Jackson Falconer
BRADENTON – A five-hour marathon of debate, public comments and discussion on how to resolve a negotiations deadlock between the Manatee School Board and the district's teachers union came to a possible resolution on Tuesday, when the board and the Manatee Education Association held
an impasse hearing on pay and health benefit disputes for the current school year.
The hearing ended in a unanimous vote to approve a pay progression schedule for teachers rated "highly effective" and "effective"; pay bonuses for teachers with lengthy tenure in the district; and a $300 lump sum to all district teachers. The board's approved salary increases still have to be ratified by the MEA's bargaining unit members.
The unanimous vote came after much deliberation between school board members, who weighed if they could add any MEA proposals that were outside of the recommendations made by Superintendent Diana Greene (a two-step increase/three-step increase with one of the following attached: a $300 lump sum payment to all teachers; a non-retroactive, $300 cost of living adjustment; or paying the teacher's portion of the increased health premiums for December 2016 through April 2017) without lowering the district's fund balance to a point where they would risk breaching the state's three percent balance mandate.
Two other items that had been proposed by the MEA in past negotiation sessions–retroactive pay and a broader sharing of health care premium increases among bargaining unit members–were not part of the board's approval package. The school board instead chose to raise the cost of spousal/family coverage significantly to deal with the increased premiums, which the district's Health Insurance Committee had recommended.
In addition to spreading the cost of the increased premiums on much wider scale than the district's proposal, the MEA was also asking for:
- A $1,200 raise for grandfathered salary teachers
- $1.6 million from the district to help reduce the burden of the increased premiums
The insurance coverage has been perhaps been the most contentious topic out of all proposed negotiations between the two sides. Health premiums are to rise by about 12 percent for district employees.
While the union and the school board tentatively agreed to a set of negotiations in October, the MEA's bargaining unit members chose to not ratify the agreement. When negotiations between the two sides failed in November, an impasse was declared, prompting a hearing by Special Magistrate Richard B. Hoffman, who recommended the MEA's proposal to resolve health premium negotiations, as well as its proposal for a 4-3 pay progression plan (which the board adopted at Monday's hearing).
Monday's impasse hearing featured a teacher-packed board chamber that slowly trickled out as the meeting went on, as board members weighed and argued for and against different proposals for what they could give teachers while keeping the district's fund balance above the state mandate of three percent.
The union's side argued the school district's budget could be re-prioritized to allow a place for more generous teacher compensation proposals within its line items. Bruce Proud, representing MEA, said teachers should always be the "highest priority" in the budget.
Proud also compared the district's salaries to those of nearby counties.
He cited districts such as Sarasota and Pinellas, who offer higher teacher salaries, and said the Manatee School District would lose the distinction of having a health benefits package more generous than many nearby districts should the school board's health plan proposal be approved. Without retroactive pay, "the comparability will be even worse," he said, adding that Manatee would lose pace with other districts.
Dr. Bill Vogel, chief negotiator for the district, talked about Manatee's financial disadvantage in comparison to Sarasota and Pinellas. "Those two counties have the additional 1 mill (property tax). For Sarasota County, 1 mill generates $53 million a year and that’s about 10 percent of the budget." He said that if an additional mill were added to property taxes for the Manatee School District, an additional $33 million a year would be generated.
Dr. Vogel said the district's teachers have "more accountability measures than ever before, and have certainly have earned a raise É it's simply a matter of affordability." He added: "If the district accepts the special master's recommendation, the fund balance will fall below three percent."
District CFO Rebecca Roberts agreed: "We are dangerously close (to the three percent fund balance line)," she said. Calling the district's health insurance fund "actuarially unsound," Roberts said the district's contribution to health insurance has grown by 35% since 2014, while employee contributions grew by only 7 percent for same period. 9.57 percent of the district's operating revenue, she said, goes directly to its health insurance fund.
District Attorney Mitch Teitelbaum warned the board of sinking waters ahead should they violate state statute fund balance minimums. The district's financial credibility–which has taken time to recover following 2012's
multi-million dollar shortfall debacle under Superintendent Tim McGonegal–would crack, he predicted.
"Our bond rating (would be) gone. We would be putting ourselves in peril. Danger invites rescue," said Teitelbaum, referring to the possibility of the State of Florida coming in to take control of the district's finances if fiscal statute is not met.
"Ethically, legally, morally, you cannot select an option that would (make the balance go to 3 percent). If you do, tomorrow, the superintendent has to send a letter to the DOE tomorrow (advising so)," said Roberts.
During the public comments part of the meeting, several teachers spoke out about what many said were meager pay gains year after year. "If I were to go to Sarasota, I'd be making $12,000 more a year. What’s gonna happen is if you continue on this downward spiral, there’s going to be a mass exodus," said Dr. Patricia Burns, an educator in the district.
Board members spoke about wanting to do as much as the budget allows for district teachers.
Gina Messenger, who worked as a teacher in Orange and Marion counties before she was elected to the school board, said, "The state is continually giving us a smaller percentage of the budget, and that is a fact. From all of the things that I have read, I did get the distinct impression that teachers were a priority, that they were willing to dip into the fund balance to make that a priority," said Messenger.
Board Chair Charlie Kennedy argued that the board "can't keep doing this piecemeal" when it comes to teacher pay/benefit negotiations. "(Increasing) millage has got to be a permanent plan. Whatever comes out tonight, is temporary."
Dr. Greene said the district is doing everything it can to keep costs down in other areas of the budget. "We are already doing budget cuts. We are in a hiring freeze. We are also taking advantage of every statute É we've already gone back to every department and asked them to cut pretty much 10 percent. We do not touch the schools other than we're in a hiring freeze and if you have someone who leaves, you have to ask permission to replace that person," she said.
Wariness on decreasing the fund balance too much was expressed by board members. "I'm concerned about the risk. If we don't meet the 3 percent–the world doesn't come to an end; you'll just wish it had," said Miner.
The unanimously approved negotiations announced by Kennedy–"4 and 3 steps, longevity, and a $300 supplement"–would leave the district’s fund balance percentage at 3.30 percent, said Roberts.
MEA President Pat Barber expressed uncertainty after adjournment on whether bargaining unit members would ratify the board's decision. "We ended up better than where we started, but health insurance is still problematic," she said. Barber also remarked that not having retroactive pay as part of the approved negotiations "takes away some incentive for people to vote for it."
Dr. Vogel said after meeting's adjournment that he felt "happy with the compromises we were able to reach while keeping the district's fund balance above the required amount."
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