COLUMBUS, Ohio (WSYX) — Education union members overwhelmingly passed a new three-year contract with Columbus City Schools, with just over ten days before students in the state’s largest school district return to class.
The ratification meeting took place at the Columbus Convention Center, where Columbus Education Association union leaders worked to finalize the best option for their nearly 4,000 members. Around 7:30 p.m., a union spokesperson confirmed the contract was approved and will go to CCS to finalize.
“We are encouraged to hear CEA members voted overwhelmingly to ratify a new three-year contract,” CCS said. “The Board of Education will vote on the contract at their upcoming regular business meeting on Tuesday, August 19. Our teachers and staff have missed our students and we are incredibly excited to start the new school year on Monday, August 25.”
The CEA, which represents nearly 5,000 teachers, librarians, nurses and counselors, announced August 8 on Facebook that it had reached a conceptual agreement with the district on its contract. The announcement follows months of negotiations beginning in March over the union’s new contract.
The contract includes improvements to working and learning conditions and a salary increase of 2.25% in the first year for all bargaining unit members, with wage negotiations following for the second and third years of the agreement, expiring in 2028, the union said.
Both the union membership and the Columbus City School Board would need to approve the contract for it to take effect. The state budget played a factor in the negotiations.
“We are pleased to have secured a new agreement which contains many improvements for both our members and Columbus students, including new caseload language for both our special education students and our English-language learners, school safety improvements, a continuation of our groundbreaking community campus school pilot program at Northland High School, and much more” said John Coneglio, CEA President. “Despite politicians prioritizing billionaires’ sports stadiums over public education and denying our students the resources they need, educators continue to fight every day to ensure a quality education for all Columbus City Schools students.”
In a statement, CCS said the union and district have agreed to a “new three-year contract that honors the dedication of teachers while keeping students at the heart of every decision.”
This comes after a three-day-long strike in August 2022. Hundreds of teachers, librarians, nurses and counselors in the CEA lined up along with some students and parents on the scheduled first day of classes and waved picket signs at buildings across Columbus City Schools, calling for the Board of Education to come to the negotiating table.
The strike ended with 4% raises each year of the contract. It also included plans for building improvements to ensure that spaces are climate controlled, reduced class sizes and offered innovative paid leave benefits.