Columbus schools will go online if teachers strike

The first day of school for Columbus City Schools could be anything but normal, with teachers threatening to go on strike two days before students return on Aug. 24.

The latest: The Columbus Education Association will decide whether to strike this Sunday, the day its current employment contract expires.

• Administrators are preparing to start the school year online if that happens, with substitutes and teachers who choose to continue working.

By the numbers: That won't be easy. The district has about 4,000 teachers and a pool of 600 substitutes, a spokesperson told Axios last month.

Between the lines: The union is asking for 8% annual base pay raises for three years, the district alleges in a complaint with the State Employment Relations Board obtained by Axios.

• That's in addition to "step increases" to award seniority that are already built into a salary schedule.
• The district extended 3% annually for three years in a "final offer" and the union refuses to counteroffer, it says.

The other side: Union spokesperson Regina Fuentes tells Axios compensation hasn't been negotiated yet because the sides can't agree on other employment issues such as class size, outsourced jobs, and facility conditions, including delayed air conditioning projects.