‘It’s so insulting’: Broward teachers angry over stalled pay negotiations

Scott Travis, South Florida Sun-Sentinel
·3 min read
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Some Broward teachers say they are poor, fed up and ready to leave if the school district can’t pay them better.

The Broward Teachers Union and the school districts have been in stalled negotiations for salary increases since June, and the two sides remain far apart for salary increases. The union, in separate sessions has asked for 7% and 9% increases, while the district has offered what the union describes as a “meager 1.7%.”

They argue the 1.7% is the bare minimum, because it’s coming out of a state allocation specifically earmarked for raises. Miami-Dade and Palm Beach County school districts have completed their negotiations and used other dollars to supplement the state requirement, they argue.

“I’ve heard you say time and time again you value and respect our educators,” Daina Sanders, chief of staff for the teachers union, told the School Board on Wednesday. “But you value and respect them with a zero from the district budget. It’s so insulting. It’s so disappointing.”

The district and union have already reached an agreement on a special supplement funded by the referendum, which includes supplements of $500 to $12,000, which are significantly higher than the past, since voters approved a tax increase last year. But many younger teachers said their share of that is small.

Palm Beach County and Miami-Dade counties also provide teachers with referendum-funded supplements. But BTU officials argued those districts have agreed to pay increases well beyond the referendum dollars.

Miami-Dade officials say teachers got a raise of 7% to 10%, but that’s inclusive of referendum supplements. Palm Beach County officials say teachers there got an average 7% increase. That’s in addition to referendum supplements, which are the same as in the past.

Dozens of teachers packed the School Board this week to say they are struggling to make ends meet with the salaries offered by Broward.

Maria Vasquez, who makes about $49,000 as a teacher at Gulfstream Academy in Hallandale Beach, said she relocated from North Carolina and took an $8,000 pay cut.

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“I have the most amazing first-grade students who have the most amazing projection, because they know their teacher can’t hear well and can’t afford to get hearing aids,” she said. “I did qualify for food stamps, which is so degrading when you have a master’s degree. It makes no sense.”

Heather Brodsky, a 20-year teacher who makes about $56,000, told the board she has urged her young daughter not to go into the teaching profession.

“I said, ‘Honey, no you don’t,'” Brodsky told the board. “They believe in putting more work on us and not paying us.

“I’ve never felt more abused and disrespected in my whole life,” she said.

Many teachers attending Wednesday booed and turned their back when Superintendent Peter Licata said he respected them.

“We do value you. We do hear you. We understand you,” Licata said.

The School Board is still discussing collective bargaining strategies in closed-door sessions.

“I stand with teachers, administrators and all employees to pay them more,” said Board member Torey Alston, one of the board’s more fiscally conservative members. “I also balance the huge fiscal cliff facing the district that I’ve been very vocal about since joining the board. We can do both provide additional overall compensation and constrain unnecessary spending.”