For the first time since the 1980s, the Lakeland School District and the Lakeland Education Association (LEA), the teachers’ union, have reached an impasse in negotiations for the teachers’ contracts.
The main points being negotiated are salary and compensation, including the pay scale the teachers work under, medical insurance and leave. Also in negotiation this year were the pay for extracurricular and advisory positions and the procedural agreement.
District Director of Business and Support Services and lead negotiator Tom Taggart said, “Money is always the major issue.”
Carrie Scozzaro, THS art teacher, LEA vice president and LEA lead negotiator said, “We have agreed on some points and made definite progress in many areas but are not in agreement on one to two key points.”
However, the even points that have been agreed upon are not set in stone.
Taggart said, “Until there is an overall agreement there is no agreement on individual terms.”
The negotiations began in April and continued into June, but the two sides were unable to meet an agreement on the terms of the contracts. From there the two sides met to decide how next to proceed in the process. They met again before school started in hopes of coming to an agreement before the start of the school this year. Since this did not happen, the negotiating teams representing the two factions are now set to meet for their first mediation session on Oct. 6. The lead negotiators for both parties said they hope to reach an agreement during the mediation.
However, if there is no agreement reached during mediation, the LEA and Lakeland School District could proceed to a process called “fact finding.” This process would involve an outside party reviewing the facts of the situation, including the financial circumstances of the district and all proposals offered by both factions up to that point. The outside party would then write a report on the findings and both LEA and the district would then review the findings at which point one or the other may be willing to settle depending on the report.
Both the district and LEA appointed a four-person team to represent their interests in negotiations. Scozzaro, Tammie Henderson, Cherokee Harvey, and Kathy Peterson, teachers at other Lakeland schools, comprise the LEA team.
Scozzaro said, “LEA is also in touch with its regional and statewide bargaining teams, and involves some of its executive leadership in the negotiations process. And, of course, LEA is in fairly constant communications with its members.”
The team chosen to represent the district is Taggart; Brad Murray, assistant superintendent; Jeane Plastino-Wood, board of trustees member; and Kyle Olmstead, board of trustees member. When negotiations started Don Soltman, a former board member, was on the team, but after leaving the board in July, Soltman was replaced on the negotiations team by Olmstead. District Superintendent Dr. Mary Ann Ranells is also available for the district team to consult with during meetings but is not directly involved in the negotiations.
Ranells said, “In the past, I have negotiated as a teacher and as an administrator. What I love about the process is when the adults work together to improve our schools for students.”
Scozzaro added that this process shows that people can disagree and discuss issues in a healthy and constructive manner.
Both lead negotiators did agree that the impact of this situation on the students was very minimal.
Scozzaro said, “The important thing that we (the teachers) stress is that there is no impact on the quality of education we provide.”
THS Sophomore Jesse Maddox said, “I had no clue that (teachers) were in negotiation with the district.”
Ranells said, “I expect nothing but the best” from the negotiations.
THS U.S. History and Photography Teacher Phil Zimmerman said, “My expectation is that there isn’t going to be an easy outcome. There is still a lot of negotiating to do.”
Members of the district team agree.
Taggart said, “At some point the matter will be settled. At what point that happens is the question. We hope it happens soon, but the process may need to run its course.”
Editor’s Note: As of press time, the district and LEA have reached a tentative agreement. Issues are yet to be settled, but the LEA hopes to present a vote to ratify the agreement on Oct. 8.
