Volusia County, FL - The Volusia County School District began negotiations with the teachers union this week to settle details about salaries, benefits, and other items in the contract for the upcoming fiscal year.
The school district says that the Florida Legislature only provided Volusia County Schools an extra 45 cents per student (.01%) to the district’s base student allocation, and that is less than what County schools received from the State a decade ago after inflation.
Additionally, the school district is grappling with a new State mandate to put armed personnel in each of the County's schools following the deadly school shooting in Parkland, FL. The school board says State funding falls at least $2 million short of the cost of complying with the mandate.
“The legislature is not giving school boards the funds to provide the raises employees deserve,” Volusia Schools Superintendent James T. Russell says. “Is it enough? No. But we are doing the best with what we have and will continue to make employee pay a priority when additional funds are given to us by Tallahassee.”
The Volusia School District is proposing a 1% raise and an $800 bonus for teachers. By comparison, Seminole County Schools negotiated a .86% raise for the upcoming school year.
The teachers union has presented a series of offers, initially proposing a 14% raise over a three-year period. The last offer presented by the union was a 12% raise over a three-year period.
Some additional proposals the school district's negotiating team presented to the union include the following:
- A proposal to increase instructional time for Volusia elementary teachers by 20 minutes each day to match the amount of instructional time for Seminole and Flagler County Schools and Volusia County middle schools and high schools
- A proposal to establish a teacher incentive program to increase teacher attendance
- A proposal to replace early release Wednesdays with a reduced school year
- A proposal for more flexibility from some requirements for teachers and principals
The next negotiating session is scheduled for May 1, and the next fiscal year for the school district begins July 1.
Copyright Southern Stone Communications 2018.
