Westerville school board OKs union contracts

food-service and maintenance workers, and OAPSE Local 719, representing 105 bus drivers and mechanics, agreed to three-year contracts with a one-year extension, so they both expire June 30, 2022.

• The Administrative Approved Staff, a nonunion employee group representing 42 employees including executive assistants, secretaries, communication and technology staffers and crossing guards, will work under employment guidelines expiring June 30, 2022.

Under the new teachers union contract, a teacher starting out at the district with no experience will earn $42,189 for 2018-19, up from $41,120 in 2017-18.

Along with the raises spelled out in their contracts, all Ohio public-school teachers are paid based on what’s known as a step schedule, receiving pay increases based on years of experience and the level of education attained.

In addition to their raises, employees for the other unions and the nonunion group will receive a one-time sum of $300 each January.

All employee groups have agreed to health-care concessions that will increase their maximum deductibles, reducing the district’s projected insurance costs by nearly $250,000 annually, Viebranz said.

“The majority of the membership is pleased with the terms of the contract,” said teachers union President Rhonda Gilpin.

Superintendent John Kellogg said the thought of having multiple collective-bargaining agreements expire the same year can be daunting.

“The process began in mid-May, which is when association representatives and management representatives first exchanged issues with each other,” he said. “Our respective teams came together shortly thereafter for the actual negotiations.

“I appreciate the fact that we have a strong relationship with each of the associations and think it’s fair to say that in all cases, proceedings were amicable,” Kellogg said.

He said he also appreciates the fact that two of the contracts were able to be moved onto a different schedule for the next round of negotiations.