Negotiations

Update September 10, 2013

IMPORTANT PLEASE MAKE NOTE: The negotiations session scheduled for Monday, September 16 has been rd rescheduled to October 3 from 2 PM to 6 PM here at CTA. General The Palm Beach County Classroom Teachers Association and the School District of Palm Beach County met for our third negotiations session. The meeting took place here at CTA and began at 2 PM. CTA received the remainder of the requested financial data in hard copy from the District during this meeting. Mr. Burke and Ms. Knox from the District answered specific questions and clarified information requested by CTA regarding the budget, specifically, unassigned and/or available funds as well as budget categories. There was also clarification on specific step placement guidelines. Salary The District reiterated its original proposal that creates a performance-based salary schedule with a beginning salary of $40,000.00 and an across the board salary increase of $2,000.00 to each teacher bargaining unit member citing that that proposal expends all the monies available for salary. rd CTA will be passing a counter proposal on salary at the next session (October 3 ) now that we have received the rest of the requested information and clarification on the District Budget. Open Language CTA There were no counter proposals from the District at this session on any of the language CTA opened as follows: Article I: General Section G: Non-Reappointment/Resignation Article II: Rights and Responsibilities Section O: Children of Employees Article III: Working Conditions - Section C: Professional Qualifications Article VI: Association Rights and Privileges - Section A: Privileges Appendix E: Mandatory In-Service Supplement Appendix M: District and School Tutorial Program Hourly Rate District CTA requested clarification and intent on many of the proposals opened by the District. CTA also requested clarification on Appendix F that was an additional Appendix opened that was not listed by the District in its Intent to Open Letter. The District stated that it was opened because it relates to the changes in Section P. CTA has not acknowledged that opening this Appendix conforms to the current CBA language contained in the Preamble. Article III: Working Conditions Section A: Contract Year Article III: Working Conditions Section B: Employees Hours and Conditions o The District countered its own proposal adding language about the number of planning times a week available to individually plan limited to only one per week and limiting relief time to 15 minutes. Article III: Working Conditions Section G: Employee Building Council (EBC) Article III: Working Conditions Section P: Secondary (Middle, High, Vocational, Alternative, Special) School Scheduling o The District countered its own proposal adding several new pieces of language about Half time employees not previously addressed in the CBA. This new proposal also changed the number of prescribed instructional minutes to 310, down from 320. Again, a new proposal was passed on Appendix P and noted that we are not in agreement that this can be opened.

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CTA countered the two appendixes that the District opened as follows: Appendix B: Supplements o CTA countered this proposal with a 4% increase to almost all of the supplements citing that there has not been an increase since 2007. CTA also added two new positions to the supplement list: Teacher Mentor and Marzano Liaison. Appendix D: Glades Supplement o CTA countered this proposal with increases across the Board for each level of employee and agreed with the District on the difficulty of recruiting and retaining teachers to work in the Glades Area rd Remember the next session here at CTA on October 3 from 2 PM to 6 PM. In Unity, Your 2013-2014 Negotiations Team