MANSFIELD — An agreement appears near between Mansfield City Schools and its union members, according to the district’s superintendent and union chief.
Mansfield Schools superintendent Brian Garverick and the union’s lead negotiator Brad Strong expect a protracted contract dispute will end at a Wednesday, March 2 meeting.
This week, Strong wrote on his Facebook profile that he received a call from Garverick and Treasurer Robert Kuehnle requesting “both the Certified and ESP negotiation teams be present on Wednesday, March [2] at 4:30 pm. Since we told them both sides would finish together, I think it is a very good sign.”
“I’m 99 percent sure,” Strong said Thursday.
He said MSEA and the school board met on Feb. 17. Based on that meeting, there were only six more items to be discussed — two of which dealt with financial packages, he said.
Strong said he knows finances are a sensitive subject.
“Yes, there is a pay raise requested. We’ve tried to be sensitive, knowing what the district has gone through financially. So there are lots of options on the table. Pay may or may not raise depending on what they choose.”
MSEA Spokesperson Amanda Clawson was quoted in a Jan. 13 story stating Mansfield teachers had not seen a raise in the last eight years.
“There’s been one (raise) in the last 15 years. We used to be in the area’s top 10 best paying teacher jobs. Now we’re in the bottom 10 in north central Ohio,” Clawson said.
According to Ohio Education Association 2013-14 school year salary data, teachers with a bachelor’s degree earned on average $30,937 at Mansfield City Schools, which is approximately $1,100 less than the state average.
Garverick said he hopes for an amicable agreement next week.
“We’re very encouraged about next week. It’s our hope that we can settle matters,” Garverick said Thursday.
Mansfield teachers have been operating under an expired contract since June 30, 2015. Strong spoke to why the stalemate lasted that long.
“Well I think there was a perfect storm. We had three treasurers during that time (Rosetta Stephans, Trevor Gummere, Robert Kuehnle), shift in leadership in the fiscal commission and lots of change in administration,” Strong said. “And with that came new philosophies, but we’ve met diligently.”
Strong acknowledged nothing is set in stone yet, but that he would be surprised if negotiations continued — which would prolong the process even more, possibly into the summer months.
“And no one wants that,” he said.
According to Strong, if an agreement is met on March 3, negotiation members will have 10 days to get back to the MSEA for a ratification process. Then the school board will pass it as a resolution before it’s passed to the fiscal commission for ratification.
