Youngstown teachers file grievance over request for more student contact time

September 8, 2017 at 8:26p.m.

YOUNGSTOWN

The Youngstown City Schools teachers union has filed a grievance against CEO Krish Mohip for asking the membership to spend more time teaching.

Larry Ellis, Youngstown Education Association president, said some teachers already are working more than their contract time.

The most recent teachers contract states that employees are to serve normal duty hours of seven and a half hours per day. Within the normal duty hours, “the maximum amount of student contact time in teaching assignments shall not exceed 300 minutes per workday for any employee, except when the employee is required to cover the class of another teacher,” the contract states.

“Student contact time” is the time a teacher spends instructionally with his or her student.

The grievance states: “The administration unilaterally increased student contact time outside of the agreement.”

Ellis said he hopes the grievance will set the schedule right and get teachers’ schedules within the allotted time in the contract.

A review of daily school schedules showed a 30- to 35-minute increase for teachers.

“We’re in academic distress,” Mohip said. “We’re one of only two districts in the entire state to be under this form of governance, and we’re going to do whatever we need to do to make sure our children are successful.”