AKRON, Ohio — The members of the Akron Education Association (AEA) have voted to ratify a new contract with Akron Public Schools (APS).
Tuesday's vote by the AEA comes after a tentative deal was reached by the two sides on Sunday just hours before the teachers union was set to go on strike. The Akron Public Schools Board of Education unanimously approved the agreement during a meeting on Monday evening.
"It was really scary to think that we would be striking, it really was very scary," said Joanne Cook a math teacher at Jennings Community Learning Center.
According to a release from the AEA, the new contract is effective dating back to July 1, 2022 through June 30, 2025.
"Educators and students are happy to be in the classroom," said AEA President Pat Shipe in a statement. "Our members, parents, and community voices were heard on the issues of school safety and the need for fair wages."
The AEA says its members will receive wage increases of 4%, 3%, and 3.5% in the three-year deal. Shipe adds that the health care premiums for members will be frozen at the current rate for the duration of the contract, recognizing "the sacrifices and concessions AEA members have made to help contain healthcare costs which saved millions of dollars for the Akron school district."
"Absolutely the safety, not raising our benefits, that's huge, and just getting back to school, getting back into the swing of things, getting back to our kids they're all so happy too," said Karen Dugan, a math teacher at Jennings Community Learning Center.
You can see the key points of the new contract below.
Safety was a key point in the negotiations.
"We were not going to go back to work. We were not going to go back to school with a watered-down definition of assault, so I think the members were ecstatic that we were able to hold the line there," said Don Malarcik, Akron Education Association attorney.
On Monday, Shipe told 3News that with the new contract in place, the work truly starts now, adding, "You can come to an agreement, you can memorialize language in a contract, but there needs to be a lot of action taken."
Shipe says that action includes finding immediate solutions to address violence in buildings in the short term, while addressing long-term solutions surrounding student behavior..
"We got everything we wanted surrounding teacher assault and educator assault," Shipe said. "We believe that will make out teachers, our custodians, secretaries, bus drivers, and the other students safer in our buildings."
School safety is also top of mind for community members, including Shannon Bolinger, who has kids in the Akron Public Schools district.
"I ask our district and our administration: What are they actually going to do to implement better safety policies?" she told 3News. "We need to prevent where we can, support where we need to, and supply resources to everybody. Especially our teachers."