Centennial Approves Teachers' Contract

A large audience packed the meeting room of Centennial’s administration building Tuesday evening to witness firsthand what board members were going to decide regarding a proposed teacher’s contract.

A vote on the new , to give both parties additional time to review the terms and the impact of the deal.

After nearly two hours of debate and comments from the community the question was called and the board took a roll-call vote on whether or not to approve the proposed teacher’s contract.

Board Members Mark Miller, Cyndi Mueller, Kati Driban and Michael Hartline voted no. Board Members Jane Schrader-Lynch, Thomas Reinboth, Thomas Hezel and Betty Huf voted yes.

The announcement of the 5-4 vote was met with cheers and hugs from the many teachers in the audience; it was also met with groans and audible boos from several members of the public.

The Contract 

While the actual document was not available, as it had not yet been completely drafted, details of the agreement were discussed at the meeting. The following information was gathered from discussion by board members at the meeting:

•The new agreement between the teachers and the district will go into effect immediately.

•It is a four-year agreement that will run retroactive to when the last contract expired, from June 2010 through June 2014.

•There will be a salary freeze with no raises, step movement, column movement or retroactive pay for the first year of the deal, 2010-11.

•The next three years of the contract will bring 1.75%, 1.75% and 1.5% raises across the pay matrix.

•Members will pay an increased rate for health care, however, according to projected numbers the percentage of the contribution teachers will be required to make in comparison to the actual cost of the program declines over the life of the contract from nearly 11% this year to slightly more than 9% in 2014.  

•The new contract changes the teacher’s workday and the work year, although further details were not provided.

•Payments for the supervision of additional curricular activities were added as well as additional health benefits such as payment for orthodontic care.

The Discussion –

Board Member Kati Driban said she could not vote for something that had yet to be completed.

“I found 22 discrepancies in the contract offered April 25 and we have not seen any revisions since,” she said. “To approve this (tonight) would be unconscionable.”

Along the same lines, Board Member Michael Hartline said he could not vote yes as he had not viewed a finalized version of the contract.

“As a businessman, I don’t sign off on anything unless I read it, “ he said.

Board Member Betty Huf said she was OK with not having viewed the final version of the contract, as she placed complete faith in the district’s lawyer who was charged with drafting the document.

“That’s why we pay him,” she said.

Huf also said she wasn’t interested in all of the negativity. She said she did not want the teachers to strike and she trusted that the negotiation team did a wonderful job.

Board Member Cyndi Mueller said this contract begs the question, “What are you willing to cut educationally?”

She said the district already runs lean, and the only way she can see being able to pay for the contract would be by “increasing taxes, which is inevitable, and making cuts to educational programs.”

Mueller called on Business Administrator Christopher Berdnik to detail the district’s projected finances if the contract were to be adopted.

Berdnik painted a bleak picture, saying the district deficit would grow to nearly $15 million by 2016. He also said the fund balance, what he described as the district’s saving’s account, would be depleted by 2013.

Board Member Jane Schrader-Lynch said a lot of what was being discussed was simply scare tactics.

“The district was going to have a tax increase before this contract,” she said. “It has nothing to do with the contract.”

Following the vote, Board President Andrew Pollock issued a pre-written statement to members of the press. You can read a pdf file of the statement in photo section of this article.