Please be advised that the outcome of the ratification votes on the tentative agreements by the bargaining units is as follows:
Paraprofessional Bargaining Unit: Yes
Teacher Bargaining Unit: Yes
Notice
of
Teacher and Paraprofessional Ratification Voting
on
Tentative Agreements 2019-2020
Voting will begin at 9:00 a.m. on Monday, December 2, 2019
and will end at 4:30 p.m. on Friday, December 6, 2019.
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The ratification votes will take place by electronic ballot.
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Voting instructions will be sent by email to each member of the teacher and paraprofessional bargaining units. The tentative agreements will be posted at your school and on the MEA website, www.manateeea.org.
In addition, teachers and paraprofessionals were sent all of the tentative agreements on the respective contracts electronically. They are also posted below.
If you have any questions, please contact MEA at 747-5091 or via email at association@manateeschools.net.
final_teacher_tentative_agreements_20192020_110419.pdf
final_para_tentative_agreements_20192020_110419.pdf
November 5, 2019 - On Monday, November 4th the Manatee Education Association and the School District of Manatee County reached a tentative agreement on the terms for the 2019-2020 contract for teachers and paraprofessionals. The tentative agreements will be presented to teachers and paraprofessionals as well as the School Board for ratification before going into effect.
Highlights of the teachers’ tentative agreement include for the Performance schedule for all eligible teachers a 4 level advancement on the salary schedule for those who received a rating of Highly Effective. A 3 level advancement for those on the Performance schedule who received an Effective rating. Teachers on the Grandfathered schedule will also advance 4 levels on the schedule. There will also be a Cost Of Living Adjustment of $100 added to each level of the salary schedules for all teachers. Teachers who have completed 16 or 25 years with the district will receive a longevity supplement.
The highlights for the paraprofessional agreement include a movement of 2 steps on the salary schedule for all eligible paraprofessionals. Those paras who have reached the top of the salary schedule will receive a percent equal to 2 steps.
Both agreements include no increase in cost of the health insurance premium or changes to the benefits.
MEA President Pat Barber said “Reaching this agreement was made more difficult due to the challenges presented by the decades of poor funding provided by the FL Legislature and the manner in which the funding has been allocated. The theme has been doing more with less for a very long time and this agreement reflects that. We came to an agreement that maximized the dollars available.”
The teams worked to come to agreement exchanging proposals during three extended bargaining sessions.
“The tentative agreement reached Monday represents another significant step forward for our teachers and paraprofessionals in terms of having highly competitive compensation compared to their peers around the state,” said Superintendent Cynthia Saunders. “I want to thank the bargaining teams that made this tentative agreement possible, and I am extremely proud of the hard work being done by our teachers and paraprofessionals in our classrooms each and every school day.”
October 24, 2019 - The MEA and management bargaining teams met on a second session on Wednesday, October 23, 2019.
Management countered MEA’s proposal by offering teachers 3 level movements for teachers rated highly effective and 2 levels for effective as well as a $300 COLA. Their proposal for paras was 2 steps.
MEA provided a proposal after considering management’s counter proposal which included 4 levels for teachers rated highly effective and 3 levels for teachers rated effective plus a $400 COLA. MEA’s proposal for paras was 2 steps and a $0.15 per hour increase on the salary schedule.
MEA and management are working toward scheduling a future bargaining date.
October 3, 2019 - The MEA and management bargaining teams met for an initial bargaining session on Thursday, October 3, 2019.
After management presented information related to the district’s budget MEA spokesperson Bruce Proud asked questions related to the money received from the Legislature for this year’s budget including separating what money is available in the general fund versus what funding is categorical and mandated by law for specific purposes.
Management proposed a salary increase for teachers of three (3) levels for those who received a highly effective rating, two (2) levels for those who received an effective rating on the performance schedule and three (3) levels for teachers on the grandfathered schedule. Management proposed one (1) step increase for paraprofessionals.
MEA proposed a salary increase for all eligible teachers of six (6) levels for those who received a highly effective rating, four (4) levels for those who received an effective rating on the performance schedule, six (6) levels for teachers on the grandfathered schedule and a cost of living adjustment (COLA) of $500 for all instructional bargaining unit employees. MEA proposed a three (3) step increase for all eligible paraprofessionals and a COLA of $250 for all paraprofessional bargaining unit employees.
The following are the bargaining team members:
For MEA - Bruce Proud, Pat Barber, Dawn Walker, Cory Bernaert (Freedom), Linda Bryan-Beachler (Freedom), Kara Carney (Rogers Garden Bullock), Helen King (Bayshore Elementary), Brian Kirchberg (Braden River HS), Melanie Newhall (Kinnan), and Rena Morano (Palmetto HS).
For Management – Bill Vogel, Kate Barlaug (Haile), Willie Clark (SSC), Jacob Davis (SSC), James Horner (Abel), Heather Jenkins (SSC), John Reichert (SSC), Lesli Strickland (SSC), Tammy Taylor (SSC), David Underhill (Manatee HS), Doug Wagner (SSC) and Genelle Zoratti-Yost (SSC).
Bargaining is tentatively scheduled to resume on Wednesday, October 23, 2019.