Where will money come from to pay for agreement between Columbus City Schools and union?

Public teacher contracts are typically renewed every three years, but school levies to pay for them don't always align with steady revenue and normal, projected growth.

This has come into play as Columbus City Schools finalized a new contract with the Columbus Education Association, the union representing nearly 4,500 teachers, librarians, nurses and others who went on strike last week. An agreement was voted on Sunday that will give members 4% annual raises for the next three years, half of what they had initially sought but more than the district had first offered.

School board members say they will need to pass a property tax levy in November 2024 to fund these increases, but there are still unknowns.

There is one additional nonteacher bargaining unit, the Ohio Association of Public School Employees, along with two other nonbargaining associations that contribute to payroll costs, according to Stanley Bahorek, Columbus Public Schools treasurer.

Bahorek said the board this year also will likely analyze operational efficiency of classrooms to determine if there are other ways to save money.

And state funding remains an unknown, with lawmakers adjusting the proportion that each district gets based on such things as property valuation and household income per capita for students.

Columbus district taxpayers will have to pay more

According to an April report from the Lincoln Institute of Land Policy, a nonprofit think tank in Cambridge, Mass., "Public schools are typically supported by a combination of state aid and local funding. The property tax has been the single largest source of local revenue for schools in the United States, reflecting a strong culture of local control and a preference for local provision."

Finding the right balance to make it work isn't an exact science.

"Districts regularly and routinely review and present information about the current and projected finances of the districts," said Jennifer Hardin, senior deputy director for the Ohio School Boards Association. "Frequently, these communications include alternatives that the board is considering and the consequences that may follow if the facts change."

There currently are nine continuing operating levies for Columbus City Schools, the first dating to 1968.

The timing of when and why districts ask voters to raise their taxes is necessary to ensure that planning and forecasts can be made and that funds are available for proper staffing. So when a district faces higher-than-expected salary increases before funds are available, the imbalance can send ripples of tension among school and finance officials, experts say.

The balance is "based around growth and expenditures, which typically is a faster rate than revenues," said Bahorek. "The key has been in explaining the variables and assumptions I use when I put together a forecast."

For the eight years that Bahorek has been treasurer, his forecasting models typically include a "1% placeholder" or cushion for labor cost variation.

More on the teacher's strike:Columbus City Schools third-grader 'happy' strike over, excited to meet teacher

Levy will be crucial for teacher pay increase

The district had said in negotiations that it could not have afforded the impact of the requested 8% raises without facing new taxes. Instead, the district offered guaranteed raises of 3% annually for three years and a $2,000 per CEA member retention and recruitment bonus.

"An 8% increase (annually) over three years would require an unprecedented property tax levy which, if it failed, would drive the district off a financial cliff," Columbus school board member Carol Beckerle said at the time. "It would lead to severe cuts, including layoffs."

The 4% raises included in the new agreement improve those projections, Bahorek said.

A spokeswoman for the Columbus Education Association said she was offended by the dire forecasts that emerged during bargaining negotiations.

"We are always thrown the gloom and doom, we don't have enough money to give you, talk," said Regina Fuentes, a 24-year English teacher at Eastmoor Academy. "But right after they pass a levy, they seem to find money to give bonuses to administrators ... and different kinds of benefits to their staff and adding to their administrative staff."

Fuentes said she's counted more than 80 administrative positions added under fourth-year Superintendent Talisa Dixon.

"We don't even know what these people do. They have all these high titles making six figures. But they can't find money for teachers?"

The district justifies all administrative positions that "serve a specific purpose to achieve the mission of the district," according to Jacqueline Bryant, district spokeswoman.

"The vast majority of these roles work a year-round schedule, especially non-school-based administrators. Salaries for administrators vary, with the lowest range starting at $51,600 annually," she said.

In addition, she said, Columbus' administrator-to-student ratio of 1-to-200 is better than the state average of 1-to-134.

But Fuentes said using the overall threat of higher taxes is insulting to parents facing inflation and other financial hurdles.

"Our parents are struggling right now. To ask them to pay any more in this economy is a pretty big ask," Fuentes said.

All of the district's funds amount to about $1.8 billion annually, Bahorek said. The district has about $220 million in carryover, or rainy day, balances in its $965 million general fund, and another $200 million in Elementary and Secondary School Emergency Relief funds due to COVID-19, the latter of which will be used for building upgrades, including air conditioning, for all school buildings that are lacking it.

When the time comes to seek additional funds, state law requires that the millage needed by the district be appropriate and certified by the treasurer, school board president and superintendent.

School board leaders say they are constrained by the current funding system.

"If we don't like how that works, then we all need to come together and make legislative change to change school funding. But that is the way it works," said Jennifer Adair, school board president. "Our budget, because our mission is driven by the people who are dedicated and work for us, is mostly to pay people."

Dispatch reporter Michael Lee contributed to this report

dnarciso@gannett.com

@DeanNarciso

This article originally appeared on The Columbus Dispatch: There's a teachers union agreement. But where will money come from?