SALEM SCHOOLS Contract saves money for district, chief says

Employees will pay more for prescription drugs.
SALEM -- Employee willingness to accept a new health insurance plan allowed the district to grant pay increases while still saving money on the contracts, Superintendent David Brobeck said.
Teaching and nonteaching employees will receive pay raises in one-year contracts because they chose to switch health insurance to a PPO plan, Brobeck said. The PPO means the employees will choose healthcare providers from a network of medical providers.
The board approved the one-year contracts Monday with the Salem Education Association and Ohio Association of Public School Employees Local 215.
Teachers received a 2 1/2 percent increase and OAPSE employees receive a 3 percent increase, he said.
The district will save about $375,000 in health insurance with the change to the PPO, with a savings of $250,000 on the teachers insurance and about $125,000 on the nonteaching employees insurance.
So even with the pay increases, the district will save $60,000 on the teachers contract and $61,000 on the OAPSE contract.
Salary ranges for nonteaching employees under the previous contract from $6.93 per hour for a cafeteria worker to $17.11 an hour for a maintenance foreman with 20 years on the job.
Teachers' salaries ranged from $25,650 for a beginning teacher to $54,506 for a teacher with a master's degree and 30 years of service.
Brobeck said the employees also agreed to changes in the prescription benefits plans. There will continue to be no deductible for prescription drugs when generics are used, he said.
However, the copay for brand name drugs will be changed from $4 to any name brand drug to a range of $10, $15 or $20, depending on the drug, Brobeck said.
He said both unions showed "a willingness to understand the financial situation of the district."
Emergency levy
Monday's votes came on the eve of today's general election, which includes a ballot issue in which the district is seeking a 7.85-mill, five-year emergency levy.
The district says it must have the $2.3 million the levy would produce annually to avoid having school finances spiral into a deficit.
The district began negotiating in April with the Salem Education Association, which represents about 160 teachers. The contract for teachers expired Aug. 31.
Bargaining started in May with the Ohio Association of Public School Employees Local 215, which represents about 95 bus drivers, cooks, janitors and other employees. Their contract expired June 30.