News

October 10, 2008

L-L teachers delay town meeting

The event will counter bad information about ongoing dispute, a spokesman says.

By Mark Guydish mguydish@timesleader.com
Education Reporter
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LEHMAN TWP. – A “town hall meeting” with the Lake-Lehman School District teachers union slated for Sunday has been postponed. No new date has been set.

Union spokesman Paul Shemansky said the meeting has to be rescheduled because the union has no location big enough to hold the anticipated crowd.

“The fire hall we were going to use is having an event,” he said. “We’re having a heck of a time finding a place in Lake-Lehman School District to have it.”

The meeting will still be held, Shemansky said, once a place is found. The union will announce the new location, date and time when things are set up.

Union lead negotiator John Holland has said the purpose of the meeting is “to dispel any falsehoods that have been spread throughout the community, to give the people straight answers with no political spin.”

Several board members have welcomed the idea of a meeting at which the public can ask Holland questions. Holland has said he won’t “negotiate in public,” but would “answer every question I believe is appropriate.”

In an unrelated matter, Shemansky confirmed that attorney John Audi is leaving the Northeastern Region office of the Pennsylvania State Education Association, the parent of most local school district unions. Audi is joining a private-practice firm, Shemansky said.

Audi has argued the union’s side in multiple local cases before court judges, hearing examiners and the Pennsylvania Labor Relations Board.

“They are in the process of hiring a new attorney for the region,” Shemansky said. “Hopefully, it will be done in the next week or two.”

Mark Guydish, a Times Leader staff writer, may be reached at 829-7161

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