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