MARS — Contract negotiations between the Mars Area School District and its teachers union spilled into public discussion Tuesday night as school board members debated bargaining strategy and the possibility of a strike during a meeting that also included approval of the district’s 2026-27 budget.
The board unanimously approved the spending plan with no tax increase as negotiations continue with the Mars Area Education Association, whose current contract expires June 30. The two sides are scheduled to return to the bargaining table Thursday.
DiCuccio said the district has proposed a three-year contract that includes annual salary increases of 3.25 percent, while the teacher’s union has proposed a five-year agreement with annual increases ranging from 6 percent in the first year to 5 percent in the final year.
“The 3.25 percent increase to the budget this year would cost $586,346,” DiCuccio said, adding that the district’s proposal would total approximately $1.8 million over three years. She estimated the union’s proposal would increase district expenditures by approximately $5.4 million over five years.
DiCuccio said rising health care costs remain a significant concern in negotiations and acknowledged the complexity of the process.
“It’s very stressful,” DiCuccio said. “This whole process is not fun, I’ll be honest with you.”
She noted that both sides have reached agreement on some health care issues, including the removal of GLP-1 weight-loss medications from the district’s insurance formulary, a change that board members said could save between $300,000 and $400,000 annually.
DiCuccio also proposed making contract negotiation information available on the district website so taxpayers can better understand the issues under discussion.
“I think it’s only fair that everybody knows where we are at each step of the meetings,” she said.
The discussion prompted comments from board member Joseph Joswiak, a former teacher, who questioned whether the district should risk a prolonged dispute when the parties may ultimately settle somewhere between their current positions.
“I don’t know why we’re going to take the risk of a strike, why we’re going to take the risk of school starting late,” Joswiak said.
Joswiak said labor agreements often settle between the positions initially proposed by each side and suggested a figure around 4 to 4.2 percent could potentially bridge the gap.
“I’m sure they would be happy with 4 or 4.2. We don’t have to be crazy,” he said.
He also expressed concerns about employee morale and argued that the district’s strong financial position should allow for additional investment in teachers.
“We want to be able to keep teachers. We want to be attractive to new teachers and we want the teachers who are here to feel valued,” Meckler said.
Meckler said Mars teachers have fallen behind neighboring districts in compensation and argued that retaining experienced educators has become increasingly difficult.
“It is hard to retain teachers whenever you have some teachers who could work for 10 years and go to a neighboring district and make more money on step one,” she said.
While Meckler said progress has been made on health care issues, she believes salary remains the primary obstacle to reaching an agreement.
“We could probably come to some sort of understanding on health care, hopefully soon, but without the wage consideration it’s very difficult to bridge that gap,” she said.
The current teachers contract expires June 30. Meckler acknowledged that a strike remains a possibility if an agreement is not reached but said both sides hope to resolve the issues before the start of the next school year.
“We’re hoping that we’re able to resolve the issues before we come back to work in August,” she said. “That’s our goal.”
The board also unanimously approved the district’s 2026-27 budget without increasing taxes.
