PERRYSBURG – Recognition of coronavirus-related duties are part of new three-year master agreement with the Ohio Association of Public School Employees.

Superintendent Tom Hosler said a personal day has been added for each employee.

“Certainly, there was a lot of conversation around COVID-19 and staff. They were kind of the front-liners in many of the areas. Just for the life of this contract there was a personal day added for each staff member, to help in recognition with the additional duties they had to do,” Hosler said.

The new OAPSE union contract with the board of education was unanimously approved at the March 2 working group meeting.

Salary increases were part of the contract.

“Salary changes were 1 ½-2%,” Hosler said. “There was language added for reimbursements for such things as boots and coats. When you have maintenance workers and bus drivers going out on cold buses, there was a lot of conversation around getting them reimbursed.”

The OAPSE are various certified support staff, such as bus drivers, custodians, cooks and secretaries.

“The other language changes were rather minor, a lot of back and forth, but at the end day, not a lot of movement,” Hosler said.

In other business, the board unanimously approved a new facility dog internship agreement with Circle Tail, Pleasant Plain, Ohio.

Council member Sue Larimer described a facility dog as being similar to a therapy dog.

Facility Dogs are specially trained to provide physical, social, cognitive or emotional assistance to community members in schools/classrooms, courthouses, sober living homes, funeral homes and hospice centers.

Circle Tail trained dogs have gone through at least a year of specialty training to help support children’s physical, emotional, and cognitive needs. Housing for the dogs is provided by a local foster family or parent.

Hosler said that the goal is to add a second dog to the high school.

He called the first dog a success.

“The dog is in there and the kids really respond to it well. It’s great. It’s another level of emotional support for students,” Hosler said. “When we have had a grieving room set up, when there’s loss, the dog is in there and the kids really respond to it well. It’s just another tool to help the kids with emotions and feeling relaxed and safe.”

The canine intern will be at the school until the end of May. The district must sign a dog adoption agreement within the last 30 days of the internship, or return the dog to Circle Tail.