Poland residents owe teachers a thank you

When public employees act responsibly, they deserve to be recognized. And so it is that we turn the spotlight on the teachers in the Poland School District who have agreed to a three-year contract that freezes their wages for the 2003-04 school year. The previous contract was to have expired last September but was extended.
It isn't often that the word freeze makes it into public sector labor agreements in the Mahoning Valley, so when it does, there is cause for celebration. Why? Because it means that a change in attitude is taking place on the part of some public employee unions. It might not be as widespread as we would like, but given the labor history of this region, even one step is a victory.
On Nov. 19 of last year, we criticized the Poland Education Association for turning down a three-year contract with the district, which forced both sides back to the bargaining table. The terms of the proposal were not made public. We reminded the teachers of a front page story in the Nov. 9 edition of The Vindicator, which showed that by 2008 just about every school district in Mahoning County will be swimming in red ink. Poland and Canfield, two of the leading academic systems in the region, were on the deficit list.
Poland's projected budget deficit in 2007-08 was pegged at $10.9 million.
In the editorial, we urged the teachers to take a close look at the economic realities confronting the district, including the $452,308 shortfall for the 2004-05 school year. And, we suggested that they follow the lead of other teachers unions in the area, such as the one in Boardman, and temper their demands.
Health care coverage
Thus, we are pleased to note that in addition to agreeing to a wage freeze in the first year -- there will be 3 percent raises in the second and third years -- Poland teachers accepted changes in the health coverage offered to employees.
Noncertified district employees of the school district and those not covered by any bargaining agreements are also taking a freeze the first year and will receive 3 percent increases for the remainder of the contract period.
With regard to health coverage, the employees will all come under a PPO plan -- they are now able to choose from three types of coverage -- and that will result in a 7 percent savings in premiums for the district.
Superintendent Dr. Robert Zorn characterized the change as "a huge concession" and noted that it has the same effect as an employee making a copayment toward his health coverage. However, future employees will be required to pay 5 percent of the premiums.
The health care concessions add up to a respectable $212,333 savings over the life of the contract. And that's something the residents of the Poland School District should acknowledge.
We have been critical of public employee unions that seem to believe that their financial interests supersede the interests of everyone else, including the taxpayers who foot the bill for government. We have long argued that what is taking place in the private sector -- wage freezes, concessions and even layoffs -- should be replicated in the public sector. Instead, wage increases, no concessions and limited cutbacks appear to be the order of the day.
Such an attitude is no longer tenable.