A mediation hearing has been set for Jan. 23 between Brevard Public Schools and the union that represents the county’s approximately 5,000 teachers.
The magistrate will hear from both sides and issue a recommendation on whether the School Board should offer teachers a higher pay raise than the 1.5 percent that is currently on the table. The magistrate’s recommendation is non-binding, meaning that the School Board could choose to ignore it.
Special Magistrate M. Scott Milinski will mediate the case between the School Board and the Brevard Federation of Teachers. Special magistrates are appointed to two-year terms by the state Public Employees Relations Commission and are tasked with resolving impasses in labor negotiations. Under Florida law, magistrate costs are split equally by both parties at the table. Milinski’s listing on the PERC website states that he charges $1,100 a day for his services, plus a half-day’s rate for travel each way. He is based in Pompano Beach.
School Board member Tina Descovich, who represents the south barrier island, said she doesn’t expect the hearing to change anything. Descovich said there isn’t more money to give, unless budget cuts are made in other areas. She called on the union to tell the School Board what programs and services should be limited in order to fund a higher pay raise.
“What do you want us to not do? Tell me, fairly what you want us to cut,” Descovich said. “I would love to have a huge raise for all of our good teachers every single year. Unfortunately, it’s a balancing act.”
Representatives from the union say the School Board should make teacher raises a priority, or risk losing teachers to other areas that pay more. Union Vice President Anthony Colucci said the county already has unfilled teacher positions, and could face more in the future.
“I hope they understand that compensation is crucial to avoiding this teacher shortage,” Colucci said.
Average teacher pay in Brevard County is $47,723 a year, just below the state average of $47,858. Median income for teachers nationwide is about $54,000.
Brevard teachers received a 1.3 percent raise last year. Their highest salary increase in recent years was 5.1 percent in 2016.
The School Board and the union met in early December and agreed on all other points of the contract, including a policy that contract teachers will be automatically re-appointed after two positive evaluations in a row. Currently, contract teachers have no guarantee of retaining their jobs and often have to wait months to find out if they will be re-hired.
Colucci said he hopes the two sides can return to the bargaining table again before the magistrate hearing.
In the meantime, the union is calling on teachers to “work to the contract” once school resumes after the holiday break. Teachers who choose to do so would only do the work stipulated in their current contract – meaning they would not support or participate in extracurricular activities, or do any “extra” non-compensated work outside of the regular school day.
Working to the contract is a symbolic way for teachers to protest. Florida law prohibits public employees – including teachers – from striking or initiating work slowdowns.
Story by: Jan Wesner Childs, Correspondent
