The Leon Classroom Teachers Association began contract negotiations with district representatives Tuesday with one mission: to come to an agreement quickly.
"Educators have worked most of the year without a current contract for far too long, leaving teachers to worry about their finances," LCTA President Scott Mazur told the Tallahassee Democrat.
Negotiations launched Tuesday, just as candidates for superintendent and the school board prepared to be grilled about hot button issues, like teacher pay, during candidate forums.
No salary figures were proposed by the teachers, nor was one offered by the district during the meeting. But the union did present a proposal with adjusted contract language clarifying professional duties, emergency protocols and classroom size and management.
But they started off addressing a no-nonsense desire to get things done as early as September, Mazur said, which is when the district's budget will be finalized and approved.
"It would be irresponsible of me now, without having a clear picture of our current financial condition, to start making offers in regard to any salary increases," Superintendent Rocky Hanna told the Tallahassee Democrat after the meeting.
The district received about $2 million from the state for salaries for the upcoming school year. Hanna said his team would try and find a way to add on to the amount without jeopardizing the district's finances.
Brett Shively, the district's director of human resources, said they don't plan to have a financial offer until August, which is after the first tentative budget hearing in July, and before the budget approval in September.
The most recent bargaining session lasted 10 months, with teachers battling for salary compression to be resolved and veteran teacher pay to be raised. The district, meanwhile, searched for a middle ground as the expiration of COVID relief dollars and the state's voucher program loomed over its budget plans.
Negotiations ended with a $5.12 million budget for teachers. But budget constraints led to cuts of 69 academic interventionists positions at middle and high schools, and the dismissal of the district's general counsel, Will Spillias, who routinely sits in on bargaining sessions, Hanna said.
Here's what the teachers want
The teachers' proposal calls for clear communication with employees in the event of any emergency before parents and the public, citing the chaotic response May 10 when tornadoes ripped through the city, just as faculty and staff were starting their workday at select school sites.
In addition, Mazur said teachers are professionals and should be treated as such. So, the teachers asked that they not be required to submit lesson plans for review unless they are on a monitored action plan.
"If you really want to know whether or not teaching is taking place you have to go in the classroom," Mazur told the district representatives present.
Class size limits were proposed to be solidified in the contract to stay consistent with state law, and if they exceed the state's limits, the classroom teacher should be compensated.
State law requires that prekindergarten through third grade classrooms have a class size limit of 18, grades four through eight have a limit of 22, and high school classes have a limit of 25.
The teachers proposed that if class sizes exceed the state's requirements, the classroom teacher should receive additional compensation for each student. For high school classes, the teacher would get an extra $300 per student, for prekindergarten through third grade the student would get $500 and for grades four through eight, the teacher would get $400.
Alaijah Brown covers children & families for the Tallahassee Democrat. She can be reached atABrown1@gannett.com. Follow her on Twitter/X:@AlaijahBrown3.
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