Teachers still awaiting back pay

Auburn Career Center was court-ordered to reimburse 43 current, former teachers

More than two years after the Lake County Common Pleas Court ordered the Auburn Career Center Board to pay approximately $1.4 million in back pay to 43 current and former teachers for wages, the funds have yet to be disbursed.

According to a news release by the Career and Technical Association, the group representing the teachers, “the Board has failed to deliver dating back to 2011; the Board continues to withhold the money owed to the teachers while carelessly wasting taxpayer money on legal maneuvers after the Ohio Supreme Court decided the final fate of the case. Members of the Career and Technical Association call on the Auburn Board to do the right thing: stop wasting valuable time and resources, comply with the courts’ rulings, and pay the judgment.”

The Career and Technical Association represents teachers, special education specialists, maintenance, counselors and other support staff employed by the Auburn Board.

According to a news release from McGown & Markling Attorneys at Law, which is representing Auburn Career Center, located in Concord Township, the board is awaiting guidance from the Ohio Eleventh District Court of Appeals as to how the total $1,486,045.78 judgment amount must be distributed to each eligible teacher.

The law firm, in a news release, stated that as soon as the litigation concluded, the board immediately attempted to satisfy the total judgment amount but there was a dispute between teachers as to how this total must be distributed, so the board has requested to immediately deposit the money with the trial court for safekeeping and payment.

According to CATA President Robert Hill, Auburn’s decision to continue the legal fight after exhausting all of their appeals is “an unnecessary distraction for the entire school community and a drain on public taxpayer dollars.”

“It’s time for this to stop,” Hill said.

Hill noted that the board has pursued several appeals, including twice asking the Ohio State Supreme Court to take up the case. In January 2023, the court refused to hear the case and later refused again..

“There are no more levels of appeal available for the Board,” he said. “The case is over. The board must pay what it owes and honor the court’s judgment.”

According to the CATA release, the issue in the case is a stipend owed to teachers who are assigned to classroom instruction duties during every period of the student day. These teachers perform an extra period of duties in lieu of what would otherwise be a planning period during the student day, and the teachers are entitled to be compensated for their extra work under the terms of the collective bargaining agreement.

However, beginning in 2011, the board refused to follow the contract, and CATA sued. In 2021, the Common Pleas Court agreed with CATA and ordered the board to pay the teachers more than $1.4 million in back pay for the period between 2011 and 2021.

CATA also asserts the Auburn Board is trying to “wrangle out” of paying its employer contributions to the teachers’ pension fund, Ohio STRS.

“At this point, the board’s dodges and delays are not only absurd, they are financially irresponsible,” Hill said.

Additional grievances have been filed over Eighth Period Stipends for the 2021-22 and 202223 school years, which fall outside the period covered by the initial lawsuit, according to the CATA news release.