Monday, December 22, 2003
The union president described both sides as pleased.
By IAN HILL
VINDICATOR STAFF WRITER
CANFIELD -- Teachers and tutors will receive a 3.25 percent raise in 2004-05 and switch health-care plans under a new contract.
The union and school officials, however, disagree over the interpretation of whether the new salaries will add to or detract from the district's bottom line.
School officials said the new contract with the Canfield Education Association, which represents 198 teachers and tutors, will cost the district an additional $30,000 over two years.
"It's almost a wash," said Rich Archer, district business manager.
Union President Don George, however, noted that the district had included a 2 percent raise for teachers and tutors in 2004-05 in its five-year financial forecast. He said because the teachers and tutors received only 1.25 percent more than expected in the forecast, the district will actually save about $125,000 through the contract.
The union voted 188-11 to approve the new two-year contract Thursday afternoon; the school board unanimously approved the contract Thursday night.
George said union members and school officials were pleased with the new pact.
"I've seen more smiles on everybody, from administrators to teachers, than I've seen in a long while," George said.
Schools Superintendent Dante Zambrini described the contract as "what's best for the school district."
Health-care costs
District Treasurer Pattie Kesner noted that the district will save about $295,000 in health-care costs under the new contract because the union will switch from a traditional health insurance plan to a preferred provider organization.
George said that under the PPO, teachers and tutors will pay more for using a non-network doctor than they had under the traditional health plan. The district also will save more under the PPO, however, when teachers and tutors use a doctor that is in the network, George said.
The union "made huge concessions for health care," Zambrini said. He noted that the union will not receive any special bonuses or financial incentives for agreeing to switch health-care plans.
Teachers and tutors will continue to pay 5 percent of the premiums for their insurance, as they had in the past, while the district will pay the remaining 95 percent.
The union had said it would not seek raises for the current school year after voters approved an operating levy for the district in November 2002.
Other raises
Kesner said the 3.25 percent raise will be in addition to raises for longevity or increases in level of education. State law says the school board must use experience and level of education to determine salary.
The Web site for the Ohio Education Association, a statewide teachers union, shows that the average salary for Canfield teachers last school year was $49,216, fourth-highest in Mahoning County. The average salary for teachers was higher at the Mahoning County Career and Technical Center and in the Boardman and Poland school districts.
School officials and the union have been negotiating for about a year. Their previous three-year contract expired Aug. 31.
Zambrini said school officials could agree to only a two-year contract because the district's five-year forecast predicts a $592,570 deficit at the end of the 2005-2006 school year.
hill@vindy.com