DeLand, FL – Don’t expect Volusia County’s public school teachers to work any more than they have to unless a new contract is hashed out between the teachers’ union and Volusia County Schools by the end of the year.
Over 93% of teachers and support staff participating at a telephone town hall meeting Thursday night agreed to a “Work To The Contract” move starting January 4th, according to Volusia Teachers Organization President Andrew Spar.
“A ‘Work to the Contract’ is when teachers and support staff no longer work above and beyond their contracted hours,” Spar added. “They will no longer donate time to complete paperwork, tutor students, sponsor clubs, volunteer for events or go on field trips unless they are compensated for that work.”
This is the second straight year VTO has voted to do this during its ongoing and often contentious negotiation with the school district. Spar says over 60% of employees participated last year and he expects that number to go even higher this year.
“Last year, a promise was made by the Volusia County School Board to the students, teachers and support staff in Volusia County that things would get better,” Spar stated. “Learning and working conditions are no better than last year. In fact, they seem worse.”
Spar says there’s still cleanliness issues on many campuses and the VCSB isn’t doing anything about the over-testing of students, increasing class sizes and getting the proper materials needed to teach students to the new educational standards.
Also similar to last year, VTO plans to lead public protests during the regularly scheduled School Board meetings in DeLand. The first march will start Tuesday (December 8th) at 5 PM and over 500 people are expected to attend, according to Spar.
“Employees in the district are not happy,” Spar stated. “They don’t trust the school board or the district and they do not feel valued. We cannot improve our schools if we devalue the people who work in them.”
As part of the “See The Light” protest, teachers will be carrying battery operated candles, per Spar.
VTO and VCS remain deadlocked over several issues, including teacher pay increases and how to pay for health care benefits.
Both sides took nearly a year to negotiate the last deal, which saw teachers get an average of 2.78% in raises once it was approved last May. Those raises were retroactive since teachers continued to work without a contract in place.
That deal saw beginning teachers start out with a yearly salary of $37,000 – a $1,000 increase – and the implementation of state-mandated performance pay.
Copyright 2015 Southern Stone Communications.