Teachers' votes in on raises, contract

By the time they finish their school year Monday, Collier County teachers should know whether they have a new contract.

If they don't, it would mean a new group of teachers would head to the bargaining table to work on a new deal and could leave teachers without a pay increase at the start of the school year.

The district's contract with the union expires June 30.

Jonathan Tuttle, executive director of the Collier County Education Association, said the union had received all of the ballots from the Naples and Everglades City schools, and he expected the Immokalee ballots by Friday afternoon. He said union officials would count the ballots this weekend and e-mail teachers the result Monday.

Tuttle said the union would not disclose the result Monday until after the teachers had been told.

"This is their contract," he said.

Wednesday night, bargaining teams from both sides agreed the teachers would receive a 6 percent increase across the salary schedule for the 2006-07 school year. Teachers with less than three years' experience and a bachelor's degree would be paid $38,198, which would be an increase over the $33,226 to $36,036 they are paid now.

Teachers with 16 to 19 years of experience and a bachelor's degree will be paid $58,812, an increase over the $54,341 to $55,483 they are being paid now.

But teachers had to make a concession for the 6 percent across the board. Under the proposal, all teachers will remain at their current step, which is measured by years of experience, for the 2006-07 school year. The teachers will move up to the next step in the 2007-08 school year, according to the agreement.

Some teachers will lose more than others. Those who have put in 19 years with the district and are expected to go on longevity pay next year will have to wait until their 21st year of service. Teachers who have four years of service will be paid the same as a first-year teacher.

"The negotiating team made a decision and we as a team agree to it," Cal Boggess, chief spokesman for the union's negotiating team, told teachers at a question-and-answer session Thursday evening. "This is the best deal we thought we were going to get. Is it good for the current living conditions in Collier County? No. But in all of my years of negotiating, it is the best deal we have ever gotten."

But most of the 30-plus teachers who attended the session Thursday were not happy about the increase. They argued that the raise is not a true 6 percent over what they would have made next year.

April Mapes, a teacher at Oakridge Middle School, said Thursday that the district's offer was about 2.7 percent over what she would earn next year without raises at all. She brought a handout given to many teachers that showed teachers what they would receive over the step pay if it still existed.

"It's misleading. It is not a 6 percent raise to my salary. They gave us a 6 percent raise, but they are taking back most of it by freezing the steps," she said.

Others were frustrated by the time teachers had to vote. Ballots were delivered to the schools Thursday and teachers had to look over the ratification documents and vote Friday.

Many wanted to wait until Monday to hold the vote, arguing it would give teachers more time to look over the contract. Several teachers speculated that the district was forcing the bargaining team to get the contract ratified so district officials could tell new teachers at the recruitment fair Saturday, June 10, that they would earn $38,198 in starting salary.

CCEA President Von Jeffers said those accusations were untrue and the vote could not be delayed until Monday because the ballots had gone out and the teachers had been told Friday would be the deadline for the ballots.

If a majority of teachers vote against ratification, the teachers and the district will have to return to the table with a new bargaining team.

If that happens, teachers would earn what they currently earn, without the step increase, until a new contract could be ratified.

A provision in the current teacher contract states, "Effective July 1, 2006, increments shall be paid following the ratification of a successor agreement."