Maple Heights Teachers Ass'n v. Maple Heights Board of Education

At issue herein is the meaning and application of the “longevity” sentence inserted at the very bottom of the salary schedule set forth in the 1979 master agreement and the association’s newsletter’s interpretation of that sentence.

The disputed sentence provides generally that longevity increments will be based on total teaching service as defined by the Ohio Revised Code. Its plain language refers to the Ohio Revised Code, not to any specific section therein. We agree with the following:

“It is a fundamental rule of statutory construction that sections and acts in pari materia, that is ‘in…