The Lima City School Board is officially done with contract negotiations.
The board approved contracts for the Lima Education Association and OAPSE.
The LEA agreed to a two percent cut in pay, but teachers keep their step increases.
OAPSE agreed to freeze wages, but eliminated step increases. The district also agreed to give first preference to laid-off employees if it rehires for those positions within three years.
All three unions within the district are now operating under new contracts. The negotiations with all three helped the district balance its $3.8 million budget deficit.
"We're very appreciative of them stepping up and recognizing the gravity of the financial situation and making the concessions that they made in order to continue to advance our education for our students," Superintendent Karel Oxley said.
"We know the system is in financial trouble and we want to do what we can to help them and keep as many people working as possible," Sandy Wheeler, OAPSE 306 President, said.
The school board also received an update on the district's five year plan. Treasurer Ryan Stechschulte says almost everything is on track, but open enrollment and charter school expenses increased more than the district anticipated, but Stechschulte says there is still a lot of uncertainty in the plan.
"For the future we're kind of holding off a bit because we need to see what's going to happen with the state budget and then also what happens with Senate Bill 5," Stechschulte said.
Board members also approved the sale of the Academy of Learning. The West Central Learning Academy is buying it for $55,000.
