Pact freezes wages, gives back pay hikes
By Jeff Gallatin
North Olmsted
Published March 31, 2010

A new two-year contract with the North Olmsted teachers union which gives back a scheduled pay raise, freezes base pay and saves about $2.1 million was approved at a special meeting Wednesday.

The move comes as district officials continue to campaign for a 7.9-mill levy on the May ballot which would raise about $6.53 million annually. Officials say it would cost a homeowner $241.94 annually per $100,000 of home valuation.

District officials have said the levy is necessary because of declining revenues. The district will have to make cuts whether a levy passes or not, but have said passing a levy will make the cuts less severe.

Superintendent Cheryl Dubsky said the new contract will assist the district in dealing with the budget crunch.

“The North Olmsted Education Association has agreed to give back the negotiated salary increase (2.55 percent) for the 2010-2011 school year and will continue to freeze their wages in 2011-12 if the levy passes,” she said. “These concessions total $2.1 million. With the additional budgetary cuts that will be made, we will be able to cut our expenses by $4.5 million.”

District administration officials have devised several different plans for cutting costs depending on if a levy passes and/or concessions are received from employees.

Rich Bauer, spokesman for the teachers union, said the group is aware of the financial problems facing the district. The union on March 22 approved giving back the negotiated salary increase.

“In light of the unprecedented financial crisis facing the district, the North Olmsted Education Association voted to give back the negotiated salary increase that was scheduled to go into effect for the 2010-11 school year,” Bauer said in a statement.

“Currently in the second year of a three-year agreement, the NOEA approved a new, two-year contract that places a freeze on the base salary for the 2010-11 and 2011-12 school years. Saving roughly two million dollars over the two years, the NOEA made this decision in an attempt to assist the district with its revenue shortfalls. We hope that the community will support the levy in May to allow us all to continue working together to achieve excellence.”

District administration, school board and education officials have all said their highest priority is preserving the educational programs that have allowed the district to achieve the highest marks possible of excellent and excellent with distinction the last four years in the annual state report rankings of districts around Ohio.

Dubsky said she appreciates the willingness of workers to re-open contract talks in the midst of an existing agreement.

“Although the current contract would remain in effect through the 2010-11 school year, the NOEA chose to re-open it due to the serious financial situation of the district,” she said. “The certified staff understands their shared responsibility to work with our community to solve the problem. We hope that the community will support the levy in May to allow us all to continue working together to achieve excellence.”

After meeting in a 20-minute executive session prior to approving the agreement, school board members said they appreciated the work put into it.

“The board of education recognizes and appreciates the significant contribution of the certified staff in doing their part to address our serious financial situation,” Board President Mike Raig said. “They continue to step up to the plate to do what is right and best for their students and our community.”

Raig said it’s a team effort in the district.

“We’ve been asked to tighten our belts and make the cuts to balance our budget and could not have done so without the help of the teachers.”

Board member John Lasko said the district will continue to work at devising the best ways possible to deal with the budget problems. Although he continued his policy of abstaining from the formal contract vote because his wife has worked for the district since before he joined the school board, Lasko said the public also must play a key role.

“Ultimately, it will be up to the public as to how we proceed,” he said. “The public must decide on the merits of the levy and our proposals and decide what is done next. We’ll continue to examine all aspects of the district such as costs, programs and other activities in order to provide the best education possible.”

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