Tuesday, November 28, 2023
The district declared an impasse, so they presented their argument first. Their Chief Negotiator, J. Mandel, explained the different salary proposals presented by the district. We are proud to say that because of the Union, the district went from a 6% to a 9% increase in the line item. In addition, due to CTA intervention, we now have percentage increases. Also, the district went from a two-year deal to a one-year salary deal. Below are some additional points made during the district’s presentation.
OCPS provides all employee groups a 9% increase to the line item, including Administrators.
They stated that they don’t have additional money to fund CTA’s proposal.
Kyle Arnone, Director of AFT Center of Collective Bargaining, presented the union’s position on salary on your behalf. It was presented to the magistrate that the reason we pushed for percentages was to begin to address the current salary compression issues. The magistrate was shown how the average teacher increase in OCPS has only increased by $6,764 in five years. Below are some additional points made about salary.
Starting in 2021-2022, inflation outpaces salary growth.
The average teacher has seen their purchasing power deteriorate by $6,265 from 2018-19 to 2023-24.
Even with the CTA proposed salary adjustments, the inflation-adjusted average teacher salary does not catch up to the pre-pandemic average salary. It is a start.
There is a cost difference of approximately $12.8 million, representing 0.47% of the FY24 Operating Budget.
Spending on substitutes nearly tripled from FY2021 to FY2023. This is money that can be used to fund CTA’s salary proposal. If we paid our teachers enough and more were staying in the profession, we wouldn’t need to hire so many substitutes to fill the many vacancies.
Both sides discussed their position regarding supplements during their salary presentation. Click HERE to see CTA’s presentation.
The district presented its position on Health Insurance. They explained how many transfers they had made from the general fund to the trust fund to comply with state statutes. Based on actuaries' information, an increase is needed to maintain trust. The district says they need to include insurance in these negotiations so the changes can be in effect the next school year, and they can do open enrollment around March-April.
The chief negotiator for the district explained that the proposed salary increase would cover the insurance increases, and teachers would get to enjoy the salary increase for a year before the insurance increases are effective.
