If a picture is worth a thousand words, then the images published from Tuesday's finalizing of the Pasco public school budget speak encyclopedically. They depict an unruly rabble, brandishing signs that suggest the demonstrators are utterly disconnected from modern realities. ...more

September 19, 2008

LAND O' LAKES - Unhappy school employees minced no words. They urged the Pasco County School Board to reject this year's budget, saying the board needed to work harder to find money for raises and step increases that aren't included in the financial plan. ...more

September 18, 2008

Unhappy school employees pleaded with the Pasco County School Board to reject this year's budget Tuesday evening, saying the board needs to work harder to find money for raises and step increases that aren't included in the financial plan. ...more

September 17, 2008

Teachers and other school workers protested in front of Pasco County School District administrative offices this afternoon, calling on the school board to give them raises. They joined in chants, such as, "Do the right thing, not the easy thing." ...more

September 16, 2008

Two weeks ago, hundreds of firefighters packed Tampa City Council chambers in what turned out to be a successful effort to persuade council members to side with them in a bitter pay dispute with the mayor. ...more

September 4, 2008

Two weeks ago, hundreds of firefighters packed City Council chambers in what turned out to be a successful effort to persuade council members to side with them in a bitter pay dispute with the mayor. ...more

September 3, 2008

The choice before the Tampa City Council today is simple: Appease a politically powerful union by awarding it an exorbitant pay package or safeguard limited tax dollars. ...more

August 22, 2008

LAND O' LAKES - The annual step increases in pay for Pasco County School District employees will be postponed for at least a month as negotiators for the employees' union and the school district wait to get a better handle on the budget. ...more

July 1, 2008

School Employee Step Increases Postponed By RONNIE BLAIR The Tampa Tribune LAND O' LAKES The annual step increases in pay for Pasco County School District employees will be postponed for at least a month as contract negotiators for the employees' union and the school district wait to get a better handle on the budget. "We're not even going to discuss that matter any more until the end of July until we get better financial information," Terry Rhum, the district's director of employee relations, said Monday. The school district and negotiators for United School Employees of Pasco agreed to postpone the pay increases and discussions about them during negotiations Monday. Rhum said in the next few weeks the district's finance department will be closing down the 2007-08 fiscal year, which ended Monday, and the financial picture for 2008-09 should become clearer. ...more

June 30, 2008

LAND O' LAKES - United School Employees of Pasco is throwing its political weight behind Steven Donaldson, the Democratic candidate for schools superintendent who hopes to unseat Heather Fiorentino. ...more

May 31, 2008