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Rehired teachers: Pay rules are unfair
By BARBARA BEHRENDT, Times Staff Writer
INVERNESS -- In the six years that Margy Hatcher has been back working in Citrus schools after a one-year absence, she has lost $70,000 in salary because the pay rules changed. Hatcher and others who came into the Citrus public schools between 1995 and early January this year were caught in something called the "five-year cap." Those teachers only get credit for up to five years of their teaching experience for pay purposes, even if they simply left the district and were rehired later, like Hatcher. This week, Hatcher, who is a guidance counselor, and about two dozen other teachers begged the School Board to make the pay system fair for all. Although these teachers, who refer to themselves as "cappers," perform the same tasks as less experienced teachers, they earn thousands of dollars less each year. "I'll be 62 in the fall" and eligible to earn just $700 in retirement because of the cap. That's a nice thank you for 30 years," Hatcher told the board. Other teachers argued that the cap was degrading and was destroying teacher morale. Former Citrus County Teacher of the Year Greg Biance, another of the cappers, made a passionate plea for the board to fix the problem. With 20 years in the county, Biance said, "it's been disappointing and frustrating trying to overcome the stubborn and myopic vision we have for teachers in this county," he said. "It's been six long years, and I'm fed up with the political ya ya." Biance said he followed every protocol to find a way to make back the money the cap took from him when he left the district briefly to work at a private school. But none of those avenues helped. "It has slowly tapped into my life juices, and anyone who knows me knows that I have a lot of juice in me," said Biance, who urged the board to "fix the problem . . . because you have done wrong." He complained that the district hasn't given him accurate numbers of how many teachers fall into the capper category, but he wanted to see all teachers brought up to the salary where they need to be. "I think that six years of this stuff is nonsense," Biance said. "Now I'm ticked. I'm ticked. Why? Because I'm a good teacher . . . and this is how we treat our good teachers." Biance got thunderous applause and a standing ovation from many in the room who were wearing black to support teachers. But it was not only the cappers who spoke. Lorraine Gonzales, this year's Citrus County Teacher of the Year, also urged the board to bring all teachers up to where they need to be in pay. "These cappers are among the other dedicated and hard-working educators who make our district great," she said. "How do you deny them the respect and pay they deserve?" The only response to the teachers' pleas came from School Board attorney Richard "Spike" Fitzpatrick, who explained that, because the removal of the cap was a contract issue, the board couldn't respond. The teachers union has been pushing for the district to take money from some fund other than the potential raise funds to fix the cap. The cost to completely fix it is an estimated $1-million, but most of the discussions at the bargaining table have revolved around giving back the first three years of experience to cappers at about a third of that cost. Earlier in the day, several dozen teachers picketed outside the school district office to push for a settlement in their contract. The union and the administration are slated to meet with a mediator today to try to resolve the contract stalemate. The county's teachers have been working under the terms of the 2001-02 pact this year. -- Barbara Behrendt can be reached at behrendt@sptimes.com
or 564-3621.
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