Bowling Green teachers have a three-year contract due to the increasing health of the district’s budget.

The board of education on Wednesday unanimously approved the deal with the Bowling Green Education
Association.
The agreement will run from July 1 to June 30, 2017.
The current one-year contract expires June 30. The deal was reached in one day.
“We’re happy that both sides reached an agreement pretty quick,” said board President Steve Cernkovich.

Superintendent Ann McVey called it “a focused collaborative discussion with the financial well being of
the district in mind.”
The 198 teachers will receive a salary boost of 2.25 percent for each of the three years of the contract.

Longevity increases were not part of the deal, according to Treasurer Rhonda Melchi.
“Because the teachers are not getting step increases, the 2.25 percent somewhat compensates for that but
not completely,” she said.
The additional cost to the district in the first year of the contract is approximately $250,000, she
added. “We can cover it,” she said about the increased expensed.
Teachers also are being asked to pay higher deductibles for medical care
When the one-year contract was agreed upon in 2013, all teaching, classified and administrative staff
accepted salary freezes along with increases in health insurance premium contributions, the loss of
vision coverage and the reduction in severance pay at retirement for unused sick days.
That contract was for one year because of the uncertainty of available funding.
During the past year, several positions were eliminated including a principal, high school dean of
students, two building substitutes, a custodian and a full-time secretary. Another administrative
position had been eliminated earlier in the year. Supply budgets were further reduced 20 percent. Less
experienced staff replaced the 20-plus employees who retired at the end of the 2012-2013 school year
also resulting in savings for the district, according to a press release issued by administrators.