Liberty school district hopeful about new contract with teachers

By danny restivo

drestivo@vindy.com

liberty

School officials are hoping to finalize a union contract despite the district’s financial woes.

Vicky Hargreaves, Liberty Association of School Employees representative, and Superintendent Stan Watson said they hope to negotiate a contract by the end of the school year. The district had 105 teaching and 68 nonteaching personnel in 2012.

Hargreaves and Watson said they couldn’t comment on contract negotiations because of protocol. However, they did share a common sentiment about completing a contract before next school year.

“The goal, like in any other negotiation, is to come to a common agreement,” said Hargreaves. “I think its important to complete a contract to give both sides a sense of security and confidence.”

The previous contract expired in 2009, but the district still is following its wage scales. In 2012, the district paid $6.9 million in salaries and wages for personal services, compared with $7.3 million in 2011. Liberty is forecast to pay $6.4 million in in 2013.

Hargreaves said the board and the treasurer couldn’t finalize a new contract because of the district’s financial situation.

Watson said contract negotiations began a few months ago, but he’s optimistic about the progress made so far.

“Everyone wants to see it get done,” said Watson. “I think we are making some headway with certain details that work best for everyone.”

The Ohio Department of Education assigned an oversight commission to the district after it was placed in fiscal emergency in July 2011. Paul Marshall, chairman of the state-appointed Liberty Local Financial Planning and Supervision Commission, said the commission does not get involved when the district negotiates with its employees. He said the commission is there to ensure that the district can afford the new contract.

“We would like to see a contract in place, but we can’t force anything,” said Marshall. “Contract or no contract, the district has to live within its means.”

In January, the state auditor’s office released a statement of revenues and expenditures for fiscal year 2013, which will allow the school district to pay off $961,000 in debt without borrowing any money.

One of the biggest cost-saving transfers included a reduction in the amount of money in a self-insurance fund by nearly $1 million. In December 2012, the district had $1,223,000 in the fund, but according to the account policy, the district only needed to maintain $311,000 in the fund. The district transferred the rest of the money to the general fund.

With the recent savings, Watson said he is cautiously optimistic about the district’s future.

“We still have a lot of work to do to curtail expenses, but this is certainly a good sign,” said Watson.

Hargreaves said the union is committed to a contract and has not discussed other options if negotiations fall through.

“At this point, our focus is on the negotiation process,” she said.