Creating pay equity for Career Tech Educators
As the demand for Career Tech education continues to grow in Ohio, Career Tech programs continue to struggle to attract and retain educators to serve students because of problems with the way most salary schedules are structured. Career Tech educators often have years or decades of prior experience in the private sector - and the expertise they can share with their students is invaluable as a result - but many do not have the advanced degrees that other educators who took a more traditional path to the classroom often do, so Career Tech educators' salaries often don't reflect the value they bring to our schools. The Greene County Career Center Education Association recently bargained a new kind of salary schedule and new contract language to change that, and now they're hoping other local associations will follow their lead.
SEE THE GCCCEA COLLECTIVE BARGAINING AGREEMENT AND SALARY SCHEDULE | Greene County Career Center Education Association President Doug Picard is happy to show other local leaders what his association accomplished in its latest negotiations and share his insight about how it could be replicated for other educators across the state. You can reach Doug by email at douglaspicard@gmail.com
LISTEN TO OUR PREVIOUS CONVERSATION | Regular Public Education Matters listeners may recognize Doug Picard from a previous episode this season. Doug reached out with the follow up discussed in this episode after an earlier conversation about the Growing Demand for Career Tech in Ohio. Click here to listen to that conversation in Season 5, Episode 17.
SUBSCRIBE | Click here to subscribe to Public Education Matters on Apple Podcasts or click here to listen on Spotify so you don't miss a thing. You can also find Public Education Matters on many other platforms, including YouTube. Click here for links for other platforms so you can listen anywhere. And don't forget you can listen to all of the previous episodes anytime on your favorite podcast platform, or by clicking here.
SOCIAL SECURITY FAIRNESS | For too long, the federal Government Pension Offset and Windfall Elimination Provisions of the Social Security Act have unfairly hurt Career Tech educators, who often enter the education profession after private sector careers. At the end of 2024, Sen. Sherrod Brown's Social Security Fairness Act passed in Congress. Click here to read OEA's statement on the landmark legislation.
SEE THE GCCCEA COLLECTIVE BARGAINING AGREEMENT AND SALARY SCHEDULE | Greene County Career Center Education Association President Doug Picard is happy to show other local leaders what his association accomplished in its latest negotiations and share his insight about how it could be replicated for other educators across the state. You can reach Doug by email at douglaspicard@gmail.com
LISTEN TO OUR PREVIOUS CONVERSATION | Regular Public Education Matters listeners may recognize Doug Picard from a previous episode this season. Doug reached out with the follow up discussed in this episode after an earlier conversation about the Growing Demand for Career Tech in Ohio. Click here to listen to that conversation in Season 5, Episode 17.
SUBSCRIBE | Click here to subscribe to Public Education Matters on Apple Podcasts or click here to listen on Spotify so you don't miss a thing. You can also find Public Education Matters on many other platforms, including YouTube. Click here for links for other platforms so you can listen anywhere. And don't forget you can listen to all of the previous episodes anytime on your favorite podcast platform, or by clicking here.
SOCIAL SECURITY FAIRNESS | For too long, the federal Government Pension Offset and Windfall Elimination Provisions of the Social Security Act have unfairly hurt Career Tech educators, who often enter the education profession after private sector careers. At the end of 2024, Sen. Sherrod Brown's Social Security Fairness Act passed in Congress. Click here to read OEA's statement on the landmark legislation.
Featured Public Education Matters guests:
- P.R. Frank, Greene County Career Center Education Association member
- An educator for 31 years, P.R. Frank came to CTE in 2007 after 15 years as a public school educator. He helped to start three successful Dayton schools, has led teacher professional development, and has taught in classrooms ranging from elementary to post-secondary education. Prior to joining a career technical school, P.R. enjoyed developing his own small business as a digital media creator in his spare time. He champions great curriculum design, excellent teaching, and giving students a step up in life pursuits.
- Doug Picard, Greene County Career Center Education Association President
- Doug Picard is in his sixth year as a manufacturing and engineering instructor at the Greene County Career Center (GCCC) in Xenia, Ohio. Before joining GCCC, he served 21 years in the U.S. Air Force, where he taught in classrooms, developed avionics test programs, and authored technical policies. At GCCC, his teaching emphasizes human-centered design and adaptive technologies to support underrepresented communities. Picard has also collaborated with the University of Dayton and Central State University as a research mentor for their Global STEM Research Experience for Teachers where he studied engineering in developing areas in Ecuador and India. Over the next three years, he will work with these universities, along with Wright State University, on a National Science Foundation-funded Research Experience for Teachers focused on electronics and semiconductors.
Connect with OEA:
- Email educationmatters@ohea.org with your feedback or ideas for future Public Education Matters topics
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- Keep up to date on the legislation affecting Ohio public schools and educators with OEA's Legislative Watch
About us:
- The Ohio Education Association represents nearly 120,000 teachers, faculty members and support professionals who work in Ohio’s schools, colleges, and universities to help improve public education and the lives of Ohio’s children. OEA members provide professional services to benefit students, schools, and the public in virtually every position needed to run Ohio’s schools.
- Public Education Matters host Katie Olmsted serves as Media Relations Consultant for the Ohio Education Association. She joined OEA in May 2020, after a ten-year career as an Emmy Award winning television reporter, anchor, and producer. Katie comes from a family of educators and is passionate about telling educators' stories and advocating for Ohio's students. She lives in Central Ohio with her husband and two young children.
The interview for this episode was recorded on April 14, 2025.
