School, teachers agree to new three-year contract

NORWALK — The Norwalk City Schools and the Norwalk Teachers Association agreed to a new three-year contract Tuesday night. While the teachers agreed to pay a higher amount for insurance, the board agreed to a 1.75 percent increase in year one, 1.75 percent increase in year two and a 2 percent increase in year three. The new contract begins on July 1 of this year and ends on June 30, 2025. The board and the NTA met on three separate occasions in February and March. A mediator from the Federal Mediation and Conciliation Service trained the board and NTA representatives on interest-based bargaining, Norwalk Superintendent Brad Cooley said, adding "The process allowed for positive and productive discussions between the two parties with labor, management and student services at the forefront." "The board and the NTA look forward to working together to provide an unparalleled experience for our Norwalk Truckers," Cooley said. The board will now turn its attention to a new contract with OPSE (Ohio Association of Public School Employees). "This is my first negotiations, so you have heard all of the horror stories in the past," Cooley said. "It was great. It was seamless. Worked well with the teachers. We came in the middle. "We have ours where we came with and the other side has where they are coming with. We were every straight forward. There was no looking to a pie-in-the-sky ... it is very fair." Teachers worked last year on a salary freeze, but they each got a $1,000 stipend, according to the superintendent. "It was due. It is fair with what we can do," Cooley said. "Very pleased with this. Insurance is slightly higher that what they have paid. That was kind of the exchange where the teachers said 'we are willing to give in.'"