The Brevard Federation of Teachers has officially declared an impasse with the school district in contract negotiations over teacher salaries and other issues.
The union says School Board members have failed to uphold their promise that teacher salaries are a top priority.
“The district doesn’t budget for raises,” BFT president Anthony Colucci said. “They spend nearly all the money and see what’s left to offer as raises. They are not bargaining in good faith.”
The union asked for an annual raise of $3,594 for teachers rated “highly effective,” which is the category most of the district’s approximately 5,000 teachers fall in. The district offered $770.
BFT wants $2695.50 more for those rated “effective.” The district offered $549. The district also offered a one-time $1,000 bonus.
Colucci said the numbers are based on what teachers are paid in other counties nearby.
“We are not asking for anything unreasonable,” he said. “We believe that our teachers deserve raises comparable to our contiguous and similar-size counties.”
Brevard Public Schools spokesman Matt Reed said the district simply can’t afford to pay teachers that much.
“The district doesn’t have any source of money that could pay a raise as large as the union asked,” Reed said. “It probably would have to lay off school support staff to generate enough savings.” Average annual pay for Brevard County Teachers is $47,065, according to the Florida Department of Education. The average teacher salary in Florida was $48,168 for the 2017-2018 school year, ranging from a high of $58,326 in Monroe County to a low of $37,144 in Gadsden County. Nationwide, teachers are paid an average of $58,353.
A memo sent out to district staff last week detailing the negotiations with the union stated that, under the current proposed amount, money for the raises would come from budget savings elsewhere and some state funding.
The memo also stated that “the school board funded no other new budget priorities or major projects this year, making pay increases for BPS teachers and staff its No. 1 local priority.”
The impasse means a session will be scheduled with a special magistrate. A magistrate is a private mediator who works to bring both sides to agreement. The same process was put into motion last year during negotiations, but the union and the district came to an agreement before the meeting was held.
Teachers in Florida are prohibited by law from striking, and negotiations are non-binding. The school board has the final say on a contract, and can approve it with or without the union’s consent.
Other issues the union wants hammered out in the contract have to do with faulty air conditioning in many schools, planning time, student discipline issues and extra pay for teachers with advanced degrees.
