Many Brevard County teachers spent their first week back at school after the holidays doing something different – trying to get all their work done during school hours.
The effort was part of a “work to the contract” movement to bring attention to the salary impasse between the Brevard Federation of Teachers and the school board.
“My way of working to the contract is that I leave at 3:45,” said George Thomas, a math teacher at Westshore Junior/Senior High School.
BFT issued a call to action in December for teachers to work to the contract, meaning they will only work during the hours they are contractually obligated to, and paid for. So, for example, a teacher who chooses to work to the contract might no longer take papers home to grade at night. A teacher who is also an athletic coach, however, would still continue coaching if he or she receives a stipend for that work.
Teachers in Florida and many other states are considered essential public employees and are therefore prohibited from striking or staging any sort of coordinated effort to walk off their jobs, such as all calling in sick on the same day.
Salary negotiation has also become a bigger issue in districts across the state in recent years, thanks to a 2011 change in state law that eliminated tenure and mandated that all teachers hired after that point be on one-year contracts that must be renewed by their district every year.
Thomas, who is his school’s union representative, said he didn’t know for sure how many teachers were working to the contract.
“We’re doing it in our own individual ways,” Thomas said. “Some of those ways would include coming in at the 7:45 start time, arriving at that time, or leaving at 3:45 as the contract states.”
Thomas said that could mean less time to meet with students, and less support for extracurricular clubs and activities like science research and math teams.
“What students that are serious about learning need in their study program is enrichment. Enrichment is anything that’s extra that focuses on their passion,” he said. “In order for you to have those programs they are typically outside of contract hours.”
Mickey Olinger, a sixth-grade science and social studies teacher and the BFT representative at Indialantic Elementary, said she has been working to the contract for three months, mostly by backing off on paperwork.
“I’m spending time just on teaching,” Olinger said.
The teachers union and the school board have been at an impasse over pay since October. Other aspects of the teachers’ contract have been ironed out, but the union has rejected the board’s 1.5 percent salary increase offer. The two sides will meet Jan. 23 with a special magistrate from the state Public Employees Relations Commission. The mediation is non-binding, however, and the school board can go ahead and approve a final contract whether BFT agrees or not.
The union hopes that the magistrate can convince the school board to offer a larger increase, and is calling on teachers to continue working to the contract until the impasse is resolved.
The BFT Facebook page featured several posts last week from teachers working to the contract, including some showing empty teacher parking lots before and after school, waving goodbye as they left the building promptly at 3:45 p.m., and doing personal activities such as exercising or meeting for coffee before or after school.
“A lot of teachers are telling us what they’re doing and it’s a ‘make of it whatever you can’ situation,” union president Dan Bennett said. “Some teachers have said, ‘Well, I just can’t walk out exactly on time, but I’m leaving a few minutes later and maybe not bringing everything (home) with me that I used to.’ Some people have even commented that they get to hit the gym and make dinner for their families.”
He said there haven’t been any negative comments or feedback from administrators.
“I have had some principals tell us that they support the teachers and they are really rooting for us,” Bennett said.
Brett Tower, an eighth-grade science teacher and BFT representative at Hoover Middle School, said he is working to the contract to a point, but can’t do it every day.
“The truth is this … when we work to the contract the amount of work we have to do really doesn’t decrease,” Tower said. “The kids are still doing assignments and doing work and that stuff is going to pile up. This is incredibly stressful for our members.”
Article by: Jan Wessner Childs
