Where Do We Go From Here?

Any gambler will tell you “Never bet against the house” or “Don’t play on a rigged wheel.” The problem is that when you are a teacher in the public school system the house, otherwise known as the School Board, is the owner of the rigged wheel and it’s the only game in town. With that in mind consider the 13,000 teachers in Orange County Florida, represented by the Orange County Classroom Teachers Association, who are negotiating for the first pay raise they’ve had in over six years against the eight members of the School Board who claim that they want to give them one. So, why hasn’t that happened? As of 4:30 PM on Thursday, September 19 Scott Howat, Chief negotiator for the Board declared an impasse, which means that for the time being nothing is going to happen until a mediator or special master is called in to examine the situation and arrive at a decision. The Board can then either accept or reject those findings, thereby forcing the teachers to succumb to them. This is a primary lesson in Newton’s Laws of Motion aided by the Irresistible Force paradox.

These bargaining sessions have been going on for quite a while and most issues on contract language, working conditions and the like have been mutually agreed upon. Where they are apart is monetarily, the perception among teachers and the public being that the Board has a lot of excess money and that they can afford to pay the money. The Board claims that this money is needed for emergencies and non-recurring expenses. Teacher money is a recurring expense so the reserves cannot be used. The big problem for the Board is that they talk like they were addressing a CPA or CFO convention and not everyday people. The problem with the teachers is that they think like everyday people and not CPAs or CFO’s. The fact is that there is significant money in the reserves and as of yesterday the Property Assessor’s office claimed extra money to be had from a raise in the tax base. Somewhere in between the Board’s offer and he teachers’ demands is a good settlement, but the Board just won’t go there. Howat had been given strict limits from which he had no wiggle room. This was strange because both sides were told at the September 10, budget hearing to use the collaborative system to reach an agreement by Board Member Kat Gordon. This begs the question, “How do you collaborate when you’ve got no place to go?”

Scott Howat is a former teacher and he is married to an elementary school teacher in Orange County. He feels that the offer on the table based on the Board’s financial position is a fair one. He intimated to me that he’d personally love for there to be more money for the teachers because everyone, including himself, would benefit, but at the current time that is not possible. Diana Moore, president of the CTA feels that the Board is not being completely honest and that there is more money to be had. One thing is for certain, whatever the outcome, the teachers are going to have to wait a little longer until it is resolved. That’s what happens when you are playing against the only game in town.