Lehighton teachers to not participate in open house

The Lehighton Area School District Education Association (LAEA) member teachers will "not" be attending the scheduled back to school "Open House" sessions over the coming weeks. Superintendent, James Kraky, received an email from Mr. Bruce Koch (president of the LAEA) Sunday afternoon informing him that he has instructed teachers not to attend due to lack of a new teacher's contract.

The "Open House" opportunities will still go on as scheduled by Superintendent Kraky. The administration will be on hand to have the facilities open and answer questions for anxious parents and for students to get comfortable with the coming year. "It's important to get kids off on the right foot and to have parents and staff share the importance of education" said Kraky. Scheduled sessions this week include the East Penn Elementary on Wednesday, September 9, and the Lehighton Middle School on Thursday, September 10.

The current teacher's contract expired on August 31, 2009. Negotiations have been underway since January 2009 and are continuing.

Teachers have been instructed by their Union leadership to only "work to the clock" thus far this year. This means that they will not come in to work until starting time. They will then leave the building promptly at the end of their required day. Therefore teachers may not be available at the beginning or end of the day for parent conferences.