How to address health care in negotiations with the North Pocono Education Association is one of several issues that set apart two primary candidates vying for the Democrat/Republican nominations for school director.
Incumbent Jerry Maglio, who said he will not support a contract that does not require teachers to contribute toward health insurance premiums for the first time, is being challenged by retired businessman Howard McIntosh.
Mr. McIntosh said the school board "is not representing the taxpayers well" by insisting on a premium sharing offer that would save relatively small sums of money out of plans that can cost more than $12,000 per employee. By focusing on higher deductibles and copays, Mr. McIntosh said the board can save more money by lowering the overall cost of premiums and sidestepping the most contentious issue in negotiations that culminated in a strike a week ago.
Mr. McIntosh said if he had been on the board's negotiation committee, he thinks there would be a contract agreement by now.
"I agree with him," Mr. Maglio responded. "If he were on the negotiation committee, we would have an agreement because the board would have given in to the union's demands."
Mr. Maglio said the school board's offer that teachers' contributions toward premiums grow from 99 cents per two-week pay period in the first year of a contract to $10 by the third and fourth years is "fair and reasonable."
Many of the district's students do not have any health care at all, or their families pay large sums of money to maintain coverage, Mr. Maglio said.
Mr. McIntosh also said he believes North Pocono teachers have been used as pawns by regional union representatives who are preparing for negotiations in surrounding districts.
"From the outside looking in, this whole situation is hard to understand," Mr. McIntosh said. "I don't know any teacher who would strike over $25 a year."
In other issues, Mr. McIntosh said the board needs to focus more on education and proposes the district emphasize science, technology, engineering and technology programming.
Mr. Maglio highlighted enforcing a new anti-nepotism policy among his top priorities and said Mr. McIntosh running for a board seat at the same time as his daughter is seeking a teacher job concerns him. Mr. McIntosh said he has spoken with his daughter Nichole about that, and she will not apply for a job at North Pocono while he is on the board.
Mr. McIntosh said he sees a conflict of interest in Mr. Maglio being in pharmaceutical sales and negotiating health care and copays with the union. Mr. Maglio said his involvement with the industry gives him greater insight into the market and industry trends.
Contact the writer: kwind@timesshamrock.com, @kwindTT on TwitterJerry Maglio
Age: 44
Family: Wife, Maria; Children, Mariah, Brianna, Damarco and Angelina
Education: Bishop O'Hara High School; bachelor's dergee in marketing from Marywood University
Employment: District business manager for Pfizer
Municipality: Spring Brook Twp.
Experience: One term on the North Pocono School Board; two years as Spring Brook Twp. supervisor
Top issue: Anti-nepotism
Howard McIntosh
Age: 68
Family: Wife, Cindy; children, Nichole and Danielle
Education: Lynn Classical High School; studied at Troy State University, Al campus on Maxwell Air Force Base, Salem State College, Harrisburg Area Community College and Bryant University
Employment: Outreach worker for Telespond Senior Services, retired businessman who most recently owned Plains T Shirts Co.
Municipality: Moscow
Top Issue: Education