Board broke the law, says teachers union

lhampson@lakecityreporter.com

The Columbia Teachers Association has filed a complaint against the Columbia County School Board after the board removed a section of the teachers contract before voting to approve the contract on Dec. 13.

The union sent the complaint to the Public Employees Relations Commission (PERC), a governor-appointed board of attorneys who hear labor and employment disputes.

?They violated the law,? Rich Grady, CTA business agent, said of the school board. After about 90 percent of teachers ratified the contract, the school board had the choice to either approve or deny the contract, he said. If board voted no, both sides could then return to the negotiating table.

Instead the board removed a section of the contract involving teacher assessment and then approved the contract.

?What they did sets a bad precedent,? he said. By removing part of an agreed-on contract, the school board did not bargain in good faith and violated Florida law, Grady said.

?The board has done nothing wrong,? said Guy Norris, school board attorney. The board acted in the best interest of the district and teachers, he said.

The deleted part says that if state laws governing teacher assessments are changed, the district and the union will begin negotiating to find a new assessment system.

Gov. Rick Scott signed teacher merit pay into law in March, making a teacher?s income based on assessment. However, the Florida Education Association is now suing the state, questioning the law?s constitutionality.

Norris said the section was vague and ambiguous. ?Efforts were made to clarify it, but they were rejected by the union,? he said.

Grady, who is employed by the Florida Educators Association and works with other regional unions as well, said the union and the school board agreed to the section during negotiations.

He said the union knew the school board had a problem with that section before the Dec. 13 meeting. However, Grady said the section protected teachers and the district.

?I believe they got bad advice from their lawyers,? Grady said.

Superintendent Michael Millikin said the deleted section contained language that would have unintended consequences detrimental to the district and teachers.

The district must have a state-approved system to qualify for Race to the Top and other government funds, he said. The district has to consider possible outcomes of the merit pay lawsuit, such as different teacher assessment guidelines, Millikin said.

Millikin said he intends to begin negotitions on the removed section when the school district returns from winter break.

Board member Glenn Hunter said Millikin sent the contract to teachers before the board had come to a consensus on all elements of it.

Both Norris and Grady said the rest of the contract is valid. Right now everything moves ahead, except the removed section.

Everything else was done correctly except that one piece, Grady said.

?It looks like to me the only point to be negotiated is that one issue,? Norris said.

The union expects the state committee to make a decision by the end of January, although it could take longer, Grady said.

If the commission rules in the union?s favor, the district could be cited or fined, Grady said. The union will use past practices and previous case law to prove the district did not bargain in good faith. ?We think we have a good case,? he said.

Norris said that although he has not yet seen the complaint, it ?sounds like a waste of the district?s resources to me.?

Source: http://www.lakecityreporter.com/articles/2011/12/24/news/doc4ef1558ac9a68870918675.txt

new jersey weather halloween movies halloween movies new york snow new york snow braxton miller braxton miller