Teachers, School Board May Be Close to Agreement on Contract

Contract negotiations between Strongsville teachers and the Board of Education are reportedly in the final stages, with an agreement expected soon.

Teachers have been working without a contract since the end of July as on-again, off-again talks have dragged on.

There is no official word yet on terms of the deal, but a Strongsville Patch reader who identified himself/herself as "teacher" posted this comment Friday, Feb. 11:

"Funny, what the board is offering and what the teachers are demanding. Let me set you straight. The teachers have given up A LOT with this contract. They are now going from 2% to 10% on paying health care, they are adding 2 UNPAID days a year, they are taking yet another pay freeze, they are also going to have to do bus duty, recess duty, lunch duty and therefore taking away important time to prepare lessons for the children they care about. They will have to test and record reading scores (currently done by aides) when do you expect them to do this? Oh, and they will be expected to keep an EXCELLENT rating."

NOTE: Those details have not been confirmed by either the School Board or the Strongsville Education Association, which represents the teachers.

The comment was part of an online debate about "work to rule," in which teachers were instructed by the SEA, to do the minimum work their contracts require and nothing more.

Several sources have said work to rule lasted only a few days and is no longer in effect.