- April 26, 2024
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While the Volusia United Educators Organization and Volusia County School District have both proposed a three-year deal, the contents of that deal are still uncertain and there has yet to be an official agreement.
In the most recent statement from the district, the school board negotiating team was reported to have proposed a 5% raise plus an $800 raise in the three-year deal. With this, a 1% raise plus an $800 bonus would take place in the 2018-2019 school year.
However, Union President Andrew Spar said that members were asked if that was what they wanted and around 90% of the responders said they would prefer to spend the bonus on dental and health insurance.
"The district can easily do that with their money," Spar said. "We're cognizant of the fact that the Florida Legislature woefully underfunded our schools, but we think the district can still do more."
One variable in the proposal is that negotiations could change if the proposed raise conditions are not met for the second or third year of the deal.
The district reported that negotiations are also challenging due the increase of base student allocation of 47 cents per student by the legislature. According to the district, Volusia County will receive 45.3 cents per student.
“Teacher pay is a priority for our school board,” Chief Financial Officer Debra Muller said in a prepared statement. “This three-year deal invites the union leadership to share in the same risk our school board faces each year. If the Legislature makes teacher pay a priority, this deal ensures pay raises for our teachers.”
The union is also asking for an increase of 30 minutes to elementary teachers' days, which would be the same as middle and high school teacher work hours. According to Volusia Schools, this would mean teachers work seven hours but are paid for seven-and-a-half hours.
The union and district have not agreed on a teacher attendance incentive as well as bundling early release time and the enforcement of more professional attire.
The district announced that the union negotiating team did not agree on the next date for bargaining, but Spar said there had been no attempt to set another date. He said he is not sure if the district and union will be able to come to an agreement in time for the following school semester.
"We believe in listening to our employees," Spar said. "We wish the school district would do the same."
