UPDATED WITH BROADCAST TRANSCRIPT:
Salary increases could be on the horizon for Leon County teachers of $40 per paycheck after a tentative deal was reached between the District and the Union.
"We think we did a really good job in doing the best we could," said Leon Classroom Teacher Association President Scott Mazur. "That's the job of the bargaining team: do the best possible job you can, right?"
Mazur said the union did counter with a 4% increase.
"We showed where there are pockets of recurring dollars that are within their budget," said Mazur. "They said that they just don't have any money at this time, which means that it would impasse if we were not able to reach an agreement."
The pay bump will be funded by about $1 million of state funds allocated for teacher salary increases.
Mazur said the district will not add any money on tops of that this year.
ABC 27 could not speak with Superintendent Rocky Hanna, Thursdsay.
However, the state of the Leon County Schools budget has been in discussion for months.
ABC 27 has had several conversations with Superintendent Hanna about how tight finances are this year for several reasons, including rising cost of services and a number of students leaving the district for the State's expanded voucher program.
Even after the tentative budget was passed in July for the current school year, concerns persist about the future of LCS finances.
"We're going to have to identify how we can cut $5 or $6 million more so we can accommodate what we already know is going to be a revenue shortfall next year," said Hanna.
While Mazur said he feels like they reached the best agreement they could with LCS, he said the advocacy work will not stop.
The union's next focus getting lawmakers to invest in public schools during the next legislative session, which begins in January,
"Nothing is going to change until our communities, our parents, our teachers, our students go ahead and demand more," said Mazur. "It's on them. It's not on the lawmakers. We enable the lawmakers."
The deal is currently tentative. It will need to be ratified by both the School Board and the Union. In Southwest Tallahassee, Maya Sargent, ABC 27.
Original:
Leon County Schools and the teachers' union have reached an agreement over salary increases. This comes after they were unable to reach an agreement last Wednesday. At the time, the District and the union said the reason for the holdup was the union's bargaining process as they looked to increase teacher salaries further.
Now, they've reached an agreement of about $40 more per check.
The bump will be funded using State dollars allocated for teacher salary increases.
The deal must be ratified by both the teachers and the school board in order to be finalized.
ABC 27 spoke with President of Leon Classroom Teachers Association, Scott Mazur, about next steps: "So all the language will go out to the bargaining unit in a ratification packet," said Mazur. "We will put the language in there so they can review it, make sure that they agree or disagree and then there will be the funding model and the end result of what people will be paid."
Mazur said that packet will be put to a vote by teachers in the coming weeks.
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