HCTA Bargaining Update – 8/28/2020

This week, HCTA and District bargaining teams reached tentative agreement on a comprehensive Schools Reopening MOU.

Chief among the provisions secured in the agreement are:

• Access to cleaning and sanitizing supplies for classroom
• Appropriate PPE for teachers commensurate with level of exposure  
• Restriction on the use of ESE Co-teachers for coverage during times scheduled for delivery of services
• Expansion of teacher authority and protections, including prohibition of recording without teacher’s consent
• Remote work plan in the event of school and/or district closure
• Option of remote work in lieu of leave during quarantine resulting from on the job exposure
• Protection for use of leaves associated with COVID-19
• Adjustment to proration of athletic supplements in the event of season cancellation

The MOU requires that the evaluation committee (EMART) meet to review classroom observation protocols and recommend temporary adjustments to evaluation processes or criteria. Further, administrators will be trained on--and teachers will be informed of—any alterations to the process, criteria or instrument prior to the first evaluative classroom observation being conducted. Both brick-and-mortar and digital classroom assignments will be observed by administrators following the normal walkthrough/observation process in the physical setting. Evaluative observations for brick and mortar, digital home learning, and hybrid classes require the administrator’s physical presence in the room.

Additionally, employees on the District’s insurance plan will not pay out of pocket costs associated with testing and treatment of COVID-19 through December of 2020.

Though HCTA was unable to secure class size limits for traditional classroom electives (Art, Language, etc.), the District team offered assurance at the bargaining table that each site administrator has been tasked with creating school-specific plans to address safety measures for transition times, common areas, meal times, and classes with larger student numbers. It will be important that we work with admin to address concerns for areas which pose greater possibility of exposure to the virus. Please contact your HCTA worksite leader to ask for assistance in addressing these concerns as they arise.

The Reopening MOU, along with the other tentative agreements pertaining to the 2020-21 school year, can be viewed online at myHCTA.org. Remember that all other provisions of the HCTA master contract continue to apply, including planning time protection, duty-free lunch, and the 7.75 hour workday.

The parties will be reconvening in the days ahead to address the Teacher Salary Allocation. Please continue to look for updates and information from the HCTA bargaining team in September.

7/30/2020 - On Wednesday, HCTA and HUSW met in a joint bargaining session with the HCSD team at the request of HCTA to find five days during the first semester to exchange for the week of June 14-18. The proposal would have placed days of instruction where they are needed most--earlier in the year and ahead of the state testing window.

While HCTA and HUSW were able to find four mutually agreed upon days that would have ended the school year on June 14^th (a definite compromise), HCTA was not able to sign the Memorandum of Understanding when the district team attached loss of pay and disciplinary action to any staff who took the four identified days off without an excuse from a healthcare provider.  The inability of HCTA and HUSW to agree to these penalties resulted in no agreement at the table on ending the school year earlier than June 18th.

The calendar committee will meet next week and will make a recommendation to the school board regarding the revised calendar, as the end of quarter timeframes still need to be adjusted. Regardless of recommendations from the calendar committee, final disposition of the school calendar is the decision of the school board.

HCTA and HCSD signed a memorandum of understanding regarding compensation and working conditions for teaching a hybrid class in which students would be physically present in the room and online simultaneously. The agreement allows flexibility needed to offer access to specialized courses and programs to students who cannot be on campus--with the intent to preserve FTE to protect teacher allocations--while limiting the implementation of hybrid model classrooms. (The signed agreement can be accessed on the HCTA website)

Additional discussion focused on the need for the temporary assignment of teachers to the e-school setting to provide instruction for students whose parents selected the Hernando e-school option. This discussion is still in progress.  If you indicated on the online survey that you would be willing to teach e-school, watch your district e-mail for information regarding these positions.  If you indicated your willingness to teach e-school, but there is not a position matching your certification, you will NOT receive the e-school email.

Many families did not respond to the district survey to choose brick and mortar, distance learning, or e-school.  If you are available to donate a couple of hours to your school to call parents regarding their choice, please reach out to your principal to find out if help is needed.  We need to alert parents to their options to reduce the likelihood of instructional positions lost due to parents not returning their children to school online or in person.  If overall enrollment declines, the number of staff needed also declines.

The next bargaining session will occur on August 6, 2020 at 9:00 in the HCSD board room.

Next week is Teacher Appreciation Week! We know that Hernando teachers are working harder than ever to ensure learning continues during this time of Social Distancing and school closures. Here’s one way you can acknowledge and celebrate our educators:

Wear #REDforED on Wednesday, May 6, 2020

This year, we continue to appreciate all our Association members who are fighting for school funding, professional pay, better learning conditions for their students, and an end to the inequities that are making distance learning and student health even more challening during these times.

FEBRUARY 3, 2020 - BROOKSVILLE, FL

The 2020 Legislative Session in Tallahassee began on January 13th with a massive demonstration at the capitol staged by educators and public school activists demanding that our public schools receive the funding and support they so deperately need. The Fund Our Future rally cry came from far and wide and was covered by the media across the state and nationally. And the message was clear: Fund Public Schools!

Educators from Hernando County were among the thousands who converged in the state's capital. They wanted to make sure that the voices of local advocates

JANUARY 13, 2020 - TALLAHASSEE, FL

The 2020 Legislative Session in Tallahassee kicked off with thousands of public education advocates converging on the capitol to send a very clear message: Fund Our Future! Support for the rallying cry was echoed around the state by thousands more imploring state lawmakers to prioritize our public schools as they never have before.

Even as the focus seemed 

Join the movement for great public education in Florida.

jan13-rally-savethedate-poster-8.5x11-kids-bw.pdf

TENTATIVE AGREEMENT REACHED October 29, 2019

Joint Bargaining Update from HCTA and HCSB

At the bargaining session on October 29, 2019, both parties sought to identify the best compensation package possible to address improved wages as well the unanticipated health insurance increase.

October 7, 2019 - Governor DeSantis Pitches Increase to Teacher Pay -  From a schedule press conference in Jacksonville, the Governor released a plan to raise the minimum teacher salary in the state of Florida to $47,500 – impacting a little more than half of all of teachers in the state. Paired with the introduction of legislation by Sen. Rob Bradley to repeal the flawed Best and Brightest bonus scheme, the governor's announcement could be seen as evidence that the voices of FEA members and public education advocates are actually being heard.

While the plan is incomplete, that there is a