More work less pay for some teachers

From the Palm Beach Post

By Kevin D. Thompson

The Palm Beach County teachers' union is balking at a school district proposal to hire adjunct teachers at $18-per-hour with no benefits as part of a modified teacher contract for the 2010-11 school year.

"That proposal cannot stand," county teachers union President Robert Dow said. "It's a wide open door to an abuse of the system."

The district would like to hire the adjunct teachers -- mostly retired teachers or college professors -- to help meet the new class-size law. Those teachers could be fired with 72 hours' notice.

A starting teacher earns $36,822 annually, Dow said. At $18-per-hour, an adjunct teacher would earn about $26,000.

Van Ludy, the district's director of labor relations, said all proposals are up for discussion.

"We're not going to the table with a take-it-or-leave-it attitude," Ludy said.

Dow said he's dissatisfied with the state of contract negotiations with the school district .

"We're at polar opposites right now," Dow said. "Hopefully the district will negotiate instead of dictate."

Ludy called the district's proposals fair.

"In light of the district's financial picture, I think our proposals are very legitimate," Ludy said.

The district did not offer the county's 12,000 teachers a raise for the 2009-10 school year . Instead, the district offered a one-time-only $500 bonus, which teachers reluctantly accepted. It cost the district more than $6 million.

The last teacher pay raise was for 2 percent for the 2008-09 school year. The union wants pay increases tied to years of experience, called "step" raises.

Once again, the district isn't offering additional money for teachers. Instead, the district is aiming to modify the teacher contract to help the district meet the state's new class-size law. Under the law, core classes such as English and math are capped at 18 students in pre-kindergarten through third-grade classes; at 22 in fourth to eighth grades; and at 25 in high school.

The school board will receive a class-size reduction proposal at its Feb. 9 meeting, six days before the district must submit a plan to the state to avoid a $16 million penalty. If the plan is submitted on time, the fine will be reduced to about $4 million.

The district also proposes to lengthen the school day for elementary school teachers to eight hours, up from 7 1/2 hours, with no additional pay.

Dow said he's encouraging teachers to show up outside the Feb. 16 board meeting wearing red, carrying signs and putting duct tape over their mouths with "crime scene" written on it. Dow said he was told that if he encouraged teachers to speak inside the board meeting, it could be considered an unfair labor practice and the union could be fined.

"So, what we're saying is, the teachers have no voice," Dow said.

But Ludy said he's heard of no such rule.

"Where he's getting that from, I have no idea," Ludy said. "That certainly hasn't stopped (teachers) in the past from expressing their concerns."

kevin_thompson@pbpost.com

http://www.palmbeachpost.com/news/teachers-union-balks-at-district-plan-to-hire-1222629.html