School district, unions reach deal at first bargaining meeting

by Westvolusia1 

07/20/2016

After months of fighting and heated negotiations, Volusia County Schools reached  tentative two-year settlements with two of its unions July 20 on long-standing issues of pay and insurance benefits.

The settlements were reached at the first bargaining session for the 2016-17 school year Wednesday morning, in a matter of hours, between the district, the Volusia Teachers Organization and the Volusia Educational Support Association.

The deals cover the 2016-17 and 2017-18 school years.

Teachers and others covered by VTO will receive a 4.25-percent pay increase in 2016-17 and a 2.5-percent raise in 2017-18, while VESA employees will receive a 6.25-percent increase in 2016-17 and a 2.5-percent increase in 2018-19.

Employees who served in 2015-16 and are returning for the 2016-17 school year will also get a $500 bonus if covered by VTO and $300 if covered by VESA.

Paraprofessionals and office workers will also get raises ranging from 25 cents per hour to $1 per hour.

The unions negotiate for all employees, whether or not the employee is a member of a union.

The deals come after months of tense negotiations between the district and its three unions for the 2015-16 school-year contract. For that school year, which ended June 30, negotiations began in October 2015, and only ended when the Volusia County School Board imposed settlements at a series of impasse hearings in May and June. 

One of the most contentious issues related to the cost of health insurance. The district instituted a $500 cap on their contribution to employee health-insurance premiums for 2015-16, which many employees said would make their current health-insurance plans unaffordable and effectively wipe out any pay increases the district would give.

This time around, both sides softened their positions. The district will raise its insurance contribution to $531. It has also agreed to work with the unions in exploring other solutions to contain health care costs, such as looking at the possibility of the district self-insuring.

As a result of the deal, VTO and VESA will agree to drop their unfair labor practice filings against the district.

The agreements must be ratified by the members of both unions, along with the School Board, before they go into effect. Michael Dyer, general counsel for the district, said the board may take it up at its Aug. 9 meeting.

The district was set to hold a similar bargaining session with the American Federation of State, County and Municipal Employees, which represents the district’s trade staff, on July 21.