Result of Teacher Contract Negotiations Does Little to Inspire Hope for Long Term

Following a long and at times bitter impasse between the teachers' union and the district, the Manatee School Board voted Monday to give teachers less than all parties seemed to think they deserved, but what seems like the very most the district can actually afford. The result highlights the difficulties that continue to plague our school district after years of financial mismanagement and administrative upheaval.

The parties began negotiations with a great deal of space between their proposals, but teachers scored what looked like a big win in February when a special magistrate assigned to the negotiations issued a recommended decision that tilted heavily in their favor. The teachers, who’d absorbed pay cuts, furloughs and pay freezes in recent years–as well as the recent release of every single district employee's W2 tax form to identity theft hackers–were asking for salary schedule adjustments, help with rising health insurance premiums (both to be paid retroactively), "longevity" compensation to deal with salary compression, and a cost of living bump.

In all likelihood, they were probably looking to get the first two, with longevity and COLA as wish list/bargaining chips. Magistrate Robert Hoffman recommended the union's proposed salary schedule adjustments and their proposal that the district absorb $897,660 of increased costs in its projected expenses of $52 million for healthcare, both with retroactivity. Hoffman snubbed the COLA request and seemed to find the longevity payment just, though not within reach and behind the first two matters in terms of importance.

That sent teachers into Monday's special meeting with a strong hand that was backed by teacher demonstrations and considerable public support. In the end, they wound up getting a four-step pay increase (about $1,200) for highly effective teachers, while effective teachers will receive a three-step pay increase (about $900), though not retroactively. The board did not agree to give anything on health insurance premiums but did kick in a one-time supplement of $300 for all teachers, while conceding on the longevity pay, giving teachers with 16 and 25 years in the district a supplement of $2,100 and $3,600, respectively.

Again, that's probably a better outcome than a lot of people anticipated, but the truly unfortunate part of the story is that nearly everyone, including the district's negotiator, felt that the union's proposal was equitable, just not within the realm of fiscal possibilities, as it would have sent the district's finances beneath the 3 percent reserve fund balance mandated by state law. Make no mistake, most teachers are not happy with the final result. Many of them, particularly those with spouses on their health insurance plans, will actually net less, causing much backlash to the idea that the result included "across the board" raises.

This result suggests that the new agreement will be little more than a Band-aid, with teachers returning to the table next time, yet again, justifiably feeling as though there is an element of "catch up" due to come their way. Meanwhile, taxpayers can hold little hope that the district's financial underpinnings are likely to improve much in the interim, despite them having agreed to send around $25 million in additional revenues the district's way each year, via the 15-year half-cent sales tax that was passed by referendum in November. Why? Simple, past experience is generally the best indicator of future behavior.

Teachers and union reps correctly point out that lower compensation than surrounding districts is not a good strategy to attract or retain the best and brightest educators in the field. The district typically counters with the fact that neighboring Sarasota County has an extra, voter-approved millage point on school property taxes and is tasked with educating less students with more money. However, Sarasota County has earned the trust of its taxpayers over many years, inspiring them to invest heavily in a public education system that has proven itself a good steward of that investment.

The Manatee County School District, quite clearly, has not inspired the same sort of trust. More than a decade of financial scandals, administrative bloat, book-cooking, bid-rigging, over-spending, over-bonding and doling out big-money contracts to politically-connected interests, while leaving much-needed impact fees on the table to the benefit of politically-connected developers, has left taxpayers understandably wary of how their money will be spent.