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Highlands Today

Negotiations Fail To Reach Salary Agreement

Mediator To Assist On Contract Talks With School Workers

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By MARC VALERO | Highlands Today

Published: October 18, 2007

SEBRING — After just one day of contract talks, negotiators for the Highlands County School District and the support professionals union agreed upon all language issues, but could not reach agreement on salaries.

Both sides decided Tuesday to bring in a federal mediator in an effort to reach a tentative contract agreement.

"We decided at the end of the day, we thought that further discussions on salary probably wouldn't be beneficial to either side and we'd enlist the services of a federal mediator," Deputy Superinten-dent Rodney Hollinger said Wednesday.

A date for the mediation session is yet to be determined.

The Highlands County Educational Support Professionals Association, which represents cafeteria, transportation, custodial, secretarial and other non-teaching employees, traditionally starts its contract negotiations after a tentative agreement is reached on the teachers' contract. During a second mediation attempt on Oct. 10, negotiators for the district and teachers reached a tentative agreement.

Few details about the teachers' contract were released at the time of the tentative agreement, but Union President Steve Picklesimer has provided an update on the union's Web site. Also, he is in the process of meeting with teachers to offer details and providing a couple of complete contract copies for teachers to review.

Three salary options were considered, with the union agreeing on an 18-month salary term without retroactive pay.

According to Picklesimer, the main reasons to accept this proposal are:
- Overall the existing top salary steps are below average for the state and need more money.
- Increasing the top step and shortening the salary schedule will cause the greatest gains in career earnings.
- The rumors about the potential revenue flow next year from Tallahassee indicate it may be a tight year. If we do not lock in the top step now at $54,000, tight revenue flow would probably keep us from that amount for two years or more. Now we have that amount, and others that are better, for more than half this year and all of next.

"The true salary for 2007-08 is a combination of the one pay step we had for the year up to December and the new pay step after Dec. 1," Picklesimer stated. "You move up a step when we get to December."
Teachers will vote on the contract at each school/worksite on Nov. 2.

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