Board sticks to original 2% raises for teachers

Now the offer is expected to go to all union members

Broward teachers failed to get the raise they wanted after a raucous seven-hour meeting marked by union members booing, coughing loudly and turning their backs.

The School Board voted 6-3 after midnight Wednesday to stick with the district’s original offer for 2019-20 of a 2% increase retroactive to August. Board members Robin Bartleman, Lori Alhadeff and Nora Rupert opposed. They hoped the district could find more money for a larger offer. The Broward Teachers Union asked for 5% and the two sides had been at an impasse.

Now the offer is expected to go to all union members for a yes or no vote. It’s unclear what the next step is if teachers vote it down.

”I’m very disappointed,” union President Anna Fusco said by text after the meeting.

More than 1,000 teachers, dressed in blue union shirts, packed the meeting at Plantation High’s auditorium Tuesday night, with many being sent to an overflow space in the gym.

Chief Financial Officer Judith Marte’s statement that “we value our teachers” was met with loud laughs and boos. At other times, union members stood up and turned their backs on the School Board and district administrators.

Marte said teacher salaries were on par with other similarly sized districts in Florida, and the problem is the state doesn’t fund education well enough. She said the district has already cut central office staff and cut back on travel and supplies and supported a 2018 referendum to pay teachers an average of 7% more.

The average teacher makes about $50,000, not including supplements of $2,300 to $8,000 that they receive from a 2018 referendum.

Union members argued that the district finds money for raises for administrators and that teachers are asked to do more duties and must spend their own money on supplies. They said they don’t consider the 2018 referendum money raises since the money goes away in 2022 if voters fail to renew it.

The scene got really awkward after Marte cited the coronavirus virus as a reason the district couldn’t offer more than a 2% raise. Marte said the district, which has no known cases, is having to spend a lot of money on supplies. She said COVID-19 also is threatening to have a devastating effect on tourism and Florida’s economy, which would ultimately mean fewer dollars for the district.

After the audience started to boo and yell, Board Chairwoman Donna Korn warned people to stay quiet.

“If the disruption continues, unfortunately, I am going to start asking people to be removed from the room,” she said. “We hear your dissatisfaction. We have to be able to hear what’s going on.”

Korn was forced to stop the meeting for frequent breaks and momentary timeouts.