Warwick School District v. Warwick Education Ass'n

74 Pa. D. & C.2d 295, 1975 Pa. Dist. & Cnty. Dec. LEXIS 75
CourtPennsylvania Court of Common Pleas, Lancaster County
DecidedMay 9, 1975
Docketequity docket no. 16
StatusPublished

This text of 74 Pa. D. & C.2d 295 (Warwick School District v. Warwick Education Ass'n) is published on Counsel Stack Legal Research, covering Pennsylvania Court of Common Pleas, Lancaster County primary law. Counsel Stack provides free access to over 12 million legal documents including statutes, case law, regulations, and constitutions.

Bluebook
Warwick School District v. Warwick Education Ass'n, 74 Pa. D. & C.2d 295, 1975 Pa. Dist. & Cnty. Dec. LEXIS 75 (Pa. Super. Ct. 1975).

Opinion

BROWN, J.,

Before the court in this matter is the motion of defendant, Warwick Education Association (“association”), for judgment on the pleadings on a bill in equity instituted by Warwick School District (“district”) against association. Preliminarily, it should be stated that:

“ ‘On a motion for judgment on the pleadings by the defendant, the complaint, the answer and reply to averments of new matter in the answer are considered, and all facts pleaded by the plaintiff which are relevant and material must be accepted as admitted even though denied. . . .’ Judgment may be entered only if the case is clear and free from doubt on the pleadings. Eckborg v. Hyde-Murphy Co., 442 Pa. 283, 276 A.2d 513 (1971); [296]*296Blumer v. Dorfman, 447 Pa. 131, 289 A.2d 463 (1972).” Meyn v. Ross, 43 Northumb. 122 (1971), citing Goodrich-Amram.

With the above proscription in view, we must examine the pleadings to determine if there is any merit to association’s motion.

The parties are partners to a collective bargaining agreement, the first date being October 22, 1972, for a term from July 1,1972, to June 30,1973, inclusive. The second was for the school year 1973-74, dated September 13, 1974.

Page 3 of the 1972-73 agreement, article X, paragraph 2, lines 238-42, provides:

“Unit members . . . working toward an earned graduate degree shall be reimbursed in accordance with paragraph 9 hereof for any courses approved by the college or university as a part of the degree program.”

Article X of the same contract, at lines 228.1 through 229.2, provides:

“To encourage professional growth, the board will assist with the cost of post-baccalaureate education by reimbursing professional employees holding a valid college provisional teaching certificate, to the extent of actual tuition costs incurred and submitted for payment during the term of this contract.” (Emphasis supplied.)

According to Article XV, line 351, the 1972-73 collective bargaining agreement expired June 30, 1973.

District’s superintendent of schools, by a letter dated June 1, 1973, notified all affected unit employes of the pending expiration of the 1972-73 collective bargaining agreement on June 30, 1973. The employes were advised: “All terms and provisions of the Agreement expire, in to to, after June 30, 1973.”

[297]*297On September 13, 1974, district and association executed a collective bargaining agreement for the 1973-74 school year. Article X of this 1973-74 agreement in section A, lines 272-77, states:

“The board will assist with the cost of post-baccalaureate education by reimbursing professional employees ... to the extent of actual tuition costs, incurred and submitted for payment during the term of this contract.”

The following subparagraph 9, lines 320-28, provides:

“Unit employees holding a valid Pennsylvania Teaching Certificate shall be reimbursed actual tuition costs according to the following schedule:
“0 to 15 post-baccalaureate credits — $150.00 maximum for the term as provided below
“16 or more post-baccalaureate credits — $250.00 maximum for the term as provided below
“This provision (paragraph 9) shall become effective September 1, 1973, and shall continue in effect for the term of the agreement.” (Emphasis supplied.)

Article XV of the 1973-74 agreement, lines 428-33, states:

“This agreement shall be effective as of July 1, 1973 (except as otherwise provided) and shall continue in full force and effect until June 30, 1974.” (Emphasis supplied.)

Subsequent to September of 1973, the association’s union requested Warwick to reimburse about 40 of its unit members for tuition costs which they incurred in taking post-baccalaureate courses in the summer of 1973. The costs for which reimbursement was requested were incurred from July 1, 1972, until August 31, 1973.

These requests fall into two distinct groups. One group of employes requested reimbursement for [298]*298tuition costs which may have been incurred before the termination date of the 1972-73 contract but who had submitted request for payment at various times after the contract expiration date of June 30, 1973.

Another group requested tuition reimbursement for courses, the costs of which were incurred after the termination of the aforesaid agreement, but before the effective date of the tuition reimbursement clause in paragraph 10 of the 1973-74 collective bargaining agreement.

These requests were denied by the officers of district as not authorized under the express terms of the agreement and association filed a grievance against district on November 13, 1973.

This grievance stated that district faded to comply with article X, paragraph 9, of the expired 1972-73 collective bargaining agreement, lines nos. 256-10 through 256-14, in that 40 specific unit employes were refused their request for reimbursement of tuition incurred from July 1, 1972, untd August 31, 1973.

District filed level III response to this grievance on or about December 18, 1973, in which the Warwick Board of School Directors denied the grievance with the fodowing comments:

“1. In preceding years the Board of School Directors has paid tuition reimbursement only in context with and under specific provisions of a collective bargaining agreement currently in effect. The superintendent, by letter dated June 1, 1973 notified all Unit employes of the pending expiration of the 1972-73 collective bargaining agreement, including all benefits provided in the agreement. All Unit employes had, therefore, ample notice of termination of the 1972-73 collective bargaining agreement.
[299]*299“2. There is reason to believe the Association cannot grieve terms of an expired collective bargaining agreement. Equally, the Association cannot grieve tuition reimbursement provisions of the 1972-73 collective bargaining agreement under provisions of the 1973-74 agreement. The grievance is, therefore, defective and not timely.
“3. Article X, line 229-1 of the 1972-73 collective bargaining agreement states ‘. . . incurred and submitted for payment during the term of this contract. . . . ’ The term of the agreement, as stated in Article XV, line 351-1, expired June 30, 1973. Accordingly, all tuition costs incurred and submitted for payment after this date are not subject to reimbursement under provisions of the 1972-73 agreement.
“4. School board policy 3625, relevant to tuition reimbursement, is not included in the 1972-73 or the 1973-74 collective bargaining agreements, orin the appendices to these agreements. The policy is, therefore, irrelevant to this grievance.”

On January 25,1974, association filed a charge of unfair labor practice on the same issue as contained in the grievance indicated above.

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Related

Blumer v. Dorfman
289 A.2d 463 (Supreme Court of Pennsylvania, 1972)
Eckborg v. Hyde-Murphy Co.
276 A.2d 513 (Supreme Court of Pennsylvania, 1971)
Westmoreland Hospital Ass'n v. Westmoreland Construction Co.
223 A.2d 681 (Supreme Court of Pennsylvania, 1966)
United Steelworkers v. Westinghouse Electric Corp.
413 Pa. 358 (Supreme Court of Pennsylvania, 1964)

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Bluebook (online)
74 Pa. D. & C.2d 295, 1975 Pa. Dist. & Cnty. Dec. LEXIS 75, Counsel Stack Legal Research, https://law.counselstack.com/opinion/warwick-school-district-v-warwick-education-assn-pactcompllancas-1975.