FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE

Chartiers Valley School District
Office of the Superintendent
Date: June 27, 2025

Chartiers Valley School District Clarifies Facts Regarding Transportation Contract Negotiations

The Chartiers Valley Board of Directors and Administration issue this statement to provide factual information regarding ongoing transportation contract negotiations and to address recent misinformation circulating on social media and in public discourse.

As stated by the School Board President Dr. Darren Mariano in the Fall 2024, the District remains committed to conducting negotiations in a confidential manner, as is standard practice and legally required. The District does not negotiate through social media or news media, and personnel matters remain privileged and confidential communications.

"Negotiations are conducted privately to protect sensitive information and ensure a fair process for all parties," stated Dr. Mariano. "Discussing specific details in public forums could compromise the Board's ability to secure optimal outcomes for our students and community."

Following productive negotiations on June 5, 2025, with local union representatives and PSEA regional representatives, both parties agreed to reconvene on Monday, June 23, 2025. However, on Thursday, June 19, 2025, the District was notified that PSEA had canceled this scheduled session and offered no alternative dates.

In response, the District immediately reached out via email to request to either keep the scheduled meeting or reschedule for Thursday, June 26, 2025. As of this morning, Friday, June 27, the PSEA representatives have not confirmed their availability or proposed alternative meeting dates.  Instead, they have decided to use this week to continue to incite media stories  and unrest.

To be clear, the District and union remain in negotiations.  One possible outcome is to outsource the transportation responsibilities to an outside vendor.  While negotiations are not yet in a place where the Board can consider formal proposals, the facts being distributed publicly are incorrect.  

The District wishes to clarify several key facts regarding the proposed outside transportation contract that have been misrepresented in public forums:

Employment Security: All current bus drivers would be retained under any subcontracting arrangement. No current driver faces job loss as a result of these negotiations.

Wage Protection: All drivers would maintain their current wage rates. No driver would experience a reduction in pay.

Financial Benefits: The current proposal includes a $3.4 million one-time revenue opportunity through the purchase of the District's bus fleet, while eliminating future expenses related to vehicle leases and maintenance.

Annual Cost Savings: The current proposal is projected to save the District approximately $500,000 annually from the current transportation costs.  This figure could rise if reimbursement rates increase as anticipated and any future expenditures the District obtains from not purchasing replacement buses because of the aging fleet.   At both the April and May 2025 School Board meetings,  a comparison among similar Districts showed that the Chartiers Valley School District transports 3,518 students daily at a cost of approximately $5,300,000.  Comparably speaking, the Moon Area School District buses 4,136 students daily for approximately $3,300,00 and the West Jefferson Hills School District buses 3,379 students daily for approximately $3,100,000.  This information is publicly accessible on the Pennsylvania Department of Education website under the E-tran report.      

The District remains committed to good-faith negotiations and is prepared to resume discussions immediately upon confirmation of the union's availability. The District has consistently bargained in good faith.  The District does not blame local union officials for the dissemination of this misleading information. Rather, the District believes that this is an attempt by the regional PSEA leadership to create a false narrative in order to distort and draw attention away from the true facts.  The PSEA regional representatives have been in possession of this information. However, instead of engaging in protected contract discussions, they chose instead to release false and deceitful information on social media and to local news agencies in the hopes of creating a public response. 

The District does not wish to conduct negotiations in the public arena.  Unfortunately, the level of misinformation being spread by the PSEA regional representatives has forced the District to issue a truthful response.  The District has a responsibility to our community to ensure that accurate information is available when misinformation threatens to undermine the negotiation process.  The District has a responsibility to also investigate how other Districts can bus the same amount of students, or more, for millions of dollars less.  

The District will not allow misinformation to dominate the public’s perception of the bargaining process. We urge PSEA leadership to return to the table so that together, we can reach a solution that supports everyone in the Chartiers Valley School District.

Sincerely,

Dr. Daniel Castagna
Superintendent of the Chartiers Valley School District