Strongsville Teachers' Strike Week 4: No End in Sight?

A bargaining session set for Tuesday morning offers a glimmer of hope that the two sides in the Strongsville teachers' strike will start communicating again.

But it's the numbers that will be doing the talking.

Superintendent John Krupinski said in an interview last week -- as he has said repeatedly -- that any contract offer must be "affordable and sustainable."

And the Strongsville Education Association's proposal?

Krupinski's answer is short and to the point: "It's unsustainable and unaffordable."

On Friday, the SEA submitted a revamped offer, one it says would cost the district $300,000 less a year than its previous proposal from March 2, which means it would cost the district about $1.2 million a year.

But School Board President David Frazee said the new proposal has only "minor changes" from the March 2 offer.

"This version still exceeds the school district's budget by more than $2 million," Frazee said.

The teachers disagree. SEA President Tracy Linscott said the union asked for a four-year projection from school district Treasurer Deborah Herrmann in February.

"We are basing what we're asking for on her numbers," Linscott said. "Based on that, we're not asking for anything that's not sustainable."

No New Taxes

Krupinski said the problem is that the district has no ability to bring in new money -- other than getting voters to approve an operating levy -- and that state funding is stagnant or decreasing.

"This isn't just about the present. We have to look to the future," he said. "We don't have the ability to generate new revenue."

Krupinski said the district's projections show a deficit of $3.1 million by fiscal year 2015.

The costliest part of the teachers' demands -- re-instituting step raises -- would escalate that deficit, Krupinski said.

Then the district would be looking at things like cutting all busing within 2 miles, eliminating all sports and doing away with AP and honors classes, he said.

"Are we going to cut to the core?" he asked. 

The Bottom Line

The teachers union's March 2 proposal seeks to re-institute step and column raises that were frozen in the last contract in 2010-11, and to make up for lost wages by letting teachers jump a step, so they return to where they would have been on the pay scale had the raises not been frozen.

The School Board wants to continue a freeze on both step and column increases for two more years.

The board would continue to give Voluntary Professional Growth raises for additioinal education and would replace the district's 9.3 percent pick-up of employees' retirement benefits with a 9.3 percent increase in base salary.

Under both proposals, teachers would pay 15 percent of their health insurance premiums -- up from 10 percent -- but while the board wanted to increase the monthly cap to $200 per family, the board sought a $175 ceiling.

The teachers are also looking to put a lid on class sizes and pay teachers extra if their classes are larger than that, and to get back a planning period each day they gave up in the last contract.

The Long Haul?

During the last negotiating session before the strike, the School Board issued its "last best offer."

That meant it was done bargaining. Linscott said the teachers had two options: take the offer or strike.

"That's why 94 percent of our members voted to go on strike," she said.

Linscott also says that the board will have to move off that offer if it wants to get teachers off the picket lines and back in the classrooms.

The board, meanwhile, says the district can't afford to give the teachers anything close to what they want.

Krupinski said the board is bound by "the economic realities."

"It's all about the sustainability of a district that is struggling to balance its budget," he said.

He also acknowledged that by continuing to hire substitute teachers, bringing in volunteer coaches and planning for a prom and commencement ceremony, he is prepared to to operate without teachers for the long haul.

"Yes," he said. "We have to be."

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

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