So far there have been three bargaining sessions between Santa Rosa Professional Educators, the union representing Santa Rosa County’s public school teachers, and the school district’s bargaining team – but no pay hikes yet for educators.
“This year’s negotiations have included discussions regarding the new beginning teacher pay amount provided by House Bill 641,” said Anna Neese, SRPE executive director.
According to Neese, at the last bargaining session in November, the teams were still not close to determining how many educators qualified for the Governor’s increase.
“This was due in part to the district’s implementation of the operating system FOCUS not producing accurate reports,” Neese said, noting that SRPE had made numerous public records requests since August 2020 for the reports to help determine which employees are eligible for the base pay increase.
Per SRPE, the exact number of employees who qualify determines how much the base pay increase can be for actual “classroom teachers” who meet the definition outlined in HB 641. The union on January 4, 2021 receive the information.
Neese said now that the union has the employee information they will be able to move forward with the next bargaining session planned for January 13.
The session will be live streamed/recorded on the Santa Rosa Professional Educators YouTube channel.
“SRPE and the new district leadership understands the urgency to conclude Negotiations in a timely manner, and both teams will continue to work together to expedite the process,” Neese said.
