Pickerington Area Taxpayers Alliance

How many people here have received a 2-3% raise recently and have not had their health insurance costs increase during their last open enrollment period?

Just curious, because it appears the teachers secured that deal... again.



By Realist

Not me

I didn't get that deal.

Is this the same group of teachers that make up the union that supposedly nixed the suggested plan to build one larger school rather than two schools? They certainly seem to carry a lot of clout to not only secure such a pay / benefits deal as well as shoot down alternatives to failed levy proposals.

By Central Mom

My story


With the exception of one year in the last five when health insurance costs were frozen, my salary increase has been between 2.1% - 3.9% while in those same years my health insurance cost has risen 5% - 15%. Other than that one year, I received a pay cut 4 of the last 5 years.

Thanks so much!

See, that?’s part of my problem in being able to support the schools above and beyond what I pay in taxes already. I keep losing money in salary each year so that alone would influence my vote for a levy. Not so much every levy but certainly I am more critical of what they are asking for. They are stuck in a rut of failures but are convinced that if they stick with the same old plan we?’ll eventually buy it.

Anyway, if it is true about the teachers?’ contract, I can?’t help but feel it is a rather big nail in the levy coffin and maybe the last nail. Probably not everyone is losing money like I am every year but almost every person I talk to have their costs keeping real close pace with their income increases meager as they may be.

It?’s been talked about in this forum may times before so I won?’t rehash the same thing but if it is true about the teacher?’s contract it will serve only to make me even more skeptical about the school board?’s ability to run a business the size of this district. They are way past the point where they should have told the teachers and their union ?“Look, we will never pass a levy until the voters see a clear demonstration that we are taking every step possible to cut costs and we mean more than ?‘art on a cart?’. We cannot give you a thing ?– period ?– until we get a construction levy passed and get back on our feet with the operations levies we need to get passed.?”

I guess I also believe that if the employees comprising the majority of the costs of running this business can?’t step up and make concessions than neither can I.

Insurance 3x rate of pay incr

For the past three years I've seen our health insurance expense increase an average of 12.63% each year versus an increase in our income of 4.53% each year. So health expenses are outpacing the inflow by roughly three times. The health insurance moderated a bit this year, up only 5%. The income remains to be seen where it ends up for the year.

I'll continue to vote no as long as I do not see the administration holding the line on compensation expense. Lots of teachers out there looking for jobs, we can tell the PEA that the world has changed and the contract will reflect those changes.