District-wide pay freeze approved with 2 contracts
The Reynoldsburg Board of Education approved two negotiated contracts Tuesday, enacting complete pay freezes for all district employees. The freeze includes both step increases and cost-of-living increases with no provisions to "make up" the sacrifices in the next rounds of contract negotiations.
The actions will save the district more than $1 million. In the past five years, the school district has reduced costs by 31 percent by cutting more than $17 million from a $54 million budget. After its third failed levy in November, district officials planned to eliminate another $4 million for next year.
The board approved a two-year contract with the Reynoldsburg Support Service Association (RSSA) would freeze salaries through July 31, 2011. The RSSA comprises secretaries, bus drivers, custodians, maintenance workers, cooks, security personnel and paraprofessionals. Their contract expired in July 2009.
The board also approved a one-year contract with the Reynoldsburg Education Association (REA), which represents all certified teachers in the district. The agreement freezes salaries through July 31, 2011.
The district reduced the salaries of administrative and central office support staff by eight days across-the-board this school year and will freeze all of their salaries for the 2010-11 school year.
The pay freeze lessens the budget gap caused by a reduction in state funds, decreasing property tax revenues and three consecutive levy defeats.
Board member Andrew Swope, who serves on the board's finance committee and negotiations team, recognized the employee associations for agreeing to freeze their salaries.
"I want to thank them both for showing how vested they are in our school district and in our city," he said.
Superintendent Stephen D. Dackin added, "These are unprecedented economic times that require unprecedented actions, and this is one of those actions."
