insurance premiums, and district officials want that to change. District officials are seeking a contribution of 99 cents per two-week pay period in the first year of the contract that would grow to $10 by the third and fourth years of the deal.
Mr. Burke said to an extent, he thinks both sides see premium sharing as more about the principle than the money, and he would not vote yes on a contract that does not include a modest premium contribution from teachers.
Raises, plus regular step increases, would have been 3 percent in the first year with payment retroactive to Jan. 1, 3.25 percent in the second year, and 3.5 percent in the third and fourth years.
SARAH HOFIUS HALL, staff writer, contributed to this report.
Contact the writer: kwind@timesshamrock.com, @kwindTT on Twitter