CONTRACTS School officials, 2 unions prepare for negotiations

School and union representatives are considering interest-based bargaining.
By NANCY TULLIS
VINDICATOR SALEM BUREAU
COLUMBIANA -- City school officials and representatives of the unions representing teachers and support staff are poised to begin negotiations, Superintendent Robert Thomas said.
Thomas said the school board's negotiating team will consist of high school Principal Ron Iarussi -- who will become superintendent July 1 -- and Treasurer Lori Posey. He said he may also take part depending on when negotiations begin.
Thomas has served as interim superintendent since former Superintendent Patricia Hura died in October. The board named Iarussi as Hura's successor last week.
Thomas said school officials and the bargaining units' representatives are considering interest-based bargaining, a bargaining option that requires some training before negotiations begin.
The contracts for teachers, represented by the Columbiana Education Association, and the support staff, whose union is the Columbiana Local Association of School Support, both expire June 30.
Diane Barnes, a teacher at Joshua Dixon Elementary, and Kathy Snyder, an elementary aide, are the presidents of the local unions.
What's different
Thomas said the interest-based bargaining differs from traditional bargaining because the negotiating teams come to the table and determine what the key issues are rather than arriving at the first session with lists of issues each side independently determines are the most important.
Salaries and health-care benefits are likely to be key issues for both sides as the board approved reduction in force of 28 teachers and support staff to reduce a $1 million deficit by about $700,000.
The board previously made about $300,000 in personnel cuts of administrative staff with four retirements, nonrenewal of the contracts of the elementary principal and the special education coordinator, and accepting the resignation of the district's technology coordinator.