The Bedford school board unanimously voted to lay off a number of classified staff due to the coronavirus pandemic and how it is affecting instruction. The decision, made at the regular board meeting Thursday, is a result of the district’s previous decision to go fully virtual for the first nine weeks of the school year, and the fact that many of the classified staff will not have work to do if students are not physically present.
According to the bargaining agreement the district has with Ohio Association of Public School Employees (OAPSE)Â Local 136, the union that represents the classified employees, the board has the right to reduce the work force in response to changing instruction conditions. There are around 200 jobs that could be affected by the decision, and according to the agreement, these are the categories that may face the layoffs:
– Office personnel
– Building assistants
– Security
– Monitors
– Transportation department
– Nutritional services
– School nurse services
Superintendent Andrea Celico said her heart was heavy in recommending that the board approve this resolution, but she wanted those involved to know that this action is only for the short term.
“We don’t intend this layoff to span longer than we are out of school,” she said. “I know that the board and I both struggled with this decision because we care for, and value, our employees. That is what makes decisions such as these so difficult. The pandemic has taken its toll on so many, and it appears the end is not going to come soon enough.”
She said without students in the buildings, it is almost impossible to keep all of the staff working since their jobs are essentially to serve the students in person. But, Celico said that she and the board will look for ways to continue to employ as many workers as possible in other capacities.
“I have spoken to all of the supervisors and have asked them to create lists of work that can be done as long as the employees are willing to do things that are not in their job descriptions,” she said. “And with that, I believe we have the support of the union leadership as long as the responsibilities are in line with the person’s skill set which is a very fair request.”
Board member Tim Tench stated that he too had been a member OAPSE during a layoff period, and that even though he was called back eventually, he took the layoff personally. He said this situation is not the same.
“If you take anything out of this meeting tonight, I want you to take out that this is not personal,” he said. “This is such a unique situation. This isn’t based on a levy failure. This isn’t based on mismanagement of funds. This was something that was totally out of our control and totally out of the taxpayers’ control. … And you know we’ve got wonderful employees. … We so appreciate all the work that you all have done.”
Tench emphasized that one of the issues the board was worried about in relation to the layoff process was losing such wonderful workers.
“We don’t want to lose anybody,” he said. “That was our main concern. We did not want to lose any employees because of this. So hang in there the best you can and we are going to do the best we can to keep as many people as we can, and I hope you find solace in that to some extent.”
Board member Robert Kennedy followed Tench’s comments with his own feelings about the district’ classified staff.
“I respect immensely the jobs you do,” he said. “To me you are the ‘backbone’ of this district. You are the people nobody sees, but you’re the reason the district moves.”
Celico said that while her hope was that students would be back in school after the first quarter, she said that it is very possible that the virtual-only plan will continue after that first period.
“While I don’t have a crystal ball, and I can hope that our students and staff will be able to return safely in nine weeks, I just don’t believe that is going to happen,” she said. “I pray that I am wrong, and this is one of the times I’ll be glad to be wrong. …”
The start of audience participation at the meeting had to wait for an hour-long executive session to conclude. Then a number of district residents and employees spoke to the board concerning the layoffs and also the hope of continuing with fall sports.
Patricia Taylor, who works with the nutritional services at Columbus Intermediate School, said a major concern for her with the layoffs is the accessibility to health care.
“I know a lot of jobs when you get laid off, that they offer COBRA (insurance), but COBRA is very expensive,” she said. “I think a lot of people I have been talking to out there would say that they would be willing to pay for their school insurance out of their own pockets, if they could be billed for that insurance.”
Denise Goodlet, a bus operator for the district, asked if those laid off would be fully paid during the time they would not be working. Celico responded that if a person from the district is laid off he or she can apply for unemployment, but she was not sure what percentage of their salary would be paid.
Along with the concerns about health insurance, the president of the Local 136 classified staff, Cheryl Cuilli, was concerned about the time it takes for unemployment to kick in. She stated it takes five to six weeks at this present time and it is lengthy to get a check in the mail.
According to the resolution, the effective date of the reduction of force will be on the 31st day following a notice by the superintendent.
Football coach talks about fall sports
Bedford head football coach, Charles Saulter, spoke to the board about the need for fall sports to continue. Saulter was hired as football coach in April 2019 to replace the previous coach who was facing sexual abuse charges. This season would be the second for Saulter and his staff.
“To me this is beyond wins or losses,” Saulter said. “I am concerned about the mentality of our boys right now — not only with the football team, but with the all of the fall sports. I am concerned with the relationships we have had to build over the year to the point when they have finally started to trust us.”
He said the trauma that the team has faced in the past year and a half is even more traumatic now with the postponement of the season. He said the students always had sports to ease those types of tensions, but those outlets have been taken away. He said there are players on his team that need to see his face every day, and the faces of the other coaches, so they can talk to them about the future and about what is going on in the students’ personal lives.
One of those players, Malik Baker, echoed his coaches sentiments while also speaking to the board.
“We were working hard all summer,” Baker said. “We were trying to follow all of the procedures you all have been giving us — and for you to take all that away, it kind of hurts. What else do we have? We don’t want to sit in the house all day. We like to play football — to play a sport that we love. So, I am asking you all nicely, can you bring that sport back to us?”
The board made no official decision about fall sports during the meeting, but stated it is on of the topics they continue to discuss.
In other board business:
– The board approved a purchase agreement that would sell the former Aurora School property located at 24200 Aurora Road in Bedford Heights to COYNE OZ FUND, LLC. The purchase price for the site is $995,000 for 8.38 acres of land.
– The board entered into an agreement with Bellefaire Jewish Children’s Bureau for the admission or special education students attending Monarch School for the 2020-2021 school year.
