AMBUSH "Landmark" Agreement between MDCPS & UTD: STILL Violates Florida Statute 1012.2
UTD and MDCPS must stop insulting the intelligence of the Educators of MDCPS by misrepresenting the law to their financial detriment.
Ambush Tactics!
End-of-the-year: when teachers are ready to tune out!
Yes, this is when they do it.
TEACHERS PAY ATTENTION!!!
MDCPS teachers need a union to protect them from their own union, the United Teachers of Dade.
Below you will read what UTD and MDCPS does not want teachers to know.
GRANDFATHERED SALARY TEACHERS - THIS IS WHAT YOU NEED TO KNOW:
ISSUE ONE: Speaking in "Averages" is Misleading
Don't focus on "averages." Instead, ask: "What EXACTLY is being denied to me? If UTD and MDCPS adhered to Florida Statute 1012.22, would I stand to earn more than the crumbs they throw at me?"
FLORIDA STATUTE 1012.22(1)(c)(1)(b) PROVIDES: "'Grandfathered salary schedule' means the salary schedule or schedules adopted by a district school board before July 1, 2014, pursuant to subparagraph 4."
INTERPRETATION of FLORIDA STATUTE 1012.22(1)(c)(1)(b): The "Grandfathered Salary Schedule" adopted by MDCPS before July 1, 2014 is the one which was adopted on October 11, 2013.
Please note that the "Grandfathered A0 Salary Schedule," which appears in the Tentative Agreement" is NOT the legally mandated Grandfathered Salary Schedule for grandfathered teachers pursuant to Florida Statute 1012.22.
Step increases on the Grandfathered Salary Schedule will yield veteran (aka Grandfathered) teachers higher salary increases than the "average (emphasis added) salary and benefits adjustments for teachers exceeding eight percent." That is, 8% is an "average" of two items, "salary and benefits," which in the aggregate may appear to amount to more when taken together. Yet, this is the crux of the issue. When taken apart, they are not more than what veteran teachers stood to earn in salary increases - alone - had the grandfathered teachers advanced on the Grandfathered Salary Schedule.
In order to compare apples to apples, the two items of "salary" and "benefits" must be analyzed separately. The UTD and MDCPS are not a fairly and accurately depicting the dollar-for-dollar "salary" and/or "benefit" "increase" amounts. UTD and MDCPS also fail to disclose how this impacts each individual step; that is, if steps were still in place, as the law mandates, veteran teachers' salary increases would have been greater than the "averages" proposed in this contract. Generalizations do not speak to how individual teachers, especially veteran teachers, are negatively impacted. Generalizations only make good media sound bites.
ISSUE TWO: Involuntarily Opted Out Grandfathered Teachers
FLORIDA STATUTE 1012.22(1)(c)(4)(a) PROVIDES: "Instructional personnel on continuing contract or professional service contract may opt into the performance salary schedule if the employee relinquishes such contract and agrees to be employed on an annual contract under s. 1012.335. Such an employee shall be placed on the performance salary schedule and may not return to continuing contract or professional service contract status. Any employee who opts into the performance salary schedule may not return to the grandfathered salary schedule."
INTERPRETATION of FLORIDA STATUTE 1012.22(1)(c)(4)(a): The UTD and MDCPS contract negotiations have involuntarily, unilaterally, and therefore, illegally, opted out all MDCPS "grandfathered" teachers. The option to "opt out" was intended to be one which is to be personally exercised by individual employees. Whereas the statute provides that MDCPS may award cost-of-living-adjustments to the grandfathered salary schedule steps adopted before July 1, 2014, it does not suggest that the salary scheduled of "steps or lanes," as they were called by the legislature, are to be abolished. The cost-of-living-adjustment provided by this AMBUSH tentative agreement was intended to be in addition to a step increase on the grandfathered salary schedule. The legislative intent is clear in that they "steps and lanes" are to be "grandfathered" or preserved.
PERFORMANCE PAY TEACHERS - THIS IS WHAT YOU NEED TO KNOW:
ISSUE ONE: UTD and MDCPS Failed to Adopt a Performance Pay Schedule
FLORIDA STATUTE 1012.22(1)(c)(5) PROVIDES: "Performance salary schedule.—By July 1, 2014, the district school board shall adopt a performance salary schedule that provides annual salary adjustments for instructional personnel and school administrators based upon performance determined under s. 1012.34. Employees hired on or after July 1, 2014, or employees who choose to move from the grandfathered salary schedule to the performance salary schedule shall be compensated pursuant to the performance salary schedule once they have received the appropriate performance evaluation for this purpose."
INTERPRETATION of FLORIDA STATUTE 1012.22(1)(c)(5): The "Min/Max" schedule which the MDCPS ratified on September 9, 2015 is not the salary schedule that was adopted for performance pay "by July 1, 2014." In fact, the "Min/Max" schedule it was adopted after July 1, 2014. UTD failed to adhere to the mandates of the law and never adopted one prior to that date.
Likewise, the "Performance A0 Salary Schedule" in the Tentative Agreement" is NOT the legally mandated Performance Pay Salary Schedule for performance pay teachers pursuant to Florida Statute 1012.22.
ISSUE TWO: Performance Pay Teachers Shortchanged by THOUSANDS
FLORIDA STATUTE 1012.22(1)(c)(5)(b) PROVIDES: "Salary adjustments.—Salary adjustments for highly effective or effective performance shall be established as follows:
(I) The annual salary adjustment under the performance salary schedule for an employee rated as highly effective must be greater than the highest annual salary adjustment available to an employee of the same classification through any other salary schedule adopted by the district.
(II) The annual salary adjustment under the performance salary schedule for an employee rated as effective must be equal to at least 50 percent and no more than 75 percent of the annual adjustment provided for a highly effective employee of the same classification."
INTERPRETATION of FLORIDA STATUTE 1012.22(1)(c)(5)(b): Performance pay teachers who are rated "Highly Effective" must be paid a bonus of a minimum of $6,011 plus at least $1, which is the highest differential between two steps in the Grandfathered Salary Schedule. Teachers rated "Effective" are to receive a bonus of 50 - 75% of the bonus paid to "Highly Effective" teachers.
CONCLUSION
VOTE NO!
In spite of the hearing scheduled on June 3, 2016 with the Public Employees Relations Commission where UTD is charged with violating Florida Statute 1012.22, as well as a Notice of Claims sent to the MDCPS which places them on notice that a class action will be filed against them, both entities continue violating the letter of the law by blatantly failing to adhere to Florida Statute 1012.22.
It is clear that UTD and MDCPS deem themselves to be above and beyond the confines of the laws of the State of Florida, and it is equally clear that UTD, as well as the MDCPS, either intentionally or recklessly violate the letter of the law of the State of Florida.
HOPE TO SEE YOU THERE!!
"Raise not Praise"
Save the Date
RALLY FOR SALARIES
June 11, 2016
11 AM - 2 PM
Tropical Park, 7900 SW 40th St, Miami, FL 33155
Watch the "Abracadabra" Speech Below
Announcing the Class Action!
Superintendent Carvalho said the legally mandated grandfathered steps are "magical." He sure made the steps disappear albeit illegally! Abracadabra! POOF!
And, school board member and licensed attorney, Raquel Regaldo, challenged teachers to "sue the board" if we wanted to get them to adhere to the law! Imagine that! An attorney and elected official indifferent about the failure of the MDCPS Board's adherence to the law she took an oath to uphold!
This behavior is not representative of elected officials in a constitutional republic. Rather, this seems like lawlessness and a failure to adhere to the rule of law!
