The Worthington Board of Education on Monday approved a 0-percent increase in teachers' base salary for the 2011-2012 school year.

 

By a 4-1 vote, the board voted to accept the offer made by the teachers' union in what Worthington Education Association (WEA) president Pete Scully called a commitment to "being part of the solution."

The agreement will save the district $2.4-million "that need not be cut from programs that benefit our children," he said.

The decision will not reduce the size of the 6.9-mill incremental levy that will be on the November ballot, nor will it change the need to cut $15-million from the budget if the levy is not approved.

It would impact the additional $4-million in cuts that would have been made by 2013 if the levy is approved.

Scully said the WEA met in August to discuss and debate how to move forward. Over the summer, many residents had asked that the teachers make concessions in their three-year contract. This is the second year of that contract.

The salary agreement is not a concession, but an extension of the contract into a fourth year. During that year, the base salary of teachers will not increase, but those teachers in line for step increases will receive them.

The average annual step increase is 1.9 percent, said district treasurer Jeff McCuen. In general, teachers receive an annual step increase during their first 15 years of employment, then an increase every other year.

The agreement will also not change the additional pay teachers receive for attaining additional college-level training.

Approximately 81 percent of the district's 700-plus teachers voted to make the offer to the board.

"I view this as an acknowledgement that we're all in this together," said board vice president Julie Keegan. "This is a step in the right direction."

President David Bressman said he truly appreciated the gesture from the WEA.

"This is an important step," he said. "It doesn't mean it is the only step or the last step."

Board member Marc Schare said the board should not have voted on the issue on Monday, since it was not on the agenda and the community did not have an opportunity to comment. He also voted against a five-year forecast that was also not available to the board or the community before Monday's meeting.

"Transparency cannot be abandoned when inconvenient for levy politics," he said.

Schare noted that he had never joined the "cacophony of voices" requesting that teachers make concessions in the contract that was approved a year ago.

Both the board and the union understood at the time that the agreement was underfunded and would result in program cuts in order to pay for the contract.

The new agreement is not a concession but a pre-negotiation on a contract that would have been negotiated in the spring or summer of 2011, he said.

The board may be doing the district a disservice by making a commitment without knowing the climate of 2011-2012, he said. Besides committing to no increase in base salary, the agreement also ensures no changes in teachers' contribution for health care, salary index, or step increases. The board will also not have an opportunity to negotiate such items as teacher performance as related to compensation, he said.

"Even if it does help pass a levy, in my opinion, it is bad policy to rush our most significant contractual obligation in hopes of picking up a few undecided votes," he said.

Scully said the WEA was also taking a chance by agreeing to the 0-percent increase two years in advance.

"This could be a terrible decision on our part," Scully said. "There could be double-digit inflation in 2012."

The levy, if approved, will be phased in over three years.

Beginning in January, real estate taxes would increase 3.9 mills. An additional 1.5 mills would be added in 2011 and another 1.5 mills in 2012. The total cost per $100,000 of property value would be $211.

The board last week approved $15-million in cuts to be made if the levy is not approved. Those include the loss of 80 teaching positions and 45 classified positions; district financial backing of sports and extra-curricular activities; and busing for high school students and other students living within a two-mile radius of school.

cbrooks@thisweeknews.com