Lorain/Elyria, OH
Elyria teachers union wants big crowd at meeting
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ELYRIA — The Elyria Education Association is asking its members to show up to tonight’s Elyria school board meeting as a sign to the board that they will continue to fight for a fair contract.
EEA Negotiations Chairman Mark Smith said in a letter to members that their presence would send a strong message to board members.
“The board needs to see that we are tired of playing games and want a fair settlement,” Smith said in the letter dated Nov. 10, the most recent day EEA members and board members met with a federal mediator in hopes of reaching a new contract for teachers.
Smith said the meeting was unproductive as the board’s negotiating team brought no written proposals to the table, and instead suggested teachers accept less in raises than administrators and classified staff members.
Amy Higgins, district spokeswoman, said she was unaware of any organized effort by EEA members to attend the 7 p.m. board meeting at the Administration Building on Griswold Road.
No one from EEA has requested time to address the board during the meeting, she said.
Smith did not mention in his letter whether teachers will do anything beyond attend tonight’s meeting. However, he told members that the pressure they would put on the board with their presence was necessary as negotiations are “rapidly approaching a crisis situation.”
He did not return calls for comment Tuesday.
The teachers’ contract expired July 31, and the school board and EEA have been negotiating a new contract since April.
A federal mediator was called in to aid in negotiations in August.
Smith said at the time the move was necessary because the board has been “acting vindictively and spitefully” ever since the union rejected the recommendation of the district’s Joint Committee on Insurance to increase health insurance rates.
Administrators and support staff already have agreed to the new rates, which would raise health care contributions for employees from 2.5 percent to 12 percent.
The next scheduled bargaining session is set for Dec. 1.
Contact Lisa Roberson at 329-7121 or lroberson@chroniclet.com.
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Remember teachers…you’re not getting any more (new) tax money from the citizens. So whatever you’re sticking your heals in for, you need to realize the pot of money will not get any bigger. The only way to pay for increasing costs, like insurance will be to let teachers go. Crying about having to pay 12% of your premium will only turn away tax payers.
Keep up the fight at your own (or coworker’s) peril.
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The teacher’s union wants a fair contract. But, the question is “FAIR TO WHOM”?
The voters pay more taxes for less performance. FAIR?
The graduating percentages get lower. FAIR?
The kids are not taught well enough. FAIR?
The school day gets shorter. FAIR?
I think the school board needs to stand firm and negotiate less wages and longer instruction periods/days until their performance shows drastic improvement(s), kids are better educated, and graduation percentages increase substantially.
If the teachers don’t go along, hire replacement teachers. With this economy, there are enough out of work teachers that getting new (and probably better) staff shouldn’t be a problem . I think the town would go along with this, as the students would benefit from it.
The school board has made major blunders in the past, in policy, infrastructure and curriculum. This might be a good chance for them to redeem themselves.
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