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Pasco Teachers Union Wants Mediator

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By RONNIE BLAIR | The Tampa Tribune

Published: November 4, 2008

LAND O' LAKES - In an effort to more swiftly conclude stalled contract negotiations, United School Employees of Pasco wants the school board to consider bringing in a mediator.
The union had already declared an impasse in the negotiations, setting in motion a process in which a special magistrate would hold a hearing.
Lynne Webb, though, told the school board Tuesday that mediation might be a better route to go because it would be less costly than the impasse process and the differences between the school district and the union could be concluded more quickly.
She said the Federal Mediation and Conciliation Services offers mediation at no cost.
The board, which met in closed session to discuss the contract negotiations, did not say whether it would agree to mediation.
In the meantime, the state's Public Employees Relations Commission has sent the school district and union two lists of special magistrates to choose from – one for the teachers' contract and one for the contract for other school workers.
If a magistrate is still used, Webb told the board the union would prefer to have one magistrate and one hearing for both contracts rather than split the two. The board has not responded to that request either.
There have been exceptions, but most years the union and school district reach agreements on their contracts before the school year starts. This year, though, school employees are more than two months into the academic year without a new contract. They haven't received raises and some employees have expressed concerns that they won't receive raises this year.
In other action Tuesday:
The board learned that the process has begun for drawing attendance boundaries for Anclote High School, being built in Holiday, and for an elementary school being built in the Watergrass development in Wesley Chapel. Both schools are to open in August.
Committees of parents, principals and district staff members met Monday afternoon to start work on the boundaries.
Anclote High will draw most of its students from Mitchell High, though it also will get some from Gulf High. The elementary in Watergrass will take students from Wesley Chapel Elementary.
As part of the process, the committee also is looking at attendance boundaries for four middle schools in west Pasco – Seven Springs, Smith Middle, Gulf Middle and River Ridge Middle.
Chris Williams, the district's planning director, said the district would like to better balance the enrollment at those schools and it seemed to make sense to do that while working on high school boundaries.
The committees will meet again in early December and maps of proposed attendance boundaries likely will be displayed in the affected schools before winter break, Williams said.
Meetings at which parents will be able to comment and ask questions will be held in January and the school board is scheduled to vote on the boundaries in February.
The board approved a $550,457 contract to purchase 20 acres on Interlaken Road in the Odessa area. The school district plans to build a bus garage on the property, which is about a quarter-mile west of Gunn Highway and a quarter-mile south of State Road 54.
Assistant Superintendent Ray Gadd said the bus garage won't be built anytime soon, but the district wanted to go ahead and buy land that could be set aside for that future project.
The board approved architectural contracts for major renovations to Sanders Memorial Elementary and for a new elementary school near the Trinity area.
Holmes Hepner & Associates of Tampa will be paid $792,590 for architectural work on the new school, which is scheduled to open in August 2010 on Community Drive just south of State Road 54.
Williamson Dacar Associates of Safety Harbor will be paid $1.1 million for the design work on the renovation of Sanders, which is one of Pasco's oldest schools. Some of the buildings on the campus will be demolished and replaced.
Students at Sanders will attend a new school that is being built in the Connerton development while their school undergoes the massive remodeling project.

Reporter Ronnie Blair can be reached at (813) 948-4218 or rblair@tampatrib.com.

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