Strongsville Teachers Say Schools' Windfall Could End Strike

The Strongsville Education Association says a $3.2 million windfall the school district has received should be used to end the teachers' strike.

"Yesterday the Board finally admitted what the SEA has known for the last six months," the SEA said in a news release. "They have $3.2 million more than they have claimed."

The School Board announced on Sunday that unanticipated tax revenue this year will total about $3.2 million. 

The board said it only learned about the extra money last week and plans to use it to cut the general education and pay-to-play fees.

The SEA disagrees, instead indicating that the windfall -- combined with an estimated $1.6 million in savings on teachers' salaries since the strike began -- means the district can afford to make some financial concessions to teachers in the ongoing contract dispute.

"Last night the Board could have ended the strike and returned the teachers to their classrooms immediately," the SEA news release says. "Unfortunately, $4.8 million isn’t enough to convince the Board to put students ahead of their personal agendas."

A round of negotiations, which started at 1:30 p.m. Sunday, reportedly lasted until 3 a.m. Monday.

The district said Sunday it learned it will receive an unexpected $1.5 million from delinquent tax collections, $1.2 million from tax increment financing and $500,000 more than the county fiscal office estimated for the the first half of 2013 tax collections.

The SEA has maintained that the district intentionally estimated it revenue low to make it look like the district cannot afford raises for teachers.

Superintendent John Krupinski has repeatedly said that the teachers' contract has to be "sustainable," and that raises for the 383 SEA members would accelerate the district's projected return to red ink.

The strike has entered its seventh week. One major economic sticking point is raises for teachers: The district wants to continue a freeze on step and column increaces, while the SEA wants them restored, with an extra jump in status so teachers would be at the step level they would have been at this year if the freeze had never taken place.

The union also wants a cap on class sizes, with extra pay for teachers who have more than the maximum number in their class.

In the last few weeks, the School Board has asked the SEA to put the district's last best offer up for another vote of its membership, and the SEA is calling on individual board members to sign an agreement to take the dispute to binding arbitration. 

Meanwhile, an independent poll shows most Strongsville residents are against the strike and are siding with the Board of Education.

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For other stories on the teachers' strike, click here.

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