Teachers likely to get a bump in pay
Their union tentatively accepts a deal providing for raises of $600 to $800. A higher offer was made in May but was not accepted.
By BARBARA BEHRENDT
Published January 13, 2005
INVERNESS - To settle this year's lengthy contract talks - and to get pay raises into teachers' pockets - the teachers union on Wednesday tentatively accepted a pay raise package that was better than the administration's last offer but not as good as its original offer.
Under the tentative pay package, which totals $748,000, teachers would receive a $600 increase on the salary scale. That would jump to $800 for those at the top of the pay scale. If approved, the raises would be retroactive to the beginning of the school year - a point the union, formally known as the Citrus County Education Association, pushed to win on Wednesday.
The package didn't have unanimous support from members of the union negotiating team, but it did win a consensus, said Sandra Armstrong, the union's executive director.
"We can all live with it. No one will bad-mouth it," Armstrong said. "But it was difficult."
The deal would increase the starting salary to $29,600 for a teacher with a bachelor's degree. For a bachelor's degree level teacher at the top of the scale, the increase would bring the top salary to $41,725. Teachers earn additional pay if they have an advanced degree.
Teachers and the School Board must ratify the package. The board is set to vote on Feb. 8.
Also tentatively approved Wednesday was an increase in the percentage of unused sick days employees can be paid for when they retire under the state's deferred retirement program. The number would increase from 50 percent to 90 percent, which is the amount other retirees receive.
Teachers have been working under their old contract and pay scale since the school year began in August.
The offer Wednesday from the administration was more than the $577,000 offered last fall but less than the $1.044-million placed on the table in May. Teachers opted to reject the May offer and suspend negotiations until later in the year, when they hoped school officials had a better picture of their financial status.
Unfortunately for the teachers, when they returned, administrators said finances had gotten worse, not better.
Teachers rejected the lower offer in the fall and argued that money should not have been taken off the table once it had been placed there. They took their case to the Florida Public Employees Relations Commission.
Last month, the commission rejected the allegation of unfair labor practice. With Wednesday's tentative approval, union leaders agreed to withdraw the unfair labor practice claim. The union still could have appealed the PERC ruling.
Armstrong said the action was dropped "so our teachers could get paid . . . and as an effort for union to build a relationship and a trust with the board."
On Wednesday, the administration team said the financial picture was slightly better than the last time they were at the table with the teachers. The October student count had turned up more students than expected. Student population is a key factor in the amount of state money the district receives.
Teachers ended Wednesday's session saying they hoped the settlement marked a sign of more cooperative negotiations in the future.
"It's been a long haul, but we're pleased with how well we've been cooperating together," said Deborah Platt, chief union negotiator.
The teams hope to return to the table in March to begin bargaining for the 2005-06 school year.
Support personnel represented by the Citrus County Education Association will meet next week to discuss their 2004-05 contract. Armstrong said she was hopeful that the group, which represents secretaries, aides and clerks, will also be able to reach a tentative agreement.
The Teamsters, which represents the district's blue-collar workers, is set to meet with the administration team Jan. 27. They were the only group to tentatively approve pay bonuses to their workers in the fall, but then the membership of the union rejected the contract, sending them back to the table.
Barbara Behrendt can be reached at 564-3621 or behrendt@sptimes.com