VCS-VUE Teacher Bargaining Session Today

DeLand, FL – Members of the Volusia County Schools District Bargaining Team and Volusia United Educators meet this morning to discuss a salary increase per the Teacher Salary Increase Allocation bill signed by Governor Ron DeSantis and in effect since October 1. VUE President Elizabeth Albert says they will submit a proposal to Chief Financial Officer Debra Muller and the Chief Negotiator Rachel Hazel today. She says her team has been working diligently and has their facts together. "We’ve been looking at trends and historical information and what we currently have. We believe that there is absolutely a way that Volusia County Schools can provide equitable raises to all." There was supposed to be a bargaining session yesterday (October 19) for VUE support staff. The school district sent out a notice late Friday (October 16) that the session was canceled. The notice did not give a reason but Albert says the district has not come out and said no to further negotiations. "What they said is ‘the district does not believe that there is any basis to renegotiate the salary raises for support staff for fiscal year 2020-2021 and declines to further bargain’." Albert says that is not the case and that there were triggers that allow for the reopening of negotiations and we believe they have been met. She said she’s not sure what the next step is but they are working on it. On the issue of a social media policy for VCS, Albert said at this time it’s a proposal that has not been approved by the Volusia County School Board. She said it’s not really anything different than what we already do. Teachers and educational professionals are held to a higher standard. We teach our folks that they need to be mindful of what they post on social media. They can’t disparage people and we know they do not speak on behalf of the district. Albert says she does have some serious concerns with the infringement on personal social media accounts.