PA lawmakers to vote on future of 'ghost teachers'

(FOX NEWS) - Republican lawmakers in Pennsylvania are set to vote on a bill that would eliminate public schools' "ghost teachers," that is, teachers who work full-time for their union while drawing both an instructor's salary and a salary from their union.

The legislation, re-introduced by Republican Sen. Patrick Stefano, would bar public school districts from allowing educators to take time away from teaching to work for local or statewide teachers unions in areas like personnel disputes and professional development, while accruing salaries, benefits and pensions from the school district.

Under current law, a collective bargaining agreement between a union and a school district can require the district to allow work arrangements where school district employees work full-time for the union while remaining on the district's payroll -- the educators reaping those benefits are commonly referred to as "ghost teachers."

The Commonwealth Foundation, a Pennsylvania-based think tank, issued a report recently that found that "ghost" teaching is authorized in as many as 111, or 22 percent, of Pennsylvania's 500 public school districts.

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