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LORDSTOWN -- While the Lordstown Board of Education is addressing an impending strike by members of the Lordstown Education Association on Tuesday, it is also negotiating with the non-teaching union on its next three-year contract.
Treasurer Mark Ferrara said Wednesday the board has been negotiating with the Ohio Association of Public School Employees Local No. 774, which represents 23 classified workers in the district.
The classified union's contract expired June 30.
The union represents bus drivers, cafeteria workers, maintenance staff, secretaries and buildings and grounds workers.
The board will enter executive session at 8 a.m. today at the board office to address the classified workers' contract.
The agenda for today's meeting includes an item following an executive session to enter into a tentative agreement with OAPSE for a new contract July 1, 2024, to June 30, 2027.
Last week the board of education at their regular meeting approved new three-year agreement with 13 nonunion staff of the district which includes personnel in the superintendent's and offices, administrators of different departments, and Title 1 tutors and staff.
Ferrara said the employees received 3% pay increases in each year of the three-year agreement effective July 1.
He said most of the positions will see a $2,000 to $3,000 increase over three years with the five Title I tutors to increase from $23.75 to $24.60 per hour over three years.
Ferrara said the cost to the district for the pay increases is $65,000 over three years.
The school district has also offered the teaching union 3% pay increases per year over the three years.
At the school board meeting last week, people at the meeting said the teachers are asking for 4.5% increases each year over three years.
The LTA on Monday issued a 10-day strike notice effective 12:01 p.m. Tuesday.
The teachers' union, which represents 43 employees, is working under a collective bargaining agreement which expired in June.
The union filed an unfair labor practice through Ohio's State Employment Relations Board. A mediator is involved in negotiations.
DISTRICT ACTION
Also scheduled to be acted upon on today's board agenda following the executive session is a resolution to authorize Superintendent Greg Bonamase to take the necessary steps to control the operations of the schools during a period of work stoppage / strike.
Items listed on the agenda to be voted upon include that teaching employees who do not report to work will not be granted pay for those absences which Bonamase determines to be unauthorized.
Also, Bonamase will be authorized to enter into an agreement with Huffmaster, a private security firm, to protect property and persons and assist in ongoing operations of the school during a work stoppage and also hire temporary employees during the strike such as substitute teachers at $250 per day.
A news release from the district this week states the board plans to provide notice to teachers of termination of pay and benefits in the event of a strike and to authorize Bonamase to keep the district fully operational during any work stoppage.
Students return to classes Sept. 3.
Bonamase said in a statement this week that a comprehensive plan is in place to provide a safe, secure and fully compliant educational environment for students.
In the release, the board states it's disappointed the union has decided to strike because the board offered the teachers an above-average wage increase of 3% in each of three years and no changes to their health insurance benefits despite cost increases to the school district.
Randy Fee, a teacher and teacher union spokesman, said the union's goal is to settle a fair contract in time for the start of the school year.
The statement from Fee states the district has resumed informal discussions with the union about a contract agreement, "but there is still a gap between what they're offering and the minimum that our membership will accept."
"It is a gap that the district can easily close because of a multimillion dollar budget surplus that is projected to keep increasing throughout our five-year forecast," the union's statement said, adding that the union continued attempts to talk, and has reduced its offer significantly.
"Although we would agree their salary offer of 3% per year is 'above average' in comparison to what they've offered us over the past 15 years, it is actually at the bottom of what districts in Trumbull County negotiated last year and have negotiated this year. Also, our salary increases have been below the state average for teachers in 14 out of the last 15 years," Fee's statement reads.
The statement also states the union showed their commitment to the community and district by taking concessionary contracts over the years when the district was struggling financially.
"Now that the district is in a very healthy financial position, we're seeking a contract that will make us more comparable to the relative standards of pay and benefits we had prior to our years of difficulty," according to the statement.