'We have a deal': Akron teachers avert strike with tentative contract agreement

Akron Public Schools administrators and teachers struck a tentative contract deal Sunday evening, averting a strike that would have disrupted learning for 20,600 students in the district and setting up a vote for teachers to ratify the agreement.

"School's on tomorrow. No strike," Akron Education Association negotiating lawyer Don Malarcik said Sunday night.

"Today’s agreement represents a victory for all parties, whether it be teachers, administration, but most of all, our kids. Because, guess what? They’re going to be in school, which is where we want them to be," said Derrick Hall, who was set to be nominated for president of the Akron school board at Monday's organizational meeting.

Both sides agreed that parents, guardians and caregivers with child care concerns should be pleased that the tentative deal pauses the clock on the 10-day strike notice.

"I think we all have a reason to be ecstatic about today and optimistic about tomorrow," Hall said of a deal that favored the union on two major issues of safety and health care costs while splitting the difference on pay.

Details on Akron Board of Education and teachers union's compromise

On the two big issues — pay and school safety — the school board moved to appease the union. The administration, which was fighting to keep annual raises in the new three-year contract to 1.95%, 1.95% and 2.1%, settled at 4%, 3% and 3.5%, Malarcik and Hall said Sunday evening.

The two attended the last-minute negotiation, which started at noon Sunday and finished shortly after 7:30 p.m. Also at the table were board member Valerie McKitrick; the administration's attorney, Mike Hanna; and AEA President Pat Shipe, along with her negotiating team. A federal mediator was also present.

The union originally sought annual wage increases of 7%, 7% and 6.25% but offered 5% in each of the next three years after a fact-finder recommended something closer to the low-end offer the administration was seeking.

The administration landed on 2.5% before giving a little more ground to reach a tentative deal, Hall said.

"It's a good compromise. It's a classic compromise, a good settlement," Malarcik said.

On health care costs, Malarcik said the administration agreed to freeze the employee cost of premiums for insurance at their current rate for the duration of the three-year deal.

And the board withdrew its proposal to make "injury" and not just "contact" a requirement for classifying assaults of teachers by students. The current language, which administrators have argued allows for students to face expulsion for incidental contact, will prevail.

What happens next?

The Akron school board is voting on the tentative contract Monday night.

APS spokesman Mark Williamson said the teachers also are scheduled to vote Tuesday on the deal.

After negotiations failed and the teachers union rejected the fact-finder's report, which recommended the change in the definition of assault to avoid expulsion hearings for students simply making contact with a teacher, Malarcik explained that school safety was the biggest issue heading into this protracted round of contract talks. The union has held up unsafe conditions and attacks on staff by students as sticking points in previous labor agreements.

The administration, as in these talks, has pushed for restorative discipline that rewards positive behavior over punishing bad behavior. The union, whose members voted school safety their top issue, according to an internal AEA poll, said 81 cases so far this school year have been referred to the district's Expulsion Review Committee, each to decide whether to transfer, expel or return a student who assaulted a teacher back to the school where the incident happened.

Administrators are optimistic now about working with teachers to improve school safety.

"Our priority is our students and making sure that they maintain in the classroom and that we provide the recognition and honor to our teachers for all they do to ensure our students have increased outcomes, and that they are cared for and loved," board President N.J. Akbar, who explained school safety as a "multilayered, complex issue."

Hall said the raises given to teachers, which appear to be double what some other new contracts are giving according to the fact-finder's report, will not put the district in "financial ruin."

But freezing teachers' health care costs and increasing their pay — which currently on average is less than most of their peers in Summit County and Ohio's largest cities — will not make avoiding a levy any easier. Hall anticipates that Akron Public Schools will be on the ballot in 2024 asking for new money, something he said it hasn't done for 13 years.

"We were levy imminent before the pandemic," Hall said. "We’re going to have to pass a levy, but it’s not because of the pay raises we agreed to today."

Why the deal for Akron Public Schools teachers took so long

Here are links to the Beacon Journal's previous coverage leading up to the tentative contract between Akron Public Schools and the teachers union.

Talks go long but no deal yet for Akron Public Schools teachers ahead of possible strike

Here's how Akron's average teacher salary compares to other districts

Does Akron Public Schools Superintendent Christine Fowler Mack live in Akron? What we know

As Akron teacher strike looms, when was the last strike in Summit County?

Akron mayor calls on school district, teachers to seek 'swift and agreeable resolution'

Parents of Akron Public Schools students react to news of possible strike by teachers

'Increasingly not safe': Akron schools' staff members say student misbehavior on the rise

'We are listening': APS superintendent says district is addressing school safety concerns

Reach reporter Doug Livingston at dlivingston@thebeaconjournal.com or 330-996-3792.

This article originally appeared on Akron Beacon Journal: Akron teacher strike averted after deal reached, school resumes Monday