MANSFIELD — Mansfield City Schools union negotiators, teachers, support staff, board members and other administrators can take a deep breath of relief; negotiations have concluded.
A deal in protracted negotiations was finally struck on Wednesday night, with a pay raise for teachers — the first in eight years.
Teachers operated under an expired contract for 246 days, not counting additional days when negotiations began in 2015.
“It’s a fair contract. It’s fair for the place and time we’re at. Where Mansfield City Schools is at right now,” union chief Brad Strong said after what he described as a long and tedious negotiation process.
The meeting with MSEA and school board members began meeting at 4:30 p.m. and talks lasted until 8:15 p.m., Strong said. Nearly 60 teachers were at the district’s administration building on Cook Road.
“We’re here to support the team and hopefully they can get everything done. I hope we can celebrate by the end of tonight,” MSEA Spokesperson Amanda Clawson said during the process.
The next step is a meeting set for Thursday, March 10 in which MSEA members will ratify the new contract agreement. The contract includes a pay raise, something Mansfield teachers have not seen for eight years.
“There are salary increases. They’re small. But we solved all those issues and I think it’s a pretty good deal,” Strong said. “Sure, I wish we always had more. But we have to be prudent with the money the citizens trust us with.”
Strong said he does not expect to run into problems during next week’s meeting — or any other mandatory ratification meetings, which are in order.
Mansfield’s Board of Education is scheduled to meet Tuesday, March 15, where it is also expected to ratify the pact. That meeting is followed by a Thursday, April 7 meeting in which the district’s fiscal commission will ratify the agreement.
As long as all ratifications are passed in the following weeks, the teachers’ new contracts will go in to effect for the 2016-17 school year, Strong said.
