BREVARD COUNTY, Fla. — Brevard County Schools and the Brevard Federation of Teachers negotiated for several hours Monday and say they are close to a new pay deal.
- Union, school teachers have gone back and forth during negotiations
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The deal would provide raises for Brevard County's more than 4,800 teachers after teachers rejected the district's original pay deal in a vote in August.
After the "no" vote, the teacher's union asked for $2,300 for teachers rated "highly effective" and $1,700 for teachers rated effective.
However, the union decided to meet the district somewhere in the middle.
Union leaders brought down their proposal to now $2,000 for highly effective teachers and $1,500 for effective teachers, which the district agreed to Monday.
Assistant Superintendent Matt Reed says this is going better than last year's negotiations when the district and the union went to impasse.
"Compared to how things were last year with protests, and a lot of animosity over payroll, that's been a story all over the nation. It was good to see some smart people sit down and get some work done," Reed said.
However, the union has also asked for longevity supplements of $2,000 for teachers who have taught for 12 years or more.
However, the district countered that with $900 instead.
Union president Anthony Colucci says they will keep fighting for more though.
"We are $1,100 apart on the longevity supplement, so we're going to keep working on that until we get to a position that both sides can live with," Colucci said.
Now the two sides will meet again Tuesday afternoon at the union office in Rockledge to continue bargaining.