SOUTH TALLAHASSEE, FL — Leon County Schools is navigating two ongoing conversations — teacher salary negotiations and potential budget cuts.
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Salary negotiations between Leon County Schools and the Leon Classroom Teachers Association are ongoing, with the union hoping to reach an agreement before an impasse hearing.
The district recently offered a one-time, 1% bonus for teachers during negotiations — a figure that Scott Mazur, president of the Leon Classroom Teachers Association, brought back to his members for a vote.
"So we did the vote and we had, of the folks that voted, 98% said, this isn't good enough. We, you know, we'd rather go to impasse as it is right now," Mazur said.
Despite the vote, Mazur said the association remains hopeful a new deal can be reached before an impasse hearing.
"So we're looking forward to maybe another bargaining date to have a counter proposal that is a little more aligned with what people are expecting," Mazur said.
The Superintendent was not available for comment Friday.
Superintendent Rocky Hanna previously said they are hopeful they can avoid an impasse to focus efforts on getting a millage increase on the ballot in November specifically for teacher salary increases,
Meanwhile, budget cut conversations are also continuing at the district level. Mazur sent a letter to the School Board asking them to create a comprehensive structural efficiency plan including examining district operation costs, transportation costs and cost-per-program.
"How do we make it more efficient? Is there a different way to do it to reduce costs so that we're getting more out of that particular process?" Mazur said.
At Tuesday's School Board meeting, Board Member Alva Smith highlighted the letter and raised the idea of holding a workshop to discuss the plan.
"To have it as a bundled package so we can, you know, we can say to our community, listen, we're doing everything that we possibly can," Smith said.
The district has rolled out a website with suggested budget cuts, including reducing interventionists and funding for arts and athletics, totaling almost $7 million.
"Let's now rally together on behalf of our teachers and our support staff that are working with students each and every day to make a difference in their lives," Hanna said earlier this month.
Hanna has also previously said the District has cut millions of dollars at the district level and has another $1.5 million laid out as an option to be cut for the next school year.
Some school board members wanted more clarity.
"So I think what I'm trying to say is that there's a really specific thing in here that's wanted by a school board member. It should be said clearly rather than these broad terms, because if this were my assignment, I kind of wouldn't know where to start," School Board Member Roseanne Wood said.
Other board members said that while they support some analyses, they noted some of the work is already underway.
"I am interested in the cost per program and the ROI framework. I'm really, really interested in that. I have been talking about, you know, specific programs that may or may not serve relevance for our students. And right now we are doing a CTE audit. I think that CTE audit may cover some of this that we're currently doing," School Board Member Marcus Nicolas said.
Mazur said LCTA is waiting on more information from the district about next steps and to see whether or when an impasse hearing will be scheduled.
This story was reported on-air by a journalist and has been converted to this platform with the assistance of AI. Our editorial team verifies all reporting on all platforms for fairness and accuracy.
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