Our view: Demand real compromise. Kids would take big hit in board, teachers' union clash

At the start of the week, it seemed two very fast, and very big trains — the Columbus Education Association and Columbus City Schools Board — were headed toward each other at full speed, and little could be done to stop them from slamming into each other to the detriment of the Columbus kids tied up on the track between.

There seemed to be hope Tuesday — slim as it might be — that negotiations between the union and school board facilitated by a federal mediator might avoid the district's first teachers' strike since 1975.

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“While we still do not have a compromise, we are encouraged that talks are ongoing,” Board President Jennifer Adair told the audience at the start of Tuesday's school board meeting, according to reporting by Columbus Dispatch Education Reporter Megan Henry. “We are fully committed to our teachers and to treating all of our employees with respect. We are bargaining in good faith, and we look forward to finding opportunities for unity and alignment.”

Real bargaining needed

True good faith bargaining is what Columbus kids, still struggling with education and socialization issues brought on during the Coronavirus pandemic, deserve.

True good faith bargaining is what we, the community, must demand when the two groups meet today.

That meeting will be their 22nd bargaining session and likely the last before the union that represents 4,500 teachers, librarians, nurses, counselors, psychologists, and other Columbus Public School employees will meet to vote strike or not on Sunday.

The district employees 9,000 total employees.

The two factions disagree on who is to blame for where we stand — who didn't offer proposals, who didn't want to schedule meetings, etc.

At the end of the day, that doesn't matter.

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Pointing fingers will get kids nowhere at this stage. Strike — a union's nuclear option — is in play.

The union played the second strongest card in its hand when it filed an intent to strike and picket notice August 11.

The meaning of 'final'

Union spokeswoman Regina Fuentes told our editorial board they had no choice after lawyers for the board presented a final contract and did not schedule any other meetings.

She said economic issues had not been discussed at the table and outstanding non-economic issues like class size, transparency about tax abatements and incentives offered to developers and heating, ventilation, and air conditioning (HVAC) were still in play.

No one wants a strike, but she says the status quo hurts teachers and students and cannot continue.

"COVID exposed a lot. It really brought to the foreground learning and working conditions we have tried to get the district to address for years," she said.

There is much reason to worry about retention and recruitment.

There is a national teacher shortage.

The long-battered profession took a beating during the pandemic and continues to do so due partly to school violence and politicians who have launched wars against factual learning about race, gender, and LGBTQ issues.

Adair and Julie Martin, the board’s attorney, said the contract was not meant as a last, best, and final offer — an employer's near nuclear option — but something the union's bargaining team could present to members.

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The daughter of a Columbus City School teacher and the parent of one of its students, Adair said she understands that teachers are frustrated.

"Year after year they feel no one is listening to them," she told us. "This board is listening to them."

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The school board's goal is to strategically create a better district where student outcomes are improved. Adair said the contract with the union must move the district toward the board's goal.

The board filed an unfair labor practice complaint against the teachers' union charging the union had spread misinformation about class size, working conditions that recruit and retain the best educators for our students, and HVAC.

Adair told our board that supply chain problems and other issues are hampering the district's ongoing efforts to upgrade its HVAC systems.

As Henry reported, as many as nine Columbus City Schools will start the school year on Aug. 24 without proper air conditioning.

There is room for compromise

Fuentes says working conditions and issues that support recruiting and retaining teachers are among the union's chief concerns, but Adair told us pay was one of the union's biggest hang-ups.

The board has proposed 3% guaranteed raises for the next three school years.

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The union has proposed 8% raises those years. Adair says the district will have to ask voters for more tax dollars with either proposal, but the ask for 8% raises would be significantly higher.

Columbus is a growth market, but that does not mean taxpayers have bottomless purses. Inflation, the cost of housing and other factors are stressing residents.

That said there is a lot of room to negotiate in good faith between 3% and 8%. Compromise is also possible for those non-economic issues.

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The education of Columbus' children — something those on both sides have expressed as a priority — is more than enough reason to do so.

There is no doubt that teachers and students deserve better — Adair said that is the board's goals.

There is no reason that can't happen through real, honest negotiations.

The remaining issues are not easy, and neither are the solutions, but it is paramount to the students that both sides care enough about that those issues are resolved.

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The compromise we hope happens behind closed doors will be critical to the future of this city.

This piece was written by the Dispatch Opinion Editor Amelia Robinson on behalf of The Dispatch Editorial Board. Editorials are our board's fact-based assessment of issues of importance to the communities we serve. These are not the opinions of our reporting staff members, who strive for neutrality in their reporting.

This article originally appeared on The Columbus Dispatch: How can Columbus City Schools teachers' strike be avoided| Editorial