Manatee County School Board Declares Impasse with Teachers

 

BRADENTON —The Manatee County School District declared impasse in contract negotiations with the Manatee Education Association (MEA), the union representing teachers and paraprofessionals, in a letter delivered on Wednesday, January 12^th. The Superintendent’s Chief Negotiator also by letter, declined mediation as a step in resolving the impasse.

 

Throughout the more than six months of negotiations, the Superintendent’s proposals remained essentially unchanged. The superintendent’s negotiators even used regressive tactics during the last negotiations session prior to declaring impasse. 

 

Some of the District’s positions would reduce compensation and benefits of teachers and paraprofessionals negatively impacting them for the remainder of their employment in the District.

 

Under the district’s positions, Pat Barber, MEA President said, “Teachers and paraprofessionals in Manatee County will be paying for the District’s past fiscal mistakes and will lose ground to inflation for the third year in a row.”

 

MEA believes that their proposals were fair, reasonable and would make progress in solving the fiscal concerns raised by the Superintendent’s negotiators.

 

MEA negotiators are preparing for the Special Magistrate hearing that will be scheduled within the next few weeks.