Additional retirement deals offered

The highest individual buyout will be $25,000; the lowest will be less than $5,000.

By ANGIE SCHMITT

VINDICATOR STAFF WRITER

YOUNGSTOWN — An agreement similar to the early retirement deal offered to Youngstown school teachers will be awarded to 16 other district employees.

School board members approved an incentive package for union workers with American Federation of State, County and Municipal Employees Local 1143 on Tuesday, providing 50 percent of the employee’s annual salary in return for his or her resignation.

That payment will be in addition to any and all severance payments as provided in the current AFSCME contract.

The buyouts are the result of a formal directive from a state fiscal oversight commission to cut 153 jobs next year at a savings estimated at $8.5 million. The commission is overseeing district finances because Youngstown schools are in fiscal emergency.

Treasurer Carolyn Funk estimates the AFSCME deal will cost the district $226,456. The money will be drawn from its general fund, she said.

The deal

To qualify for the deal, union members must retire before Saturday. They will be paid in one lump sum. Those taking the buyout will be eligible for unemployment and may remain on the district’s health insurance rolls for two months, she said.

The highest amount paid to a nonteaching union member will be $25,000; the lowest will be less than $5,000, Funk added.

The district is still negotiating with its teachers union — the Youngstown Education Association. Board members met in a lengthy closed-door executive session to discuss teacher contracts Tuesday.

“We’ve been working with the teachers all week,” Funk said.

Sixty-five teachers already have accepted early retirement deals with the district. But the directive requires 35 more teachers be eliminated.

William Bagnola, the YEA president, told The Vindicator earlier this month that the buyouts violated the terms of the union’s contract with the district. The contract expires Saturday.

Other business

The board also handled these items:

UAssistant Superintendent Tony DeNiro said he would discuss having a public auction of materials from some of the 14 school buildings to be demolished. Struthers Historical Society member Rich Blackwell implored board members to hold an auction to save money and preserve historical items from the schools. Blackwell presented board members with historic items he had purchased at public auctions for neighboring school districts. “Mr. Blackwell brings up some excellent points,” said DeNiro. “I’d like to pick his brain a little bit as we go through the schools.”

UFunk informed board members that revenues for the month of May had returned $184,834 above projections. Increased revenues were largely due to increases in foundation money and the Commercial Activity Tax, she said. The CAT is an annual privilege tax measured by taxable gross receipts from most business activities. “We got more than we asked for,” she said. The general fund will be modified to reflect the increase. The variance, however, does not represent a significant portion of the budget, Funk added.