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Chardon teachers reject contract with no raise
(by Joseph Koziol Jr. - August 13, 2009)
Chardon teachers reject contract with no raise
By JOSEPH KOZIOL JR.
Chardon School District teachers voted Monday to reject an offer on a one-year contract.
Tammy Sequlin, president of the Chardon Education Association, told the Chardon Board of Education that teachers had voted earlier that day to reject the contract that offered no increase on their base pay. She said "a good enough majority" of the teachers supported the decision.
Teachers have been in talks with the school board since May, Ms. Sequlin said.
The board, which had "contract approval" on the agenda, tabled the measure before Ms. Sequlin spoke. She said the board had been informed earlier of the teachers' vote.
The current contract expires Aug. 31.
Todd Jaeck, a labor-relations consultant with the Ohio Education Association, said teachers intend to continue negotiations after rejecting the board's initial offer. "Our goal is to avoid a strike," he said.
Ms. Sequlin agreed. "Our teachers are passionate about doing good things for these kids, and we will continue to negotiate in good faith," she said.
About a dozen teachers lined up to ask the school board questions involving finances, teacher commitment and the board's involvement in the negotiations.
They noted that teachers have been asked in two of the past four years to accept no increase in base pay.
In response to one question, school board President Blake Rear said the board would provide raises if the money was available.
Teacher Scott Brown said a 1 percent raise for teachers would cost the district approximately $160,000.
Ms. Sequlin said teachers are not asking for "much higher than 1 percent" increase in pay.
She said the OEA, which tracks school boards' finances, said the Chardon district had sufficient funds earlier in the year to provide a 1.5 percent increase to teachers.
Instead, the school board has focused on its five-year forecast, which states the district will be operating in a deficit by 2011, she said.
Although the board had the money for the 1.5 percent increase, Ms. Sequlin said, it spent money from the general fund for textbooks, rather than the permanent-improvement fund. The permanent-improvement fund has a restricted use on certain types of purchases, such as textbooks, that last five years or more. The general fund, she said, can be used for virtually any expense, including teacher salaries. Ms. Sequlin. She said the board has kept "several million dollars" in the permanent-improvement fund.
Ms. Sequlin said the board of education already has the money for the raises. It was approved by voters who passed the district's levies, she said.
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