Since this past summer, teachers in the Haverford Township School District have been wearing red on Wednesdays. This act of solidarity hopes to inform the community that they are still negotiating with the school board for a fair and competitive contract for teachers.
What is going on?
Since January of 2025, the Haverford Township School Board and the Haverford Township Education Association (HTEA/Haverford Teachers Education Association) have been engaged in contract negotiations. According to Adam Nancarrow, the HTEA president, the three main areas being contested by both parties are salary, professional time, and healthcare.
Salary: The HTEA is seeking a larger Cost of Living Adjustment (COLA) to remain financially stable amid mass inflation.
Professional time: Elementary teachers lost their professional collaboration time over COVID, and they are seeking to get it returned to continue to provide quality pedagogy for the youngest students of Haverford Township.
Healthcare: Teachers are seeking a high-quality and beneficial healthcare plan for all staff in the district, especially new and long-serving members.
Why is this happening?
According to the School Board, these negotiations are occurring in a time of great financial instability in the national and state government, which has greatly affected the Township’s ability to re-adjust contested areas of the contract for more favorable terms. Because Pennsylvania’s Education Board is currently operating under constrained funding, districts all over the state have been struggling to gain proper funding for all necessary expenses, relying heavily on local taxes and emergency funds. This stalemate ended on November 12, 2025, when Governor Josh Shapiro signed a $50.1 billion bipartisan budget, clearing the way for new state aid to flow to schools.
According to Nancarrow, there is also currently a statewide teacher shortage. This is largely due to declining interest in the teaching profession, which has led to fewer people applying for certification. As a result, Pennsylvania and many other states like it have recently issued fewer teaching certificates overall. Other societal factors may also be discouraging individuals from pursuing careers in education. HTEA firmly believes that raising salaries, professional time, and healthcare benefits are not just luxuries but necessities. Haverford Township must work to create a highly competitive and equitable contract in order not just to retain the veteran teachers that everyone knows and loves, but also to continue to hire extraordinary new teachers who will stay in the district for their careers and carry on this top-tier legacy.
Current Happenings
Because contract negotiation momentum had been stagnating, on Wednesday, October 29th, all HTEA members staged a walk-in to every school right before their contractual hours began. Their purpose was to gain larger community awareness of the deadlock and remind the township of the extra daily hours teachers normally work without pay. This will continue every Wednesday until an agreement is reached. According to Nancarrow, the teachers are prepared to take work action (efforts by employees to pressure management for concessions without a full strike using tactics such as working to contract hours only, picketing, wearing pins, etc.) only if necessary, but they would not do so lightly. They do not want to disrupt the educational day for students. The School Board says that if a work action occurs, they have a plan in place to minimize any disturbances to the school day and ensure student safety and education quality.
According to HTEA, achieving a fair contract depends on how the district chooses to prioritize its spending. Teachers contribute greatly to the success and value of every school, and the Association believes teachers should be compensated accordingly.
Moving Forward
According to HTEA, despite their agreeing to a much lower salary increase than originally on the table, the latest proposal from the school board has not significantly changed since the offers from August. They state on their website that for veteran educators, the proposed raise is still lower than that of other districts in our area. The Board states that this lowered proposed rate is typical for long-term schedules as employees approach their maximum salary. On the contrary, the HTEA states that because the district has not prioritized a higher COLA for teachers that recognizes rapid inflation, this lowered percentage essentially equates to a pay cut for the most experienced educators in the township. Furthermore, according to the Education Association, the School Board has threatened to withhold retroactive pay from employees if an agreement is not reached within ten days, which will most likely cause increased tension in negotiations.
Despite rising uncertainties, an agreement is hopefully in the near future. According to the School Board, they hope to foster “Open and early communication” throughout continued negotiations, and they “…want everyone to benefit from our equally amazing schools, including those who have children currently attending, those who had children who attended, and those who reside here but do not have children attending our schools, as well as our businesses.”
Both parties hope to continue to work together to create a solution that is fair and equitable for all teachers, the district budget, community members, and students. In the words of Nancarrow, “ People always look for winners and losers, [but] the process of negotiation is not about winners and losers; it’s about two sides coming together, having open conversations with each other, and finding where they can meet in the middle, and I think that’s just important, not only in our negotiations here, but in the world around us and life in general.”
If community members wish to learn more about the ongoing negotiation status, they are welcome to attend or virtually watch bi-monthly school board meetings or visit the Haverford Township Education Association’s website (HTEA).
Breaking News
As of November 13, 2025, HTEA President Adam Nancarrow resigned from his position. The association’s executive committee is currently in the process of appointing an interim president to ensure that negotiations continue smoothly during this transition.
