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Boardman teachers to get raises after years of pay freezes
BOARDMAN
Teachers in the Boardman school district will get a 1 percent pay increase for both the 2015-16 and 2016-17 school years, based on the terms of a three-year contract that took effect starting this school year.
School officials say changes to what the school district will pay out for salaries account for the nearly $650,000 increase in appropriations from the general fund that were authorized by the board of education for next year, compared with this year.
And that makes the 3.9-mill emergency three-year renewal levy, which would generate $3.1 million annually and will be on the ballot in November, all the more important, they said.
The board of education voted in September to approve $58,761,508 in appropriations for fiscal year 2015, $42,371,541 of which are general-fund dollars. This is an increase from $56,994,672 for fiscal year 2014, of which $41,729,645 were general-fund dollars.
That amounts to a $641,896 increase in appropriations from the general fund, almost all of which is for salaries.
Some of that is because the school district hired one new special-education teacher and a new third-grade teacher this year, according to Tim Saxton, director of operations.
The rest is because of pay raises and restoration of step increases, Boardman schools Treasurer Richard Santilli said.
Teachers not eligible for step corrections received a one-time stipend equal to 1 percent of their salary, according to the terms of the contract.
Teachers agreed to a 0-1-1 contract beginning this year, where nothing will be added to their base salary this year and 1 percent increases will be added each of the next two years.
The district had been operating under a pay freeze for the past several years. Step increases were frozen in 2011, and for the following two years they were dependent on state report-card results.
In fiscal year 2013, teachers’ average annual salary was $53,188, according to Ohio Department of Education data.
“Although they’re getting a little more salary, by the end of the contract they’ll be contributing an additional 4 percent” of health-care costs, Saxton said.
That will bring teachers’ total contribution to health-care costs up to 10 percent.
Saxton and Santilli, along with Superintendent Frank Lazzeri, said passing the renewal levy is critical because $3 million would have to be cut from the budget if it were to fail.
Another factor in the increase in total appropriations is the investments the school district is making in technology and security, Saxton said.
For example, Saxton said, the school district purchased new devices that students will use to take the new state assessment test — the Partnership for Assessment of Readiness for College and Careers, or PARCC, test — in the spring.
Upgrades to security include installation of the Raptor security system and improved signage at all seven schools.
The Ohio School Facilities Commission covered about half the cost of the Raptor systems, which cost about $1,700 each, and the rest of the security upgrade funds came from a 1.6-mill permanent improvement, five-year replacement levy, approved last year, which provides the school district with about $400,000 annually to spend on security and technology.
“The levy is very, very important. There’s no question,” Santilli said.
Looking at the state report card, which said Boardman met all standards, got a “B” in the performance-index area and that students did well on Advanced Placement exams, Santilli said, “I think the community is getting a very good value for their dollar.”
The levy costs the owner of a $100,000 home about $120 per year, which would not change if the renewal passes. The original levy passed in 2012. School officials are putting the renewal on the ballot early to avoid a lapse in funds.