Local News

Teachers, district reach tentative agreement

Marc Valero | Highlands Today
Published: September 6, 2012

SEBRING - After a full day of negotiations that stretched into the evening, teacher and district negotiators have reached a tentative contract agreement Tuesday that includes a pay increase for teachers.

Deputy Superintendent Rodney Hollinger said after 12 hours at the negotiation table the district reached a tentative agreement with the teachers union around 7 p.m. Tuesday.

"The union will have to send it out to their personnel to do a vote," he said. "If it comes back as a positive then we will have a contract at that point."

There were about seven or eight language items that were settled and the tentative agreement includes a salary enhancement plus a one-time bonus, Hollinger said.

Contract negotiations for the school support personnel will start Sept. 17, he added.

"In April we finished last year's negotiations," Hollinger noted. "So this is the 2012-13 year we have just finished."

Teachers and support personnel received no pay increase last year.

In past years, negotiations were completed in June before the fiscal year started, Hollinger said. This was a step in the right direction.

mvalero@highlandstoday.com (863) 386-5826