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Pasco Teachers, Employees Agree To Contract

By RONNIE BLAIR | The Tampa Tribune

Published: February 3, 2009

LAND O' LAKES - Teachers and other schools employees in Pasco County finally have a contract, but the union that represents them doesn't consider the results anything to brag about.
Frank Roder, a vice president with United School Employees of Pasco, told the school board today that this was "one of the worst contracts" ever ratified by the employees.
Under the agreement, the employees don't get raises this year or even the usual automatic step increases in pay that are awarded based on years of service and, in the case of teachers, education level.
School board members gave their approval today to one contract that covers instructional staff and another contract for school-related personnel, such as bus drivers, custodians and cafeteria workers.
The employees voted on the contracts last week and their votes were counted Monday evening. Roder reported that the contracts won ratification from 88 percent of the teachers voting and 91 percent of the other employees.
The school board and the union were a long time getting to this moment.
Negotiations, which most years finish in time for the start of school in August, lasted six months and at one point were at a near standstill.
The school district's dire financial situation, brought about by a statewide revenue shortfall, prolonged the talks.
Frustrated by the lack of progress, the union declared an impasse in November, and a special master was assigned to hear the case, though the impasse hearing never took place.
The two sides also tried mediation, with no success.
Finally, they reached a tentative agreement in December. By then, school employees had begun to tell union representatives that they were more concerned about avoiding layoffs and preserving their health benefits than they were about getting raises.
Under the agreement, the school district will continue fully funding health benefits for employees, which will include paying a $191 increase in per-employee costs. Employees will continue to pay to insure their family members.
The school district has nearly 10,000 employees.
"We are pleased negotiations are behind us and we can start concentrating on next year," Roder told the board Tuesday.
He said the union hopes the school board and the district staff will find other ways to cut the budget in 2009-10, rather than deny raises for employees.
"Without increases in salaries, we are going to lose some of our best and brightest teachers and SRPs," Roder said.
Board Chairman Frank Parker said the school board, in turn, is hoping the state Legislature will come up with additional revenues for education. State money funds much of the school district's budget.