Onaway teachers make concessions in new contract

by Peter Jakey, Managing Editor

Tough decisions. They?ve not been relegated to just the shoulders of the Onaway Area Community Schools board of education. The teachers of the district have made several as well.

A new teacher contract was approved at Tuesday?s regular school board meeting with wage concessions of two-and-a-half percent each of the next two years, as well as freezes to step increases.

According to interim superintendent Rod Fullerton, the savings will be about $130,000 each year, but a financial sacrifice by the teachers to be sure.

?I THINK THE teachers should be praised for taking the steps that they took,? said Fullerton, prior to the board?s unanimous vote to approve the contract. ?It was a very frank negotiation session. I certainly appreciate the fact that our teachers are very aware of the current economic climate. They are very aware of what our situation is. I think they should be praised for that.?

?I am proud of our teaching staff’s overwhelming approval of the contract,? said Max Boettger, Onaway Federation of Teachers president. He said the union has w

orked well with the district?s administrative staff to help try and keep a ?sound financial footing? for the district. Fullerton said he was going to be working with Boettger in the coming days to iron out final language details.

DURING TUESDAY?S meeting, he said personal days before extended breaks, such as Christmas, spring break or Thanksgiving will only be two teachers per building. ?Only six total in the district can go at once,? said Fullerton. There will be added language specifying how many sick days can be transferred to another employee, so each situation is treated the same, said Fullerton.

Additionally, teacher start times on Monday and Friday will be 8 a.m., compared to 7:45 a.m. previously; however, student contact time has been increased by 15 minutes to 8:15 a.m., instead of 8:30 a.m.