Teachers and school district reach tentative salary agreement

In a report filed today by Tim Forson, deputy superintendent for operations and chief negotiator for the St Johns County School District, Historic City News has learned that a tentative agreement has been reached with the St Johns Education Association for the next Fiscal Year.

The agreement, following ratification by the teachers, will be presented to the School Board for acceptance.

“Both sides worked very hard to come up with an agreement which benefits the teachers, taxpayers, the school district, and more importantly the children within this district,” St Johns Education Association president, Dawn Chapman, told Historic City News. The Association is the recognized bargaining agent for approximately 2,000 instructional personnel in the school district; including teachers, media specialists, guidance counselors, deans and psychologists.

Highlights of the negotiation include:

• One level up on the salary schedule for all teachers
• An additional $1,300 for all teachers receiving effective or highly effective on their final 2012-2013 evaluation
• Set aside $255,000 to be utilized for a salary increase for employees in the St. Johns Educational Support Professionals Association; the non-instructional staff support union
• Set aside $575,650 to be used for teacher salary increases through the development of a performance pay salary schedule and grandfathered salary schedule to comply with Senate Bill 736; a joint committee will develop a schedule for approval by November 30, 2013

Based on the currently negotiated contract, instructional staff will see different increases indicative of their level of individual experience. The average is $2,262 or approximately a 4.7 percent increase in current salary.

“Having a tentative contractual agreement that sets compensation for the state salary allocation is beneficial for both the employees and the district,” Forson told local reporters. “We were diligent in our efforts to reach an agreement and ensure that what we were doing was right for everyone involved. The ability to work cooperatively is a testament to the leadership among the Association, the School Board, and the Superintendent.”