News

On the heels of union-busting state legislation eliminating payroll dues deductions and requiring 60% membership density for most public sector unions, members of the Hernando Classroom Teachers' Association are rallying together to declare: "I'm sticking with MY union!" 

In the face of wide-spread opposition from Florida's working families, and despite criticism of lawmakers from both parties, SB 256 was sent to the Governor's desk to be signed into law in early May with most provisions taking effect July 1, 2023. The Florida Education Association immediately filed suit in federal court to challenge the law as unconstitutional under both the First Amendment and 14th Amendment, asserting that the law infringes on educators' freedom of speech and equal protection of laws. The complaint seeks injunctive relief as it imposes significant harms on disfavored unions (not all public sector unions are subject to provisions of the law). 

Even as the law is challenged in court, local unions across the state are taking proactive steps to secure their collective bargaining rights ahead of July 1st. In February, HCTA was among the first FEA locals to introduce eDues, an easy, reliable, and secure alternative to payroll dues deductions. Within just a few short weeks, invitations to make the switch had been rolled out to all worksites, and on the eve of summer break well more than half of HCTA's members have made the move.

Initiating a unique login for the membership portal requires that members have a home email address on file with HCTA. Members report that the process to set up eDues takes only minutes from the first click and can be completed on any mobile device. For members who don't use online banking, or for those who prefer not to use their online banking credentials, verification can be completed through a micro deposit using routing and account number. This video offers a brief explainer of the set up process.

We know most change isn't easy, and we know that any change with financial implications can be particularly difficult. Obviously, that is part of the intent of this law. Proponents of SB 256 are expecting that the elimination of payroll deductions will reduce our membership numbers, undermine local union operating budgets, and weaken the voice of educators who are often the only ones to stand against policies that do not serve students in our public schools. That's exactly why HCTA is working to support every member through the eDues set up process.

If you are a member of HCTA and haven't yet made the move to eDues, there's still time! Please check your home email for the invitation titled 'I'm sticking with my union!'  If you need the link resent, or if you need direct assistance to complete the move to eDues, contact Lisa Masserio or Val Smith.

BROOKSVILLE, FL -- April 15, 2022

While it is certainly true that ALL elections have consequences, perhaps no election is of greater consequence for our neighborhood public schools than the election of members to our local school board. More than just a governing body, the school board is entrusted with our collective vision of vibrant public schools that help EVERY child who walks through the doors achieve thier highest potential. The individuals we choose to serve the community as school board members are uniquely positioned to set policies and direct the work of district leaders in delivering that vision. And this year, Hernando County School Board Districts 1, 3 and 5 are all on the ballot. 

As is customary and appropriate, Hernando Classroom Teachers' Association will be actively engaged in this year's local elections. Invitations have been emailed to all candidates vying for seats on the Hernando County School Board. Candidates are asked to submit a completed endorsement screening questionnaire by April 25th. Interviews will be held on May 14th at the HCTA office. 

School Board candidate screening timelines:

• 4/15/22 – Invitations and candidate questionnaires forwarded to all candidates
• 4/25/22 – RSVP & completed questionnaires returned to committee
• 5/14/22 – Candidate interviews
• 5/24/22 – Recommendations announced

Candidates for the Hernando County School Board who have not received an email invitation to participate in the HCTA endorsement screenings are encouraged to contact HCTA as soon as possible.

Meet the 2022 Local Elections Endorsement Committee:

The members of HCTA’s Local Elections Endorsement Committee provide a balanced representation of our HCTA membership.

• All levels and multiple disciplines, including CTE
• Experience ranging from 6 to 30 years, and a cumulative total of 138 years in teaching
• Ages ranging from 29 to 65
• Most with children attending or having graduated from HCSD
• All residents of Hernando County
• All actively engaged in community and/or union leadership
• Balanced representation of party affiliations (R, D, I and NPA)

Through an open and non-partisan process, this committee endeavors to identify candidates for local offices who most align with the values and priorities of our membership. All candidates for the offices being reviewed will be invited to participate in the screening process to be considered for endorsement. To ensure recommendations of the committee best reflect the interests of members, participating candidates will be vetted using tools created from input provided through recent survey of HCTA members.

BROOKSVILLE, March 3, 2022--

As the final week of the 2022 FL Legislative Session begins, educators, parents and students across the state are still waiting for Tallahassee legislators to provide real solutions to the most significant challenge our public schools are facing today: the growing educator shortage!

As of March 6th, the HCSD website shows 67 full-time instructional vacancies posted for the 2021-22 school year. Classroom teachers, school counselors, school psychologists, and social workers are in high demand and seemingly short supply. Moreover, every vacancy represents potential

HCTA and HCSD bargaining teams have reached several significant agreements for 2021 wages, hours and working conditions. As these memoranda will provide significant financial improvement for instructional staff, the ratification process will be expedited with worksite voting to be held on November 10th and November 12th. All instructional staff in Hernando County Schools are invited to register for the Virtual Ratificatoin Update which will be held on November 9th at 6:30 pm. 

Wednesday evening, HCTA and HUSW bargaining teams met with the District to begin active discussion around the millage funds. While we had certainly hoped that the bargain around a win like the successful passage of the local referendum would be an opportunity for a truly collaborative conversation, the parties failed to reach agreement on the first step of the bargain—determining the distribution of the funds into each employee constituency (HCTA, HUSW, Confidential, Professional Technical, and Admin).

HCTA cited district-created promotional material, including direct quotes from the Superintendent and School Board members, to advocate that the ‘bulk of funds’ available for salaries should go to teachers. HCTA suggested, for a second time, that referendum dollars be divided among the units in the same percentage as the general payroll. Essentially, this would honor the repeated messaging of the district’s intent to use the referendum to ‘Keep Quality Teachers’ while improving each unit by the same overall percentage.

The district’s final proposal of the evening suggested that the funds initially be split 90/10 between the represented units and non-represented units. This would reserve 90% of the referendum salary improvement dollars to be bargained by HCTA and HUSW, while allowing the district to determine how the remaining 10% would be distributed to confidential, professional technical, and administrative employees. The parties suspended negotiations for the evening with an agreement to resume the joint bargaining of millage funds after HCTA and the district have addressed this year’s Teacher Salary Increase Allocation.

It is anticipated that the negotiation of TSIA for instructional raises will be the primary focus of bargaining sessions through the month of September. Districts are required to report TSIA distribution plans by Oct 1^st.  Please stay alert for updates and possible calls for action from HCTA.

As you know, the state budget that was recently passed includes an allocation of around $215 million, to provide full-time classroom teachers and principals with a $1,000 bonus, using funds from the American Relief Plan.

In April and May, Governor DeSantis highlighted this bonus quite a bit, but his sense of urgency seems to have faded, and many are left wondering when they can expect to receive a bonus. Almost a month after signing the budget into law, the details of when and how bonuses are to be paid to educators remain unclear.

For too many of our colleagues, a ‘thanks for a job well-done’ bonus after the stress and uncertainty of working through the pandemic may not materialize at all. As was true with Best and Brightest bonuses, the non-classroom teachers (school counselors, psychologists, media specialists, etc.) will not qualify for these bonuses from the state.

HCTA brought a proposal for bonuses to the bargaining table in early June hoping to secure acommit ment from the District to provide matching bonuses for instructional staff left out of the state plan. We know that every educator working in Hernando schools through the past year helped to ensure our students were safe and that learning continued. It is our position that as federal COVID relief funds make their way into the District, nonrecurring dollars will be available to cover the cost of one-time bonuses. We await a response from the District.

Beyond knowing who will be receiving bonuses and when, we know that you have questions about these bonuses. It remains unclear whether bonuses will be paid to individuals who retired or separated from employment during or after the 2020-21 school year. It is also not yet known whether bonus checks will be issued directly from the state, or if the District will be tasked with distribution of funds. What we know is true of bonuses (generally speaking):

• Bonuses are taxable at a higher rate than regular income.
• The recipient will be responsible for taxes on the bonus.
• Bonuses do NOT count toward retirement under FRS. 

We encourage you to follow the progress of negotiations online and look for additional updates from HCTA in the weeks ahead. Be sure to reach out to our friends on the school board to ask if ALL instructional staff will see bonuses this year.

RESOURCES:

FEA has added a list of FAQs on their website. The page will be updated as more information is made available.

BROOKSVILLE, FL -- April 12, 2021    In a letter issued by the US Department of Education in February, states were advised that they would have flexibility in determining how to apply the results of this year's standardized tests. Since then, districts have been awaiting clarification from Tallahassee regarding what--if any--accountability components might be waived. That clarification arrived late last week when the Commissioner of Education for the state of Florida issued an Emergency Order waiving accountability standards tied to standardized tests.  Read the order here:

FLDOE Emergency

This week, HCTA and District bargaining teams reached tentative agreement on Instructional salaries for 2020-21. The agreement combines the state’s Teacher Salary Increase Allocation (TSIA) with additional Board dollars to offer:

• $46,120 minimum salary (impacting 48% of all instructional salaries)
• Additional funds provided by the Board to ensure ALL instructional remain on the same salary schedule
• At LEAST a 2% improvement to every teacher’s base salary
• Salary improvements will be retroactive to July 1, 2020
• Adjusted instructional placement schedule to ensure new hires with experience are not placed at higher salary levels than current employees with equal or greater experience

The settlement concludes a months long bargaining conversation complicated by scarcity of district funds and the statutory requirements of the TSIA. Challenges associated with the TSIA funds include:

• Creation of salary compression in raising the minimum base salary
• Requirements and funding for minimum base salary applying only to full-time classroom teachers, leaving out other instructional staff like School Counselors and Instructional Coaches

As other districts’ distribution plans were rejected by the FLDOE for failure to comply with statute, it became apparent that HCTA’s efforts to minimize salary compression with a ‘banded’ approach to distribution may have resulted in the state withholding funds. In absence of significant additional District funds, resolving the issue of compression became unlikely.

As a result, the bargaining team presented a proposal that sought to address our other two primary goals: maintain a single salary schedule for all instructional employees and ensure that salary improvements help offset insurance increases. The additional Board dollars included in the final agreement addressed these priorities. Ultimately, HCTA was able to improve upon the District’s initial salary improvement offer of a flat $668 minimum increase to a full 2% while also ensuring that non-classroom teachers would not be left behind on a lower salary schedule. The adjusted instructional placement schedule will ensure that new hires will not come into the District at a higher pay level than current employees with the same years of experience.

It is worth noting that the HCTA proposal also sought a significant increase ($45/month/member) in the Board’s health insurance contribution. As the benefits offered to instructional staff cannot differ from the benefits offered to other employees, the increased contribution would have required an additional $1.5 million from the Board. Citing the uncertainty of current year funding due to lower than expected student enrollment, the District was unable to commit to the additional dollars needed.

The teams also discussed the impact of the recently approved millage increase. The increase will take effect in the 2021 property tax rolls, with these new local dollars available for bargaining in the 2021-22 school year. The District acknowledged at the table the Superintendent and Board’s intent for the majority of funds raised for staff salaries to be applied to instructional salaries. The parties will continue meeting in the months ahead to plan for the distribution of referendum dollars.