Coldwater BOE inks pact with teachers

COLDWATER - Coldwater school board members approved Monday evening a new three-year contract with the teachers' union and promoted high school guidance counselor Natalie Kanney to a new counseling and mental health position covering grades K-12.

Board members, who started the regular meeting by going into a roughly 30-minute executive session to discuss employment and compensation, gave their blessing to a master contract with the Coldwater Teachers' Organization, effective July 1, 2026, to June 30, 2029.

Under the terms of agreement, teachers will receive a 2.5% increase of base salary for the first year of the contract. There will be step increases but no salary raises the last two years of the contract.

"Going into negotiations, we recognized that our teacher salaries have fallen behind surrounding districts," Superintendent Doug Mader said in a prepared statement. "The agreement reached does not close that gap, and with other districts currently negotiating, that gap continues to grow."

However, Mader said teachers "demonstrated a clear understanding" of the district's financial outlook and the importance of maintaining fiscal responsibility.

"This agreement positions us to avoid deficit spending through 2030. Quite simply, this is what it means to live within your means," Mader insisted.

Mader pointed to the current five-year forecasts posted on the Ohio Department of Education and Workforce website.

"Coldwater stands as the only district (in our area) not in deficit spending through 2030," he highlighted. "This is a direct result of community support through the levy, strategic planning, thoughtful staffing decisions that prioritize the classroom and strong financial leadership."

Mader praised the efforts of both the district and union negotiating teams.

"Negotiations are never easy, but the collaboration and professionalism demonstrated by both teams were truly remarkable," he said. "Our district and community should be grateful for the shared commitment to the vision of Coldwater schools."

Union president Thad Forsthoefel made a statement to The Daily Standard.

"I want to thank the board of education, Mr. Mader and Treasurer Jenn McCoy for their cooperation, open dialogue and transparency," he said. "Our discussions are always cordial, sincere, and it's wonderful working with them. I'd also like to add that the Coldwater teachers have consistently helped the community financially over the years."

Forsthoefel also noted that the union's leadership team engaged Mader in a series of pre-negotiation sessions, just as it had done three years ago.

"Teachers come in on the negotiating team. (Mader) will speak and presents scenarios, and we ran through many, many spreadsheets; he prepared so many things. He has a business background. So it shows," he said. "We had all these different spreadsheets and these scenarios and we go through them, run the numbers, go through them, run the numbers. So it's impressive. It's a lot of work."

Mader took a moment during his statement to address Ohio private schools.

"When you watch the news today, you'll hear conversations about funding shifts toward private schools - including over a billion dollars a year in public funding - often accompanied by claims of higher performance," Mader said. "However, those comparisons are difficult to measure, as private schools are not held to the same accountability standards or state assessments as public schools."

Mader said he believes it's important, especially for lawmakers, to "take a close look at public rural schools in our area."

"We are doing things the right way, even when we're asked to do more with less," he said. "That said, I remain incredibly thankful for what we have in Coldwater. We are fortunate to have a staff that understands and supports the vision of our district. I hope our community continues to recognize and appreciate what our teachers do every single day for our students."

Board members also moved to accept the resignation of high school guidance counselor Natalie Kanney, effective at the end of this school year, and to promote her to director of counseling and mental health, for next school year.

This is a newly created position.

"That's K through 12, and she will be overseeing all of the guidance, but also direct all of our mental health needs," Mader told the newspaper after the meeting. "That was brought about during our strategic plan sessions, where parents and students both asked for that."

Eric Woeste, a 2003 Coldwater High School graduate, was tapped to fill the high school guidance counselor position for next school year. He's been at Celina City Schools for the last 14 years, according to high school principal Jason Hemmelgarn.

"His tech background is really impressive," Mader said about Woeste. "I think he's going to really bring some really good skills to it. With him and Natalie working together, it really fills that gap for mental health for our whole district."

Kanney took a moment to address the board.

"I just want to thank you all, too, for looking at the need and being willing to allow these positions to happen," Kanney said. "We're really excited about it."

The school board meets next at 6 p.m. June 16 in the high school Cav Room.