Heights Schools, Teachers Agree To 1-Year Contract

CLEVELAND HEIGHTS, OH — The Cleveland Heights Teachers Union (CHTU) has agreed to a one-year contract with the CH-UH Schools. Both the district and the union said the contract was limited to one-year because of expansions in the state voucher system.

The contract includes a 2-percent salary increase for workers, changes to healthcare plans to contain costs, increased instruction time at the high school, additional student support during the school day and clarification on issues of absences, retention and reductions.

The new contract was approved by the Cleveland Heights-University Heights Board of Education this week. The agreement covers more than 500 district employees, including teachers, school counselors, school psychologists, school nursers and others.

Restricted by Vouchers

In a joint statement from the Board of Education and the union, the groups said negotiations were slow-going and challenging because of the state legislature's decision to expand the EdChoice voucher program, which diverts public education funding to private schools.

“The disparate effect that our school district faces from Ohio’s voucher policy is due to a breakdown in the legislative process, where policymakers insert unvetted policies into the budget legislation,” said CHTU President Ari Klein in a statement.

Despite two years of increased enrollment, the district said it is projecting a $7.8 million loss in funding this year due to EdChoice vouchers alone. An additional $3.2 million in Jon Peterson and Autism vouchers, for students with special needs, will also be lost, the district said.

Each EdChoice voucher costs the district more than it receives in per student funding from the state. EdChoice vouchers are wroth $4,650 for students in grades K-8 and $6,000 for high school students. The program will either pay the full voucher amount or the actual tuition amount, whichever is less.

Approximately 22,500 students in Ohio are part of the EdChoice voucher program and nearly 1,700 of those students live in the Cleveland Heights-University Heights school district.

School officials believe enrollment has increased by about 2-percent each of the past two years, but the district is receiving less funding from the state to educate students.

There is no cap on how much money vouchers can strip from a school district.

Heights High was initially designated an EdChoice school based on its graduation rate from 2012. Over the past three years, Heights High's graduation rate has been above the state average, but the state continues to use old data to direct EdChoice designations and funding, the district said.

The Ohio Board of Education said it uses graduation rate grades, from the state report cards, to determine eligibility in the EdChoice voucher program. The state uses grades from 2013, 2014 and 2018. If districts received a "D" or "F" grade in two of the three years, the school system is eligible for the EdChoice voucher program.

“I appreciate the hard work our teachers and staff have put forth to increase student achievement,” said CH-UH School Board President Jodi Sourini. “Everyone compromised and collaborated to finalize this contract. The CHTU and the CH-UH City School District are united in seeking policy solutions to address this problem, including ensuring that the District is not losing more per voucher than we are receiving from the state and capping the amount a district can lose to vouchers. Above all else, Ohio schools need a fair and equitable school funding formula with a separate funding stream for all vouchers, charters, and scholarships.”