The FAQ sheds more light on why the teachers are frustrated.

Why did the board say they will issue a levy and then tell people NOT to vote for it? Seems like a backstab to the teachers of the district.

The false promise of the bond also says a lot. There were some hidden details left out such as how the budget will be balanced.

Why hasn't the Board kept their promise on eliminating OAPSE members? Seems unfair to make teachers give up time to take their positions to help the Board with the Board not keeping their part of the bargain. Sad too that they won't bother giving back that time to the teachers.

Why did the Board give up on finding an insurance policy that would be more affordable for the district? Instead, they scrapped it and chose a more expensive insurance policy. Does the board WANT to waste money?

I think the false promises by the board is despicable. Why promise the teachers that if they take cuts now, they'll be restored later? And when the teachers ask for the restoration, the board says no and makes them out as greedy? Really now? Why would someone do that? Lie and then spin it around to make the teachers look bad?

Nice information on the Planning Period too. I was tired of people whining that teachers just sit around and do nothing for 3 hours. They don't. They do a lot more.

Thanks for clearing all that up with nothing but the "facts". Wow.

Did we all suddenly forget the Levy. I know teachers are sheltered soles in general but go back to that year. That was when most of us so our non-guaranteed retirements go to hell. We saw mass layoffs in nearly every industry. We were looking at personal finance armegadon. I wouldn't have cared if the Board visited me at home and cooked my meals, there is no way a 9.9 mil levy was going to pass. This is part of the dream world the SEA lives in. Step into the light.

This piece actually highlight their willingness to pay 15% of their benefits. Oh my god. Do you realize my family payment monthly contribution is 50% and is $800 per month. And my benefits are 80/20 with deductibles of $1,500. An I think I've got it pretty good.

Wake up teachers. BOE, stay the course. These people are absolutely insane.

I am really starting to believe that to be a teacher you need to work in another line for at lest 5 years in reality land first. And by the way, you'll only get 2 weeks and 5 sick days max. And the sick days are use or lose. And if you do use, you'll probably tank your merit increase opportunities.

I think there will be more than one SEA Educator emerging from the cocoon after this one.

And guess what. Sounds like "The Board" is done making promises. It's in writing this time and it's called a BAFO.

Emmanuel, The FAQ's are about as factual as everything else SEA has put out there. As a student, I'm sure you wouldn't know some of the history. When the 9.9 mil levy came up, the backlash from the community was so bad that yes, they said, don't vote for this levy, but they put another levy on the same ballot for a more acceptable amount. It was 6.1, 6.5 oh I can't remember. That levy passed. I walked down Pearl Road with other parents, teachers and students to show support. If only I knew then what I know now. Too bad our previous BOE's didn't do their jobs.
Yes maybe a "promise" was broken. Not one in writing, (dumb mistake) if there was one. I've had to break promises too. Like, this would be the best school year of my daughters' school career. That's what senior year is supposed to be right. Or maybe we would have a car available to my children when they got their license. Well, things didn't turn out that way due to economy. Jobs were lost, income not coming in. Funny, my children understood the economics part and didn't hold me to my previous promises. Sorry that the planning time can't be restored but I have my own opinion on that. Part of it is economics, part just personal opinion.
Don't really have an opinion on the health insurance other than they really do need to pay their FAIR share, like the rest of the world.
Let's talk SPIN, maybe we shouldn't. We might be here all night. But as far as the "Bad Light" the teachers are in, they did that themselves!

THAT FAQ is about 3 pages long and leaves out most of the 108 pages of teachers demands that are in the SEA proposal
http://www.strongnet.org/cms/lib6/OH01000884/Centricity/Domain/1/Proposed%20SEA%20Agreement3-2-13.pdf

Will people please stop wasting time arguing with people like Emmanuel and other students. They don't make any points, they cannot argue with any facts (unless they are provided by the SEA) and they are so drunk on the "my teachers deserve the best" kool aid they literally are a complete waste of time and energy to engage with. So go back to school and stop wasting everyone's time trying to pretend like you are smart enough to argue any points with legitimacy. Your "slack" as a "concerned student" has been exhausted. You are a hack SEA sympathizer who I've watched get shot down a million times attempting to debate by anyone on here with a functioning brain. Nothing's changed. Go back to the kids table.

Bernie, Very true about the teacher brainwashing. Point well taken. Are you surprised that "The Patch" just put the FAQ in an article? I could see if they had someone put it on as a comment, but to put it on as an article. You would think they would actually have to check the FAQ to see if they were actual facts and not just more SEA spin.

I think so many people in the area are hooked into this story that the Patch will put out anything related to the strike as soon as they get it. In all honesty though, does anyone actually think that the SEA, OEA or union is going to put out anything but talking points, emotional pleas and past pinky swear promises to deflect from the fact that our school system can't afford the current situation? They can't answer these questions. People like Emmanuel will write this bs all day long, but when it comes down to it and you ask him "I appreciate you wasting everyone's time with the violin solo on how much the teachers deserve, but please, tell me again, knowing you will not have any further future revenues via levies, how exactly are you going to pay for the teachers demands when we are currently broke? How exactly can you sustain a system that will collapse upon itself without restructuring compensation? Emmanuel and others, please, go over to Greece and let me know how begging for bailouts each month to survive for another few weeks is working out for their people. You know what that situation is caused by? Entitlement spending and over-inflated pensions that the govt. couldn't pay for. You know how that is caused? Promising things that you cannot ever possibly deliver on. We are asking our BOE to NOT promise something that will never be possible. But the SEA/OEA have you so brainwashed you live in fantasyland, where feelings, not facts are what really matter!

Ten years ago, the union appointed board would simply sign an unfunded contract and just keep putting it up until it passed. It looks like the gravy train is over.

You know after hearing and seeing what the SEA and OEA have done the past few days, I have had enough. Their tatics have gone way overboard. Please BOE, instead of staying at your current offer, start lowering your offer. Enough is enough with these pathetic buffoons(I would like to use stronger words). God bless you parents that have to have your children taught by these idiots. If my kids were still at the schools, I would not want any of these unprofessional, pathetic jerks, called teachers, teaching my kids. They have now lost any chance of support from me. These strikers are the real "Scabs"!!!

Note: check on the internet for the teachers strike in Napolean, Ohio during the 80's. It was basically like ours. They did not pass a school levy until this past year. The reason it past, the last teacher from that strike retired. I have a student in a class I teach at a local college and he told me tonight that the citzens were not going to tolerate the teachers. In the end, the teachers lost. He told me the teachers never got any significant raises, their property values did not suffer like everyone forecasted and the students still received a good education.

BOE stay strong, don't give into these thugs(they are not even considered professionals)!!!!

Q...

When the 9.9 mil levy came up, the backlash from the community was so bad that yes, they said, don't vote for this levy, but they put another levy on the same ballot for a more acceptable amount. It was 6.1, 6.5 oh I can't remember. That levy passed.

This is what actually happened

there were 3 levies in 2011 that went on the ballot May for 9.1 (then we were told that # was wrong) So they put a 6.1 or 6.5 levy in August (and that failed..To be honest with you who would vote for it..At That time Bill Parkinson looked like a complete idiot) Then in November they tried to pass the "renewal" levey but changed the word to "continuous" that failed as well. Finally in March 2012 they kept the word "renewal" and it passed.

I dont agree with what some of the teachers have done but lets not sit here and say the board has not had its faults with our money as well.

Yes that was a tough year but the board looked foolish for all those levies.

Spinner, thanks for the straight story. I wish our previous BOE's had done their jobs!

No one here is saying that the contract the previous Board approved wasn't ridiculous. Many of us knew it was not sustainable at the time it was rewarded to the teachers. I am not sure exactly what that has to do with present day. We finally have a Board in place that is trying to correct the wrongs of the past. Why would we want to continue to make the same mistake year after year? Change is not easy but it is definitely necessary. Please keep in mind that around 94% of the school's operating budget goes directly to teachers. That leaves very little for schools and students.

when you start your FAQ with smoke and mirrors, the whole paper becomes worthless

RIGHT NOW 150+ teachers make between 78,000 and 80,000
and another 60+ teachers making around 70,000 and 75,000
that is more than 50% of the teachers over your claimed $68,916

"Does the average Strongsville teacher make $80,000 or more a year?
No. Most Strongsville teachers do not earn near $80,000 The Strongsville salary schedule begins with a base salary of $34,779
This means that a first year teacher earns $34,779 a year. Salaries do not increase that quickly. It takes 15 years of experience AND a master’s degree to earn $68,916 a year"

at no time does the FAQ mention that over 50% of the teachers make MORE than $68,916

with the economy struggling and every taxpayers salary shrinking over the last 5 years the teachers saved us a "whole 3 million dollars" even though the school board has paid 311 million in salary and benefits to these teachers over the last 5 years. This is less than a 1% savings (most taxpayers would be happy with a !% drop in their salary and a 1% rise in their healthcare)

During the last two rounds of negotiations, the SEA spearheaded initiatives to save the district money and help keep it solvent.
Teachers gave back over $3 million to the district in the last two contracts through concessions in pay and benefits.

these teachers need to wake up and understand that Jeff Lampert is no longer the Superintendent, he was the biggest friend that the teachers had
the only thing that would have been worse than Jeff Lampert as Superintendent would have been Tracy Linscott

John Krupinski came from St. Albert the Great (not a public school)
Jeff Lampert came from north royalton and was collecting full STRS since 2003 (public school)fellow LIFETIME union member

What the FAQ don't mention is the retirement benefits. The teacher have not paid one dime in the past 20 years to STRS. To use the SEA FAQ logic it takes a teacher 15 years and a masters + additional courses to start earning $80,000. What you don't mention is that according to STRS calculation that a teacher that has worked 30 years will receive 66% of the FAS. The board proposed 10% pay raise to cover the FREE STRS contribution. That will be $88,000 for the top paid teachers. Let's do the math: $88,000 x 66% = $58,080 yearly retirement income and you didn't pay a dime for that. Someone with out a pension would need to have $1,161,600 invested at retirement age withdrawing 5% a year to live on $58,080 a year in retirement. How many people will have over $1,000,000 invested when you retire? You can't cry poor mouth. I'll gladly pay $10,000 for more education if it will give me a $15,000 raise AND a higher FAS for retirement calculation.

These "FAQ's" are nothing more than Tracy's union propaganda - info twisted to try and justify their demands to get what they feel entitled to.
Sorry, lady - you don't deserve it - I don't care if there is a tremendous surplus projected for 10 years. Give it to the kids and spend it on the kids. And then, if money left, give back to the taxpayers. Not to the teachers sitting there with that big compensation package while the rest of us struggle.

Exactly Dave. I've been maxing my 401K for 15 years and also have a self funded pension as a self-employed. There is no way that I will have anything near enough saved, despite saving more than 35K a year to fund any kind of investment that could pay me 58K/year at aget 55. These people are clueless.

Was the promise in the Previous contract? DID the previous bored also say that I would vote for it? shouldn't the business teacher have told them to get everything in writing

Here's a better FAQ...

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=5kxc6kzH-uI

That will be the topic for first day of class in Big Trace's "Skills for Success Class" -- "Get it in writing!"

"SEA urges parents to contact their school board members to demand that the board become actively involved in good-faith bargaining to put qualified teachers back in the classroom." ?????

thanks for that tip SEA ---
the majority of the parents have contacted the school board and thanked them for all that they have done, and to make sure the final offer stands,
we have also asked that a large part of the Quality teachers that are currently teaching our children be permanently hired, along with any other new permanent qualified teachers still needed to fill the void of those who walked away from their jobs as teachers to become street-walkers (OEA prostitutes )

I have been reading that the teacher's union is mad because for the last contract they willingly took on an extra "duty" under the condition that the board will lay off classified employees (also a union). What kind of union negotiates so that other employees will lose their jobs?!? Really?! I AM FURIOUS about this.

Oh, and by the way, MANY of those classified employees were laid off - maybe just not the ones that the teachers wanted let go.

Thank you for posting the frequently asked questions, I have no doubt the information contained in this document is factual as to the SEA's recollections, However, there is another point of view. It is stated that the BOE did not come to bargain (pg 3-Bargaining). Perhaps in an effort to minimize Bill Pepple's fees, the BOE decided to come to the table with a VERY reasonable offer, negating the need to quibble over every detail of the contract. The SEA's last published proposal is 108 pages long, 75 of which have red changes to them. Why not just tear up the old contract and have both sides start anew. I'm sure VPG, retirement bonues, attendance incentives, IEP meeting payments etc. would be eliminated. Strikers, please put your signs down, hold your head up high, enter your school and say "at least I tried". Or you can be like LeBron and take your talents elsewhere for less money.

Nicely put! Teachers it is time to stop being puppets. Most of you are better than that!

I can understand striking on day one after the union leadership sold the idea to the majority. I would NOT have walked, but I do understand those that did. Now, after 3 weeks, I fear that those that walked against their better judgement are wondering why they did that with the contract that was being offered. I cannot explain that one. But now it's time to look ahead. The BOE has, in fact, bargained fairly. The BOE came up with every penny they could to try to solve this problem. To say that the BOE wants to charge more for pay to play is nonsense. The BOE would love to give every student every opportunity they can. The BOE would love to give the teachers whatever they want. It simply is NOT able to MAKE taxpayers pass levies. One problem with passing levies is this: A tax levy in Ohio is one of the last things a taxpayer can vote down to control spending. Right or wrong, it's a fact. Taxpayers don't get to tell Washington, "Hey, stop foreign aide to Egpyt!" Or, "Quit spending my money on studies of duck genitalia!" (yes, that was in the news just today!) But taxpayers can say, "No more levies!" It is just one of the last spending control measures a taxpayer has. And guess what, it is their RIGHT to vote however they see fit. That is one reason teachers should rethink their position. They have been given a fair offer, a LAST BEST OFFER. It may change if they don't grab it now!

I think we all, including myself, need to think about commenting on this article any further. Why give their propaganda literature anymore credibility than Debbie has by mentioning it.

the board chose scabs over valuable teachers
Why did the board say they will issue a levy and then tell people NOT to vote for it? Seems like a backstab to the teachers of the district.

The false promise of the bond also says a lot. There were some hidden details left out such as how the budget will be balanced.

Why hasn't the Board kept their promise on eliminating OAPSE members? Seems unfair to make teachers give up time to take their positions to help the Board with the Board not keeping their part of the bargain. Sad too that they won't bother giving back that time to the teachers.

Why did the Board give up on finding an insurance policy that would be more affordable for the district? Instead, they scrapped it and chose a more expensive insurance policy. Does the board WANT to waste money?

I think the false promises by the board is despicable. Why promise the teachers that if they take cuts now, they'll be restored later? And when the teachers ask for the restoration, the board says no and makes them out as greedy? Really now? Why would someone do that? Lie and then spin it around to make the teachers look bad?

Does the SEA realize that most people's pay is stagnant? I've got a great job an haven't had a raise in 4 years. All they want to do is complain about what you don't have or get. You are slamming the same BOE that gave you such good contracts for the past 20 years (I guess the saying 'what have you done for me lately' is true). Start focusing on what you do have like:
1. You have gotten 20 years of free retirement
2. You have been offered a 10% bump in salary to cover your retirement
3. You have gotten support from the community and the PTA
4. You have a job that pays better than most and only 'officially' work 184 days
5. You get Summers, Thanksgiving, Christmas and Easter to spend with your families
6. You have a retirement plan that is 'much' better than 98% of all Americans. If you read my previous post, you would need over $1,000,000 to equal the STRS plan.
7. You get free parking

I can go on and on with examples. Times are tight for everyone. Antaganizing the parents and tax paying residents doesn't help your cause. Going to a 10 year girls home (which should be comforting to her) and confusing and scaring her. Going to a place of employment? Your emotions are getting the best of you. Instead of saying 'it's not fair', think of what you do have. I just had that conversation with my 10 year old. I didn't think I would have to use it here.

It looks like Huffmaster and Alternative Workforce are flooding the blogs with anti-union remarks in order to continue the strike.

Goto nielson online and become a member you'll see. ip addresses; everything. Now prove you work and live in Strongsvilles.

You’re creditable; name calling. Which teacher taught you that? James Murphy, it’s not your real name, it’s……

Does anyone know if there is a limit on the time the teachers refuse to return to their classrooms before they can be terminated? I have had it up to the eyeballs with their nonsense and wouldn't be one bit sorry if they all lost their jobs.

Please let me know if they are able to be terminated. Would love to see certain ones get their pink slip. Kudos to the 4 who have chosen to cross the picket lines and resume what they were hired to do.

the board chose scabs over valuable teachers
Why did the board say they will issue a levy and then tell people NOT to vote for it? Seems like a backstab to the teachers of the district.

The false promise of the bond also says a lot. There were some hidden details left out such as how the budget will be balanced.

Why hasn't the Board kept their promise on eliminating OAPSE members? Seems unfair to make teachers give up time to take their positions to help the Board with the Board not keeping their part of the bargain. Sad too that they won't bother giving back that time to the teachers.

Why did the Board give up on finding an insurance policy that would be more affordable for the district? Instead, they scrapped it and chose a more expensive insurance policy. Does the board WANT to waste money?

I think the false promises by the board is despicable. Why promise the teachers that if they take cuts now, they'll be restored later? And when the teachers ask for the restoration, the board says no and makes them out as greedy? Really now? Why would someone do that? Lie and then spin it around to make the teachers look bad?