Top titles of the week, June 13, 2025
Here are some stories that you may have missed this week in the center of Ohio.
- Hilliard teachers obtained a new contract with annual increases of 3.5%, 3.25% and 3.25% in the next three years.
- Contributions to health insurance premiums will gradually drop from 15% to 17% over the next two years, as well as higher deductibles and direct maximums.
A new contract for teachers of the Hilliard City school district offers educators annual increases while increasing their health insurance premiums.
Basic salary will increase 3.5% for the 2025-26 school year, then 3.25% for the next two years.
This is higher than the increase in salary in the last union contract, which was 2% of annual increases and bonuses of $ 1,000, The distribution reported at the time.
However, contributions to health insurance premiums will increase slightly, from 15% to 16%, from January, then to 17% in 2027. Pocket deductibles and maximums will also increase from January, according to a document that a district spokesman shared with the distribution.
Changes in health insurance costs occur, prices have also increased for the district, said Superintendent David Stewart in an interview.
The Hilliard school board unanimously approved the provisional agreement at its meeting of the board of directors of June 9.
“I know, as a teacher myself, that things in the world of education feel a little tumultuous at the moment. I hope this gives our teachers and educators a feeling of security and comfort during this period, “said Kara Crowley, our teachers, According to unofficial meeting notes.
The contract is valid until June 30, 2028.
A representative of the Hilliard teachers’ union did not respond to several requests for comments.
Some other changes to the contract include more autonomy on planning time – from 40% to 60% – and staff meetings do not exceed three per month, instead of once a week.
Teachers will also get $ 10 more when they lose a planning period to cover another teacher, from $ 35 to $ 45.
Stewart said that he was monitoring the current speech on the financing of state education – certain proposals have reduced the financing of public schools – but that the increase in the cost of the Union contract is smaller than the potential effect that certain invoices would have on the district.
“Some of the things that the General Assembly consider would have such a seismic effect that acceptance of an increase of 3.5% will really not change the enormity of this impact,” said Stewart.
Negotiations began in February and ended towards the end of the school year in late May or early June, Stewart said.
“Like any negotiation, there was a lot of dialogue, a lot of problem solving,” said Stewart about the contract talks. “At the end of the negotiation, no one left with everything they wanted, but I think the two parties came out of it thinking that they finished a contract which was fair and appropriate and reasonable for both parties.”
While the board of directors has approved a “provisional” agreement, Stewart said that no information will change because it was ratified by the board of directors and the union.
While the board of directors and the teachers of Hilliard have entered into an agreement, hundreds of educators from the South Western Education Association and their supporters A market towards the meeting of the School Board of this district June 9 to put pressure for a resolution of negotiations on a new contract there. Negotiations for a new contract have been underway since March.
Anna Lynn Winfrey covers the western suburbs of the Dépêche de Columbus. It can be reached awinfrey@dispatch.com.