Barberton teachers’ labor contract set

July 02--BARBERTON -- School board members approved a labor contract this week for teachers that increases health care contributions for costly emergency room visits and lifts a three-year salary freeze.

Under the agreement first ratified by the Barberton Education Association on June 5, teachers will receive a 2 percent raise this coming school year, followed by 2 percent and 1.75 percent raises in the second and third years of the contract.

This increases the base salary of a first-year teacher with a bachelor's degree from $34,831 to $35,538.

The wage increases follow additional funding from a successful levy and state budget, both passed in 2013.

"Right now our finances are stable," said Superintendent Patti Cleary. "With the new biennium budget as well as the passage of the levy in 2013, we're in the black at least five years looking out, which is a great thing. We haven't had that in a long time."

The five-year forecast, submitted in May, already factored in the potential wage increases. The forecast estimates cash reserves could double in the first four years, from $6.1 million to $11.4 million, despite personal costs increasing by roughly 5 percent each year.

Cleary thanked teachers for shouldering previous funding shortfalls.

"We're very pleased that we can reward our employees for taking the [pay] freeze," she said.

The board's ratification of the teachers' contract on Monday also increases second-year raises for other employees -- mainly custodians, cafeteria workers, classroom aides and other support staff -- who negotiated a separate contract earlier this year.

Bus drivers, who are members of the Ohio Association of Public School Employees, are the last group to agree to a labor contract.

The teachers' contract also encourages cost-cutting behavior on the health care side.

Employees initially will be paying more for premiums, though enrollment in a wellness program that encourages healthy living should reduce rates.

Teachers will also pay a higher deductible for the most costly treatment.

"Urgent care is still fairly low, but it's the emergency room that costs us a lot of money," Cleary said.

The contract also lifts a cap on how much employees contribute to their health care. The school district will continue to pick up 88 percent of costs, but "if our insurance costs go up," Cleary said, "[Employees] will be paying a lot more for it."

Doug Livingston can be reached at 330-996-3792 or [email protected].

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