I am happy to report to you that the MCEA and the MCSD came to a tentative agreement on our 2022-2023 contract this evening! The new hire placement schedule was our final task and both parties signed off. I believe that this 2022-23 session showed collaboration on both sides! We are looking for ways to streamline the negotiations of 2023/24 to expediate the process to a higher level.
The District presented a surprise MOU agreement after the signing of the 2022/23 salary package and schedule. The School Board proposed a change to the Western Zone Supplement, awarding ALL instructional staff in Indiantown and Warfield a WZ supplement of $3,100. This is found in Article II.4 E in the contract. I do not have the details at hand as my Director retained the copy. I’m sure that the principals of those two schools will share it with their staff. Of course, this MOU will be posted prior to ratification voting. Thank you to the teachers at those schools who filed grievances, and a special shout out to Principal Jeff Raimann who has tirelessly advocated for his staff at the NEST for an increase in the WZ supplement.
We will conduct voting on the 22/23 CBA and any additional MOU’s in February, prior to the February Board meeting on the 21st. Once our team has looked at the calendar, and we have all necessary documents for posting, we will arrive on a date for voting.
I am providing you with a recap of the salary package which was presented in a previous email:
50% of TSIA dollars allocated to raising starting teacher salary. (per statute, total- $752,571)
1A- 5B would get $1200, 5C would get $900 * The 50% was absorbed with these amounts
So, everyone making $47,500 would get $1200. Those making $47,800 would get $900
This would bring everyone on levels 1A-5C to $48,700. (nothing to do with years of experience) $48,700 would be our new starting salary.
The other 50% of TSIA dollars goes to increase salaries for teachers on steps 6A and down (more years of experience. These salaries range from $48,100 and higher) This amount is $700
Then the performance pay would be added as follows:
Performance pay- Annual: HE $1200, $900 effective
PSC: HE $900, $700 effective
The district’s salary package (using district funds) amounts to $1,326,656.88. This stretch puts the district over budget by $22,669.36.
Thank you to the teachers who attended tonight’s session and to all the teachers who have attended past sessions. The MCEA team truly appreciates the support.
If you have the opportunity, please reach out and thank your MCEA bargaining team members. They have been working tirelessly, not only this year, but for the past three years.
The MCEA team headed back to the table tonight with the MCSD for session #10. I wish that I had good news, but I do not. There is not much to summarize tonight. The District stuck with their last proposal. They did not propose any additional funds for raises. The Chief Negotiator indicated that it was their final offer.
A recap of their final offer:
50% of TSIA dollars allocated to raising starting teacher salary. (per statute, total- $752,571)
1A- 5B would get $1200, 5C would get $900 * The 50% was absorbed with these amounts
So, everyone making $47,500 would get $1200. Those making $47,800 would get $900
This would bring everyone on levels 1A-5C to $48,700. (nothing to do with years of experience) $48,700 would be our new starting salary.
The other 50% of TSIA dollars goes to increase salaries for teachers on steps 6A and down (more years of experience. These salaries range from $48,100 and higher) This amount is $700
Then the performance pay would be added as follows:
Performance pay- Annual HE $1200, $900 effective
PSC HE $900, $700 effective
The district’s salary package (using district funds) amounts to $1,326,656.88. This stretch puts the district over budget by $22,669.36.
District indicated to us that it was their final offer. What does that mean? We either go to impasse or accept their offer. Impasse is not binding. In other words, if we bring in a mediator and he sides with the union, indicating that the District can afford more, the District can ignore his findings and impose. They could even impose less, which I don’t think they would ever do. Who knows?
Oh, I forgot…the district made a presentation to start the session. It had a lot to do with the millage. I encourage you to watch it when it comes out on Martin TV. It should be ready for viewing by Monday or Tuesday.
Our next session, # 11, is on Tuesday, December 13th at 4:32, Stuart Learning Center.
Our entire team was not available for this session. We only caucused to review the MOU document for the TSIA dollars mentioned above.
MCEA headed back to the table for session #9. Let me give you a little recap of session #8. As I stated in last night’s email, “We agreed that option B TSIA proposal from the district was the most beneficial to all our members.” This TSIA proposal gave $700 to the base of all teachers from steps 6A and down, meaning down the page, to teachers with more experience. Those teachers have not received any TSIA (state) money for the past two years. Teachers 1A-5B would receive $1200 in TSIA. The district is required to report their TSIA implementation to the FLDOE tomorrow, December 1st.
We then worked in caucus, in session #8, to come up with a better pay for performance plan for our teachers. This was our P4P plan:
Annual: $1500 PSC: $1125 (11/29/2022)
$1125 $843
This MCEA counter proposal dropped the cost to the district from $1.9 million to $1.6 million. We came down about $300,000.
Let’s remember, a negotiation is a give and take, right? The district budgeted well over $2 million for salaries. While we would have appreciated the district spending $1.9, we understood that it was a starting point. We were told that we were “close” in session #7 with the $1.9. The district’s starting point was about $1.3 million.
Whew! That was just a recap for those of you who missed the beginning of the game.
This is how session #9 started.
The district rejected the proposal from last night. They presented two counter proposals. The one with the $700 to base for teachers on 6A and down (Veterans) reduced the P4P as follows:
Annual: $1200 PSC: $900
$900 $700
The cost to the district was still about $1.3 million
The 2nd proposal cut the TSIA dollars to veteran teachers (6A and down) to $300. The P4P was as follows:
Annual: $1500 PSC: $1100
$ 1100 $800
The cost to the district was still in the $1.3 million range.
The MCEA team then caucused to reassess. We then presented the following counter proposal.
We let the district know that we were sticking with the agreed upon TSIA plan from last night of $1200 and $700.
We then proposed the following P4P:
Annual: $1400 PSC: $ 1050
$1050 $785
We cut our proposal by another $100,000. The district team responded that they did not have the authority to spend more than $1.3 million.
So much for a negotiation….
I commented that the teachers in Martin County did not get ANY raises in 2019/20. We were told to trust the district. We will address it next year.
I commented that veteran teachers in Martin County got very little in raises in 20/21($800-1200). That was the year that the TSIA kicked in and starting salaries were raised from $38,600 to $45,200. We were told to trust the district. We will work on it next year. In 21/22, annual contract teachers received $2400 and $1800. PSC received $1200 and $900.
Gary Simmons, our Chief Negotiator, eloquently closed the session. The state has contributed $1.5 million to teacher salaries. Our community has graciously contributed over $9 million in referendum dollars to teacher salaries. Can the district not contribute $1.6 million to THEIR employees?
MCEA headed back to the bargaining table with the MCSD for session # 7 for 2022/23 collective bargaining . Here are the highlights:
1- Millage MOU- We came to a tentative agreement and signed off on the Millage MOU! All the amounts presented to you all in previous summaries are the same. We just cleaned up some language. The payouts will be in one lump sum. Payout to be first pay date in September of 2023. The true-up will be the first pay date in December of 2023.
2. Bonus for recruiting bus drivers- We held off on agreeing to the MOU to give $500 referral fee to teachers for recruiting bus drivers. We would like to discuss this with our brothers and sister of the AFSCME Unit.
3. Salary proposal- We presented two salary proposals. One mirrored our previous proposal. However, last session we never presented a new schedule showing an increase to the base to $48,520. We did so tonight. We proposed TSIA dollars of $1020 levels 1A-5B and 5C and down on schedule(more experience) $1360. We presented two versions of P4P:
Option C Option D
Annual- $1800 HE, $1350 Effective same
PSC- $1350 for HE and Effective $1350 HE, $1260 effective
After over an hour of caucus, Gary Simmons, our Chief negotiator, and I were called in by the attorney/chief negotiator for the district. She wanted to explain that the district's interpretation of Florida statute and that of the MCEA are different when it comes to the P4P of PSC teachers as it relates to starting salary. There is just no point in bargaining this further without having our FEA bargaining experts involved in the discussion with the district's chief negotiator/attorney. We agreed to “huddle” to dissect the statute. We will get this done prior to the next session
Our next session is scheduled for November 29th @ 4:32 at the main board room at the old district office on East Ocean Blvd. We have another session scheduled for the 30th at 4:32, also at 500 E Ocean Blvd. It’s possible the venue could change for the 30th.
Session #6 11/2/22 Stuart Learning Center at 4:30 PM
Millage: The district changed a piece of language that was not brought up, nor discussed, at the last session. In session # 5, the district said they were amenable to the MOU presented by the MCEA. There were minor clean-ups and clarification items that needed to be fixed, for example, agreed upon dates for lump sum payout. What the district did tonight was add language, more specifically, indicating that an employee needed to be in good-standing at the time of the award. The district’s definition of good standing and our definition of “in good standing” are not in alignment. Our team will discuss this.
Salary: The district indicated that according to the FLDOE, our proposal was not compliant, specifically as it relates to starting salary. According to the FLDOE, starting salary on the new hirer placement schedule must be increased. We were in the belief that based on our salary proposal, both with TSIA and P4P, we did just that. However, we did not present a new hire schedule. In years past, when the raises were applied to each cell, that did increase the starting salary. Then, teachers with P4P moved up the scale accordingly. The application of TSIA complicates the schedule. There are three requirements to meet. As a team, we will explore our application and determine if we simply left off a piece of language that would apply to the new hirer placement schedule, which again, was historically one document. We will be accessing our bargaining specialist as we review our proposal from session # 5 and district’s proposal from session #6.
District proposed the following P4P raises:
The law dictates the 50/50 split from TSIA
Option A: Use all first 50% of TSIA ($548,039) money to raise base minimum to $48,700. Then use remaining 50% + $1,300,000(district funds) for performance pay. Minimum base now is $47,500
There are 631 HE annual contract teachers. There are 84 effective annual contract teachers
Annual HE $1800 cost= $1,135,800.00
Eff $ $1350 $113,400.00
There are 280 HE PSC teachers. There are 24 effective PSC teachers.
PSC: HE: $900 cost= $252,000.00
EFF. $ $450 $ 10,800.00
Option B: Use first 50% of TSIA to raise base minimum to $48,700.
Then use remaining 50% to give a $700 raise to base from 6A up the schedule. (>more experience) Cost of this part of raise is $560,039
Annual HE $1200 cost= $757,200.00
EFF $900 $75,600
PSC HE $900 cost= $252,000.00
EFF $450 $ 10,800.00
Total costs are not including fringe, which is about 30%
It is difficult to determine the total raise proposed by the district because the TSIA application, in either of these scenarios, was not presented in a hard copy. At first glance, it appears that TSIA would be given to everyone up to 5B. We will need to examine that.
This is all so complicated! Bear with us as our team dissects the district’s proposal to understand the bottom line for all of our teachers. We shall seek the expertise of our bargaining specialists who work in many counties so that we may gain a broader understanding of the proposals and our options moving forward.
Session #5 10/25/22 Stuart Learning Center at 4:30 PM
Millage MOU- The MCEA last session omitted dates for payouts. We resubmitted our proposal. The millage awards did not change. See previous update. We modified the payout dates to first pay date in September, and for the true-up the first pay date in December. We could have signed off but there was a bit more clean -up to be fixed regarding payout for retirees. It will mirror the old retiree language but with the payout dates fixed to reflect a one lump sum, rather than spread out throughout the year. It will be ready to go for signatures next session.
Salary Raises- The MCEA proposal had to be submitted in a different format. In addition to the TSIA dollars, $1360 PSC and $ 1020 annual, we changed the raises a bit to imitate language in other districts which have been accepted and approved by the state. We also put in a provision to prevent leap-frogging by new hires to district.
Annual Contract HE $1800
Effective $1350
PSC - $ 1350 (for all, not based on performance)
Gary Simmons, our Chief negotiator, presented approximately ten state approved contracts submitted by other locals. So, those teachers on PSC would receive the same award based on our revised proposal.
The total cost of this salary package is about $3.3 million dollars, including the TSIA allocation ($1,210,739).
We felt it was a very productive session. The MCEA Team and the MCSD team worked collaboratively to clean up language and really think through the salary proposals in order to be state compliant.
Thank you to all the teachers who attended the session. The Team really appreciates the support and feedback during caucus.
Session #4 10/18/22 Stuart Learning Center at 4:30 PM
Article VIII- Evaluations- We tentatively agreed to the language proposed by the district. This was explained in session
# 2 update. It’s all good!
TSIA allocation- The MCEA countered with similar language to Indian River School District. All teachers will receive TSIA (state funds) to increase salary. The MCEA proposed language to give additional dollars to teachers on PSC contract, $1360, because they were left out of the first two allocations. Teachers on annual contract will receive $1020. W could be a few dollars off on these numbers. We did not have printed copies as we created the schedule during a caucus. The district needs to verify with the state that we are compliant with law.
Salary raises- The MCEA proposed P4P raises as follows:
* Annual- HE- $1800 Effective - $1200 effective
PSC HE- $1350 Effective - $1150
Millage- The district would not be able to start the millage in January 2023 with millage in regular checks. The MCEA Team proposed another counter MOU to have the payout in one lump sum as we have been doing for the past four years. The date of payout is in discussion. See update # 2 or #3 for amounts. We also proposed language that if a teacher was non-renewed and rehired that they would get the millage if they started employment or are in processing by September 1st. Again, the date may change. If a teacher teaches the academic year, is renewed and is employed by district (even outside the bargaining unit) they would be eligible for the millage for the previous year.
Session #3 10/18/22 Stuart Learning Center at 4:30 PM
Millage- This part of the discussion was difficult to follow by phone as I could not easily view the MOU from district. They were amenable to the amounts, however the discussion regarding payout of the millage was complicated. The goal of the bargaining team is to get millage payouts into the hands of the teachers as soon as possible. The payout dates proposed by the district need to be looked at. I will give you an update once we discuss it as a team.
Salary raises- There was a Rep meeting last night. At this point, the Reps should have a copy of the proposal. They received an explanation from Gary Simmons at the meeting. I was not provided a link with the proposal. As a refresher from session # 2, MCEA proposed raises of between $1500, step 1- $1760. Starting at step 5C, MCEA proposed $2000. (This was inclusive of TSIA money).
The districts proposal is not clear to me. I was unable to get on Zoom due to no internet.
The MCSD countered with raises for annual contract at $1200 HE, to $600 effective. Teachers on Professional Services contract would get $600 for HE and $300 for effective. It indicates on the salary schedule that it is after TSIA dollars are applied. See notes from session # 2 with TSIA allocations.
The picture of the salary schedule proposed by district does not make sense to me. It was difficult following on the phone.
Once I get paper copies of these proposals and verify with my team the intent of the district, I will be able to answer questions. For now, I do not think I can answer specific questions. However, I did not want to leave you hanging without any update so I did the best I could.
Our team will be meeting on Saturday or Sunday to go over the proposals.
Session #2 10/11/22 Stuart Learning Center at 4:30 PM
1. Salary- District presented their updated document using the TSIA money from the state. This time around, all teachers were eligible to receive TSIA dollars because we did reach $47,500 during the 21/22 negotiations. The TSIA dollars took starting salary to $48,700. Raises were between $300- $1200. The MCEA proposal added dollars from the district’s general fund to bring starting salary up to $49,000. The total raises that we proposed (including TSIA $$) ranged from $1500 (step 1A) to - $2000 going down the scale. Starting at level 5c (those who are making $47,800), exclusive of new TSIA, the raises were $2000 all the way to the bottom of the schedule. This product, if accepted by both sides, would give a permanent raise to the base for all teachers.
Additionally, MCEA put two figures on the table of $1million-$1.5 million for the district to use as additional pay for performance.
2. Millage MOU- The District was not amenable to the MCEA’s proposal. We modified it during a 1.5-hour caucus.
MCEA’s new proposal for Millage:
1-5 years= $1800
6-9 years = $ 5000
10-13 years= $8500
14+ years= $10,050
The rest of the language remained the same.
3. Article VIII- Evaluations
The district proposed two changes:
*Added all elements from the Marzano protocol to be used for Deliberate practice (instead of just ten), starting next year as DPs already finalize.
* For category 1B teachers (2-3 years’ experience)- Currently, there is an informal in the fall, followed by a formal evaluation. In the spring, there is one informal evaluation, which is non-evaluative. The district proposed to put both informals in the fall, prior to the formal evaluation. Unless the teacher requests a second formal evaluation, the teacher will have completed their observations in the fall.
The MCEA was accepting of the language. For those that are fairly new to the process, please reach out to your administrator or your Rep for clarification on the evaluation process.
I have received many emails about the retro-pay and the salary increases for the pay negotiated in 21/22. I believe the district sent out an email stating, in part, “beginning in October”, the retro raises and new salaries will be paid out. Teachers assumed it was the first check, however it did not say “in the beginning of October”. I believe that in one of my previous emails I indicated that the retro pay should be in the last check of October. The departments of HR, Finance/Payroll, and ET are working together (“sequestered”) Wed-Friday of this week to input the numbers in Skyward.
Session #1 10/4/22 Stuart Learning Center at 4:30 PM
The MCEA bargaining team headed back to the table with the Martin County School District to commence negotiations for the 2022/23 contract. Our goal is to streamline negotiations, not to drag it out. We have had many conversations with the District's leadership team and the are committed to the same.
The District opened with proposing and MOU to increase tutoring stipend from $25 per hour to $50 per hour. The increase would be funded with ESSER dollars and would need state approval(technicality) . The MCEA signed off on the agreement.
The priority of the MCEA for the first session was to negotiate the recently approved Millage referendum allocation. When negotiated in 2018, it took two sessions. We hope to accomplish it in the same.
The MCEA presented the following proposal for Millage allocation:
1-5 years- $1800
6-9 5,000
10+ 8,500
PSC $12,000
No level has a proposed decrease. Level three would receive an increase of $700. We added a new level for teachers on Professional Services Contract as they have been receiving smaller raises, per statute, since 2015/16.
For those hired in district after 2018, I want to give you a little bit of history. When the millage referendum was first approved, the calculated allocations were as follows:
1-5= $1,000
6-9= 5k
10+ = $8,000
As a leadership team, we felt that starting teachers should get more. As an E-Board/Negotiations team, we felt we should take $200 from 10+ years and add it to level 1-5 to give those teachers an additional $800. As a collective, we voted to ratify this allocation as we are a unified body and senior teachers wanted to give starting teachers more in referendum money.
The tides have turned. TSIA allocations have designated millions of dollars to starting teachers, to the tune that a first year teacher makes the same salary as a teacher of twenty years. We must follow the law with TSIA dollars. There is no way around it. But, with millage referendum, we can get those twenty year veteran teachers, with a professional services contract(hired in 2008), a well deserved supplement to their income.
The MCEA Team is dedicated to a quick agreement for 22/23 negotiations. The district did indicate that at the next session, they would be opening article VIII, Evaluations, with a proposal. Article VIII was opened last year by MCEA. Just know this, our RAISES are based on our evaluations, which makes evaluations a mandatory subject of bargaining, per PERC, Public Employees Relations Commission.
