Columbus teachers union votes to strike; Picket lines begin Monday morning

UPDATE: Columbus teachers out in force on picket lines on first day of strike.

Editor's note: The earlier version on this developing story appears below:

The Columbus Education Association announced Sunday night that more than 94% of it members had voted to reject the Columbus City school board's last final offer and go on strike for the first time since 1975.

The official confirmation came after CEA members could be seen leaving the meeting at the Greater Columbus Convention Center carrying picket signs available inside that say "On Strike" or contain similar language.

The nearly 4,500-member union — which represents teachers, librarians, nurses, counselors, psychologists and other education professionals — met for more than three hours at the convention center to vote.

Columbus teachers strike:Where can Columbus City Schools students get their meals during teacher strike?

"It is with a full understanding of the sacrifices that students, parents, and teachers will make together to win the schools Columbus students deserve that CEA members overwhelmingly rejected the Board's last, best and final offer tonight and intend to strike," CEA spokesperson Regina Fuentes said in a release.

Columbus Education Association to picket Monday morning

The CEA's contract with the district expires at 12:01 a.m. Monday and CEA members began picketing at 7 a.m. Monday at 20 locations, including 19 schools and the district's Southland Center. Monday and Tuesday were scheduled as school preparation days before the scheduled start of classes Wednesday.

Woodcrest Elementary School, the district's only year-round school, returned to classes July 27.

Fuentes accused Columbus City Schools Board of Education of "multiple efforts to negotiate through the media after walking away from the bargaining table."

“...The school board has tried desperately to make this strike about teacher salary, teacher professional development, and teacher leaves," she said. "Let me be clear. This strike is about our students who deserve a commitment to modern schools with heating and air conditioning, smaller class sizes, and a well-rounded curriculum that includes art, music and (physical education)."

Our view:School board, union get 'F' for failing students in contract negotiation

A 9:30 a.m. CEA press briefing will be held at Columbus Downtown High School (364 S. 4th Street) on the first day of the strike.

“There is no number for how long we will strike," Fuentes said. "That will be determined whether or not the district comes back to the table. ... We are motivated to get the schools that Columbus students deserve. We understand this is a difficult decision but we are doing what is best for our students in order to get the schools they deserve.”

She stressed the strike centered on the conditions of Columbus City School buildings

“It has always been about the conditions in Columbus city schools not being up to par while our district officials sit in prime locations," Fuentes said. "Take care of our kids. Put your words to action. If you care about these kids, show us. Go back to the table and negotiate until it is done.”

Columbus City Schools Board to meet to discuss teacher strike

The Columbus City Schools Board of Education announced Sunday night it will hold an emergency meeting Monday at 8 p.m. at the Southland Center, 3700 S. High St., where it will immediately recess into executive session to discuss the strike situation.

Columbus City Schools Board of Education President Jennifer Adair said Sunday night’s vote to strike is incredibly disappointing.

“We are saddened by the unfortunate situation our families, our community and, most importantly, our children now face,” she said.

“Our offer to CEA put children first and prioritized their education and their growth," she said. "We offered a generous compensation package for teachers and provisions that would have a positive impact on classrooms. Our offer was also responsive to the concerns that have been raised by CEA during the negotiations process. Our community’s children are the Board’s priority, and our offer reflected that fact.”

How would a Columbus teacher strike affect the first day of school?

If the union is still on the picket line Wednesday, the state’s largest district with nearly 47,000 students will start the school year remotely — a move which has drawn criticism from some Columbus City Schools parents concerned that many students did not do well working remotely during the COVID-19 pandemic shutdown.

The district said it will move to “synchronous and asynchronous remote learning” and the district’s buildings will be closed to students and community members, according to information on a district webpage. However, 25 school sites will offer free lunch and breakfast meals to students in grab-and-go containers.

“The District Administration will send parents and students correspondence regarding the procedures to begin the remote learning program before the first day of school,” according to the district.

Students would be required to attend school through remote learning if there is a strike on the first scheduled day of classes.

Columbus City Schools has 600 substitutes who would be given the curriculum to teach remotely, said Columbus City Schools spokeswoman Jacqueline Bryant.

Columbus Mayor Andrew Ginther issued a statement in the wake of the strike announcement:

“The past few years have underscored the value of our teachers, the resiliency of our kids and the need for Columbus City Schools to position itself for the future. But, more than anything, the pandemic has made clear the importance of having kids in the classroom," Ginther said. "The CEA and the school district must return to the table and get our kids back in the classroom. A responsible solution is within reach, but only if negotiations restart now.”

However, no new negotiations between the two sides have been scheduled.

Ohio Education Association President Scott DiMauro and National Education Association Vice President PrincessMoss attended the meeting at the convention center in support of the CEA.

"Every student in Columbus, whether they attend Berwick K-8 or Whetstone High, deserves safe, properly maintained, fully resourced neighborhood schools," Moss said. "The Columbus Education Association is joining together to ensure that every student gets to attend a high-quality public school and learn from a qualified educator who will inspire them to reach their full potential, and the 3 million NEA members across the country stand in solidarity with them.”

Where is the union picketing?

• Burroughs Elementary School

• Columbus  Africentric Early College

• Centennial High School

• Cassady Alternative Elementary School

• Clinton Elementary School

• Columbus City Schools Southland Center

• Columbus Downtown High School

• Columbus Scioto 6-12

• Columbus Spanish Immersion Academy

• East High School

• Indian Springs Elementary School

• Leawood Elementary School

• Linden STEM Academy

• Livingston Elementary School

• Stewart Alternative Elementary School

• Weinland Park Elementary School

• West Broad Elementary School

• Whetstone High School

• Woodward Park Middle School

• Yorktown Middle School

What is the Columbus Education Association asking for?

In addition to functioning heating ventilation and air conditioning (HVAC) systems in schools, the CEA previously was asking for smaller class sizes; full-time art, music and physical education teachers; more planning time for teachers; a cap on the number of class periods in the day; and "other working conditions that recruit and retain the best educators for out students."

Earlier this month, CEA filed its required formal notice to the State Employment Relations Board of its intention to strike and picket if a new contract is not reached.

The district has responded to the issue about HVAC systems by saying it is updating the HVAC systems in 13 school buildings this summer using $35.6 million in federal Elementary and Secondary School Emergency Relief Funds created due to the COVID-19 pandemic.

While work to update the HVAC systems will be completed at seven of those buildings in time for the scheduled start of classes, work at six other buildings won't be completed until September.

In addition, two other buildings — Columbus Alternative High School and Hubbard Elementary School — will have to wait until the start of the 2023-2024 school year to get building-wide air conditioning.

Mifflin Middle School is another school without building-wide air conditioning. But because a new middle school may be built on the site of Mifflin Middle School, according to the district's proposed facilities master plan, Columbus City Schools does not appear ready to invest in a new building-wide HVAC upgrade of the existing building.

Failed negotiation between schools and Columbus Education Association

The Columbus City Schools Board of Education requested two negotiation sessions last week, but both sessions between the board and the union with federal mediator ended with no agreement.

Thursday’s meeting, the 22nd negotiating session, lasted 12 hours and the board gave another final offer that would hire 25 additional the full-time school nurses, behavioral specialists, school psychologists, and speech language pathologists in fiscal years 2024 and 2025; give teachers an additional planning day in 2024 and 2025; and would commit to having CEA “at the table to address equity-based staffing.”

Earlier in negotiations, CEA was asking for an 8% increase at each step of the salary scale for 2022-23, 2023-24 and 2024-25, according to a copy of the unfair labor practice charge the school board filed against the union on Aug. 3 and obtained by The Dispatch.

​​The school board reported its initial counteroffer on May 23 was a 2.5% increase at each step of the salary for 2022-23, 2023-24 and 2024-25, according to the complaint.

The board reported that its "final offer" at the time of the complaint was a 3% increase at each step of the salary for 2022-23 and a $2,000 retention bonus to be paid out over the next two years, according to the complaint.

The board's final offer Thursday still included the 3% salary increase.

“By the end of this three-year contract, a teacher who last school year was paid the district’s average salary of $74,000 will be earning more than $91,000 – a 23% increase from the start of the contract,” said Board President Jennifer Adair.

Starting teachers would also earn more than $50,000 in the first year of the contract, according to the district.

The CEA at one point was requesting an 8% annual raise, though it is unclear if that is what the CEA is still seeking as Fuentes has not answered the Dispatch's question on that subject twice. She maintains the two sides never got to wage issues in its negotiations before the school board broke off talks Thursday following a 12-hour marathon bargaining session.

The final offer also would give teachers a day dedicated to planning, with students not in schools, for each of the 2023-24 and 2024-25 school years, according to the district. Teachers may work remotely that day, which would be timed to provide one four-day weekend in February of each school year.

The school board's summary of its last final offer also included:

∎ Class sizes for kindergarten through 5th grade will begin to be reduced in 2022-23 with no classes of more than 28 students. Class sizes will continue to be cut until the maximum class size is 27.

∎ For the first time, birth, adoptive and foster parent teachers may take 30 days of paid leave although some of that may involve use of sick leave.

∎ The board offered a memorandum of understanding that it will hire 25 additional full-time nurses, behavioral specialists, school psychologists and speech language pathologists in fiscal years 2024 and 2025 who will all become part of the CEA bargaining unit.

Other Greater Columbus School districts that have recently had strikes

Gahanna-Jefferson Schools went on strike for four days in 2020, the most-recent district in Greater Columbus to strike.

The contract that ended the strike gave the teachers a 2.25% base pay raise, and the controversial classroom cameras cited as one reason for the work stoppage were still used, though less frequently than first discussed.

Teachers in Reynoldsburg Schools went on strike for 21 days in 2014. The strike ended with a new contract, but it did not include caps on class sizes. Written into the contract instead was the sentence, "Parties agree to inspirational goals of 25 students per class in grades K-4 and 32 students per class in grades 5-8 and 35 in grades 9-12.

The board's initial proposal eliminated step increases and scheduled pay raises, basing compensation on teacher performance in the classroom, student scores on state tests and ratings under the Ohio's new teacher evaluation system. It also eliminated group health insurance in favor of cash payments to buy policies through the new Affordable Care Act.

The REA balked at the terms of the contract, rejecting merit-based compensation and asking for firm caps on class sizes and more planning time. The union also filed an unfair labor practices complaint against the district, claiming details of the proposed contract should not have been published online.

mhenry@gannett.com

@megankhenry

This article originally appeared on The Columbus Dispatch: Columbus City Schools strike: Teachers ready picket lines