Polk County Public Schools

School District reaches tentative salary agreement with the Polk Education Association for 2011-2012 School Year.

December 15, 2011

On Tuesday evening, December 13, 2011, negotiating teams for the Polk County School District and the Polk Education Association signed off on a tentative salary agreement for the current 2011-2012 School Year. This agreement was but one of many positive agreements that were reached during the negotiation process for this year’s contract. Several of these highlights include:

• 2011-12 Salaries – A tentative agreement was reached on a step increase retroactive to July 1, 2011 for all eligible employees represented by PEA (Teachers, Para educators and Educational Support (clerical) Personnel (ESP)). The amount of $500 will be added for employees already at the top of their respective salary schedules for these three groups.
• National Board Teacher Certification – Tentatively agreed to continue to pay the $1,000 supplement for existing National Board Certified Teachers.
• Teacher Training Rate of Pay – Tentatively agreed that teachers required by the Board to participate in workshops or conferences on other than a regular school day will be paid at the rate of $18.09 per hour, rather than the current rate of $8.50.
• Longevity Supplements – The longevity supplements for eligible Para educator and ESP employees will be reinstated retroactive to July 1, 2011. This will provide longevity supplements for Para educators and ESP reaching the 15-year service milestone and increments of 5-years thereafter.

In acknowledgement of the tentative agreement, Polk School District Superintendent Dr. Sherrie Nickell stated:

“The PEA has been a strong and tireless advocate for its members. While ultimately successful, the negotiations were long and difficult. Key to the ultimate success of these negotiations was efforts by all parties to analyze available funding, to create transparency in the budgeting process and to make reasonable compromises accepted by each party.” Dr. Nickell noted further:

“Our foremost goal is to provide a quality education for our students, and that is not possible without high quality teachers and staff who are fairly compensated and who are treated fairly and equitably.” She added:

“This agreement on salaries is significant, and it was made possible by the ongoing cooperation of the Polk Education Association, the strong support of the members of the School Board and the hard work of the District’s negotiating team.”