The Oakwood Teachers Association has agreed on a four-year contract on language and a two-year deal on compensation and related issues that will freeze wages in the second year, that school district said.
Both districts’ school board approved the deals last week, officials said.
A three-year contract signed in 2017 by the 575-member KTA called for a salary schedule with increases of 3% in the first year, 2.5% for the second and 2.25% in the final year, according to that contract, which expired June 30.
Kettering City Schools also extended a deal with the Ohio Association of Public School Employees, according to Kari Basson, community relations coordinator for the district.
The KEA “completed their negotiations just prior to the closing of our schools due to the COVID-19 pandemic” and the MOU “will result in a 0% salary increase for the 2020-2021 school year,” Basson said in an email. “In effect, all Kettering City Schools employees will take a 0% salary increase for the 2020-2021 school year.”
KEA President Karen Gouge said the union ratified the agreement - which calls for no increase in the base salary - this spring.
“Although many of the terms of the agreement remained the same, there were changes agreed upon by both sides,” Gouge said in an email Monday.
Oakwood’s 149-member union agreed in 2016 to a deal that expired June 30. The new contract runs through June 30, 2024, records show.
The OTA’s new agreement calls for fixed annual incentives for base salaries that range from $45,000 a year to $55,952 annually for teachers with bachelor’s degrees and up to 10 years experience, according to the contract.
Oakwood City Schools Treasurer Dan Schall said the deal helps the district “stay on track” financially.
“We agreed we must freeze wages in response to state funding cuts and expected economic challenges in the forecast,” Schall said in a statement released by the district.
“However, this new agreement makes good on the previous performance incentives for last year before freezing pay through the 2022 fiscal year. The freeze combined with continued financial stewardship will help the district stay on track financially as we weather the economic impact of the pandemic,” he said.
OTA Negotiations Chair and Oakwood High School math teacher Jay Lane said in the released statement the negotiations involved a “The candid and collaborative dialogue” for a “contract that helps us navigate the uncertainty of education.”
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