Teacher raises, charter school dispute: Broward School Board to discuss packed agenda
Broward teachers would lose $36.6 million in already approved raises, while charter schools could get a payout of tens of millions of dollars, under proposals the Broward School Board plans to discuss Tuesday.
In a third controversial proposal, the School Board would decide whether to fire General Counsel Marylin Batista.
Several School Board members told the South Florida Sun Sentinel the charter school settlement is the only one of the three they expect to be approved.
The meeting, which is scheduled to start at 8:45 a.m. at the K.C. Wright administrative building in Fort Lauderdale, follows a weekslong dispute between the charter school-friendly Republican members and teachers union-friendly Democratic members on the School Board.
Two major issues overlapped this school year to create the friction: tense negotiations with the Broward Teachers Union over teacher salary increases and a lawsuit filed in October by about three dozen charter schools saying they were shortchanged from a 2018 tax referendum.
The School Board voted 6-3 on Feb. 27 to resolve the dispute with the teachers union by giving teachers raises that averaged 3.96%.
The total cost was $36.6 million, but district officials say they didn’t have enough in recurring state funds, so the School Board is using $19.6 million in one-time federal COVID relief dollars to help pay for the increases. The federal money won’t be available to use next school year to maintain the raises.
Board member Torey Alston, a Republican appointed by Gov. Ron DeSantis, opposed the action and asked the state to investigate whether Democratic School Board members were improperly influenced by the union. Five of the six Democratic board members were endorsed by the teacher’s union and received contributions from the union for their 2022 or 2024 races.
Alston also said the School Board agreed to give raises to teachers without having sufficient money available to do the same for other employee groups, including administrators, bus drivers and custodial and food service employees.
In an item called “No Employee Left Behind,” Alston is asking the board to rescind the Feb. 27 agreement and “utilize existing funds to include all employee groups and not pass a Board supported unfunded obligation.”
Board member Allen Zeman, one of six Democrats on the board, told the Sun Sentinel he doesn’t expect this proposal to pass.
“I appreciate the intention. We are in difficult financial times,” Zeman said. “But we can’t go back and changed a signed contract. It’s not legal to do that, and there are other ways to to balance a budget. This would also send the wrong signal to our educators.”
Board member Debbi Hixon, also a Democrat, said the teachers union contract was settled on Feb. 27.
“We voted on the contracts with teachers and the raises,” she said. “It feels like someone didn’t get their way and they’re going to try a different way to change what happened.”
The item is tentatively scheduled to be discussed at 2:30 p.m.
At 1:45 p.m., the School Board is scheduled to discuss a proposed settlement to the charter school dispute in closed session and hold a public vote.
That issue relates to a tax referendum the school district passed in 2018 for teacher pay increases, safety and security and mental health. The district gave some money to charter schools out of the referendum but not a proportional share, which appellate courts have said is required in cases involving other districts.
In March, Education Commissioner Manny Diaz sided with the charter schools and demanded the Broward school district resolve the issue and pay charter schools what they are owed or face penalties, including the withholding of funds. The state Board of Education gave the district until April 17 to come up with a plan to get into compliance.
A department lawyer estimated the school district owes charter schools in the county about $80 million. George LeMieux, a lawyer and former U.S. senator, helped the district mediate and reach a settlement. The agenda item doesn’t say how much the total is.
“The District and the representatives from the charter schools reached an agreement where the District will make periodic payments of principal and interest commencing with the 2024-2025 school year,” the item said. “Both sides are cooperatively working to finalize the payment amounts.”
The charter school issue is a major reason Daniel Foganholi, a Republican and DeSantis appointee, has listed for recommending that Batista be fired as general counsel.
The School Board voted March 20 to try to resolve the charter school dispute quickly, but district lawyers submitted a memo to the state Board of Education stating reasons why the district shouldn’t have to share the money. The Republican members on the board said the memo didn’t reflect the will of the board.
“The General Counsel has undertaken certain actions independently, which have led to unfavorable outcomes for the School District,” Foganholi wrote in the agenda item.
Batista couldn’t be reached Monday. When the item was first proposed in early April, she told the Sun Sentinel, “I remain focused and committed to advancing the best interests of the School Board.”
The item on Batista is scheduled to be discussed at 10:45 a.m.