LAND Oâ LAKES â The collective bargaining process for school districts and their teachers unions can be a drawn out, cumbersome affair in ânormalâ years.
The difficulty level for reaching a wage agreement ratcheted up in 2020. The COVID-19 pandemicâs yet-to-be-realized effects on budgets combined with Gov. Ron DeSantisâ bill to increase teacher salaries created added hurdles.
But according to United School Employees of Pasco President Don Peace, cooperation has ruled the process.
âWeâre in the process of contract ratification,â Peace said during the Pasco County School Districtâs first regular board meeting of 2021. âThatâs a good thing.â
The school district and USEP reached a tentative agreement on salary negotiations Jan. 11. That agreement addressed the 80-20 percentage split of the $13,311,929 in funding Pasco received through the Teacher Salary Increase Allocation program created by the state this summer. That
Minister gives council a year to show it can keep control of children’s services following improvements
Immediate threat of transfer of services to trust removed from West Sussex after commissioner finds progress under new director and warns removing services from authority will risk deterioration
Vicky Ford, the children s minister (credit: Chris McAndrew / Wikimedia Commons)
Government plans to turn West Sussex council’s children’s services over to an independent trust have been put on hold for a year after its government-appointed commissioner found the authority had made progress under its new leadership.
On commissioner John Coughlan’s recommendation, children’s minister Vicky Ford has given the council a further 12 months to prove it should keep control of its services, a year after the government ordered the ‘inadequate’ authority to start setting up a trust.
Children and family centres could be reduced PLANS to reduce the number of children and family centres in West Sussex from 43 to 11 have been discussed by a county council scrutiny committee. The changes form part of a proposed redesign of the county council’s Early Help provision which it says aims to improve the services offered to the most vulnerable children and families, making sure they receive the help they need. During a meeting on Thursday, the committee “broadly supported” the plans but raised a number of questions and concerns. Michael Jones (Lab, Southgate and Gossops Green) agreed there was a need for more support, particularly in areas of deprivation, but didn’t think the data published by the council did enough to back up the proposals for the centres.
Jacquie Russell, cabinet member for children and young people, told the meeting that the Early Help service – which supports around 4,000 children a year on Early Help plans – had continued throughout the pandemic when the centres were closed.
She added: “Requests for service uptake were at a record high and that is pretty strong evidence that the service does not need to remain in a building.”
The centres provide support to families with children aged five and under and deal with issues such as child development, school readiness, parenting skills, and health.
But sometimes a building offers more than just a place to go for help and advice.