ORLANDO, Fla. — Orange County school board members voted to postpone a contract impasse hearing until Nov. 13.
It came as teachers unions said a hearing scheduled for Wednesday did not provide the legally required amount of time between a magistrate-issued opinion, suggesting it could sue the district for unfair labor practices.
Under Florida law, either side has the right to an insulated period of 20 days.
Friday’s recommendation from the state-appointed magistrate said the OCPS proposal would “create undue financial hardship” and recommended a compromise.
The union argued that it should’ve had 20 days from Friday’s ruling to prepare for a hearing. Wednesday’s hearing came less than five days after the magistrate weighed in.
Orange County School Board Chair-elect Angie Gallo said the hearing was originally scheduled under the assumption that the magistrate would have weighed in by Sept. 15, but the recommendations were late.
“We set this date in September thinking that the magistrate would respond in a timely fashion, as required by law,” Gallo said. “He did not.”
The district rejected the magistrate’s recommendation late Tuesday, citing a $105.1 million price tag.
The union had accepted the recommendations from the magistrate on Monday.
Clinton McCracken, president of the Orange County Classroom Teachers Association, said the union wanted to preserve its right to file an unfair labor practice claim.
“We needed to make it clear that what has happened could be what’s considered an unfair labor practice,” McCracken said. “So, we needed to make sure we reserved our rights to be able to file that. And, what the district had done was to basically threaten in an email that if we didn’t do this today, that it could affect teachers’ pay and their offer.”
A statement sent by the school district following the meeting said in part:
“Each month of delay costs approximately $20 million to maintain current health benefits. Combined with an existing Employee Benefits Trust shortfall, declining enrollment and insufficient state funding, those costs are not sustainable and could result in additional budget reductions and personnel impacts if left unresolved. The District remains committed to working collaboratively with CTA and OESPA toward a fair and responsible resolution that supports employees while protecting the resources and services students depend on every day.”
McCracken said union members are frustrated and struggling to make ends meet as Florida ranks 50th in the nation in average teacher pay.
“Our teachers are frustrated because they’re not getting the pay that they need,” McCracken said. “Even when we accepted the magistrate’s recommendations. We did that. It wasn’t easy to do that because even those salary increases aren’t enough of what our people need.”
Gallo said she understands the frustration.
“It’s a hard time to be in education. It really is,” Gallo said. “And something needs to change. Because these teachers deserve a living wage and they deserve health care that they can afford.”