School district, employees' union talks at impasse

The Lee County School District and the union representing its support personnel failed to come to an agreement Thursday on a pay and benefits package for next year, leaving the issue unresolved with just days to go before the current contract expires.

Several offers remain on the table for employees organized under the Support Personnel Association of Lee County, which includes bus drivers, mechanics and paraprofessionals. Many of those options center on the district’s offer of a 3 percent raise and a combination of upgrades and reclassifications that could mean boosts valued at several thousand dollars for some employees next year.

Along with a “step,” the annual raise they receive for another year on the job, workers potentially would see significantly better pay than last year, when all support staff saw a 20-cent hourly raise.

SPALC president Bob Rushlow said after negotiations concluded Thursday that too many unanswered questions remained to agree to a new contract. Talks will begin again Tuesday, three days before the old agreement ends.

The union has concerns that what the district is proposing does not equate to a 3 percent raise for those at the top of the pay scale, he said. Workers with 12 years of experience have no step above them to be combined with the raise, he said. With competition fierce for mechanics and other workers in the private sector, Rushlow worried the current offer wouldn’t be enough to keep veteran workers from leaving the school district.

“We have 22 positions in maintenance that we’ve been trying to fill and haven’t,” he said. “The salary package is not competitive.”

Under one option, a school bus driver on the fourth step would get a 75-cent hourly raise, which translates to a 5.9 percent salary raise. With benefits, the drivers, who are much in demand at the district, would be given an annual compensation package valued at approximately $27,817. The drivers work 186 days of the year.

Mechanics, also in short supply, would see 95 cents more hourly if they are on the ninth step and would see their total compensation package rise by 8.2 percent to $46,092 annually.

When making its offer to support personnel, the district factors in benefits it offers, such as fully paid health insurance. That’s not the way it works in the private sector, Rushlow said. Without that consideration, and with only base salary considered, the district’s offer of $46,092 to a mechanic drops to $34,190.

Many support workers aren’t even making that, Rushlow said, adding that custodians in the district start at $8.34 an hour.

“We have many employees at poverty level,” he said.

Greg Adkins, executive director of human resources and employee relations for the district, said though some issues still need to be addressed with the union, he had been hopeful an agreement would be reached this week.

Though he said he would like to see more than 3 percent for support workers, Rushlow said he believes the district is making its offer in good faith.

The ongoing negotiations are a collaborative effort, he said.

“There is one team there and it’s the district and the union working together,” he added.

The Teachers Association of Lee County and the district last month reached an agreement on a contract for next year that is expected to be ratified in August. Under that contract, salary for teachers in their first four years would jump to $36,000, according to an agreed-upon pay schedule. Last school year, starting teachers made $30,473.