Akron Public Schools administrators and teachers struck a tentative contract deal Sunday evening, averting a strike that would have disrupted learning for 20,600 students in the district and setting up a vote for teachers to ratify the agreement.þþÿSchool's on tomorrow. No strike,ÿ Akron Education Association negotiating lawyer Don Malarcik said.þþÿToday’s agreement represents a victory for all parties, whether it be teachers, administration, but most of all, our kids. Because, guess what? They’re going to be in school, which is where we want them to be,ÿ said Derrick Hall, who plans to accept a nomination for president of the Akron school board at Monday's organizational meeting.þþBoth sides agreed that parents, guardians and caregivers with child care concerns should be pleased that the tentative deal pauses the clock on a 10-day strike notice issued nearly 10 days ago.þþÿI think we all have a reason to be ecstatic about today and optimistic about tomorrow,ÿ Hall said of a deal that favored the union on two major issues of safety and health care costs while splitting the difference on pay.þþDetails on Akron Board of Education and teachers union's compromiseþOn the two big issues — pay and school safety — the school board moved to appease the union. The administration, which was fighting to keep annual raises in the new three-year contract to 1.95%, 1.95% and 2.1%, settled at 4%, 3% and 3.5%, Malarcik and Hall said Sunday evening.þþThe two attended the last-minute negotiation, which started at noon Sunday and finished shortly after 7:30 p.m. Also at the table were board member Valerie McKitrick, the administration's attorney, Mike Hanna, and AEA President Pat Shipe, along with her negotiating team. A federal mediator was also present.þþThe union originally sought 7%-7%-6.25% annual wage increases but offered 5% in each of the next three years after a fact-finder recommended something closer to the low-end offer the administration was pushing for.þþThe administration landed on 2.5%, Hall said, before giving a little more ground to reach a tentative deal.þþÿIt's a good compromise. It's a classic compromise, a good settlement,ÿ Malarcik said.þþOn health care costs, Malarcik said the administration agreed to freeze the employee cost of premiums for insurance at their current rate for the duration of the three-year deal.þþAnd the board withdrew its proposal to make ÿinjuryÿ and not just ÿcontactÿ a requirement for classifying assaults by students. The current language, which administrators have argued allows for students to face expulsion for incidental contact, will prevail.
Source: beaconjournal.com
