In Ohio and other states, an increasing number of school districts are requiring teachers to pay more for health coverage, angering underpaid teachers and generating talks of strikes. According to an article in Ohio’s Akron Beacon Journal, several Ohio districts are scrambling to settle negotiations with teacher unions over higher health costs before the school year begins. According to the Ohio Education Association, Ohio’s largest teacher union, some districts’ additional medical costs are offsetting teacher raises, resulting in pay cuts. But, Renee Fambro, an Ohio School Board Association official, is unsympathetic. She says requiring teachers to cover up to 10 percent of their premiums is acceptable and comparable to the policies of other public and private employers. “I was shocked that [teachers] had the sort of coverage that they did,” Fambro said. “There were still districts [where teachers]...paid nothing.”
Facing similar worries, Pennsylvania teachers are also fighting to hold onto to their salaries and health benefits.