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Board, teachers grapple over pay issues
By BARBARA BEHRENDT © St. Petersburg Times, published April 11, 2001 INVERNESS -- While the School Board was getting a basic primer on school district budgeting Tuesday morning, in the basement of the same building the teachers union was emphasizing that the existing faculty better be the board's financial priority. "The current Citrus County instructional personnel must be considered first, before recruitment, before bonuses, before the removal of an administrative five-year cap," said Pat Allen, spokeswoman for the Citrus County Education Association at the start of Tuesday's negotiations. "We are the backbone of our school system. Without us, the district would be hard-pressed to maintain our current educational standards," Allen said. She also reminded administration negotiators that her team hopes to wrap up negotiations by the end of the school year. At a previous session, the CCEA had asked for pay raises a half-million dollars higher than the salary improvements last year. But officials are saying that the budget year ahead may be a tight one. That is what Superintendent David Hickey was telling the School Board during its Tuesday morning budget workshop. At that session, Finance Director Sam Hurst walked the board through the budget process, explained where the district spends its money and assured the district that it has a healthy bottom line as the fiscal year begins to wind down. In fact, he told the board its final fund balance might be nearly 6 percent of its total budget and a good range for fund balances tops out around 5 percent. Hurst asked for guidance from the board so he could prepare the information they specifically wanted to see once more details are known about state money. Meanwhile, the union and administration grappled with finding new options for teachers as they decide how to collect on unused sick time as they leave the district. CCEA team members also made it clear that, with the tight budget, they were not recommending that any changes are made in the supplemental pay received by teachers who do special duties such as coaching and sponsoring clubs. Chief administration negotiator Ed Murphy asked whether that could be reconsidered if more funding comes into the district than expected. Union executive director Carl Harner noted that nothing was final.
 © 2006 • All Rights Reserved • St. Petersburg Times
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