The Reynoldsburg school board voted last night to prepare for a worst-case scenario in its contract dispute with the district's teachers, agreeing to hire a firm that would bring in other employees to teach students. By a 4-0 vote, the board hired a Michigan-based strike-management company to help the district recruit substitute teachers if the district's 350 teachers move forward with a strike.

The Reynoldsburg school board voted last night to prepare for a worst-case scenario in its contract dispute with the district�s teachers, agreeing to hire a firm that would bring in other employees to teach students.

By a 4-0 vote, the board hired a Michigan-based strike-management company to help the district recruit substitute teachers if the district�s 350 teachers move forward with a strike.

The district�s contract with Huffmaster, of Troy, Mich., is $81,000. It would go into effect if teachers give a 10-day strike notice. Board member Joe Begeny, who is a teacher for Columbus City Schools, abstained.

The vote came after another large showing by teachers, students and community members at last night�s school board meeting.

More than 600 people – similar to the crowd at last month�s school board meeting – flooded the performing-arts center at Reynoldsburg High School�s Summit Road campus. Many of them were teachers wearing shirts that supported the Reynoldsburg Education Association.

Many of those teachers also wore buttons with the message, �I Don�t Want to Strike but I Will."

Superintendent Tina Thomas-Manning declared her hopes of working with the union to reach a contract.

Some of those who attended last night were parents and students who raised their concerns to the school board, criticizing its initial bargaining proposal, which included a performance-based pay plan.

�Please resume negotiations with our children in mind, by asking yourselves if these proposed changes are in the best interests of our future leaders,� said parent Linda Winters. �Please continue this in good faith and do what you must do to avoid a strike.�

The Reynoldsburg district serves about 7,000 students, who started the new school year last week. Leaders for the teachers union have not yet declared what they plan to do, though members OK�d a strike if necessary just before classes resumed.

Prior to that, the school board and union had met in a two-day, 20-hour bargaining session.

Both sides are to meet with a federal mediator, though no dates have been scheduled yet. The contract expired in July.

Though the two sides did not reach a tentative pact when they met recently, they did come to a conceptual three-year agreement that would include a 2 percent cost-of-living increase in the first year. The second year of that contract plan would mean teachers could receive a 1.7 percent base pay raise and additional compensation based on performance evaluations: 3 percent for teachers rated �accomplished,� 2 percent for �skilled� teachers and 1 percent for teachers rated � developing.�

Teachers also could get $4,000 bonuses for outstanding performance in the classroom and for work beyond their duties.

Under that most recent proposal, the school board and teachers union would reopen negotiations for salary in the third year.

The district would continue providing health insurance, charging employees a 10 percent share of the cost instead of a flat amount. The health insurance was a major point of contention in initial proposals: The school district at first called for getting rid of the health-insurance plan.

Last night, teachers and community members quietly filed into the performing-arts center and remained standing as the board started its meeting. After the Pledge of Allegiance, they held up signs that read, �Our Community Deserves Better.�

Like last month�s board meeting, they were joined by members of other local teachers� unions and leaders from the Ohio Education Association.

�This has got to end by you – by standing strong for yourselves, other educators and the students of Ohio,� OEA President Becky Higgins said.

cboss@dispatch.com

@cvrboss