FAQ forParents

Will all teachers currently at the schools be hired at the new schools?

Proponents are promising that all teachers and staff who want to remain will be able to and have also promised a 3% raise to all staff who stay. They have not said how they plan to replace the teachers who do not want to remain in the charter school. The proponents have also refused to agree to honor the current contract that the school board has with the union which protects all of those benefits and raises. According to the proponents, after the first year, it will be completely up to the new administration - chosen by a governing board mostly controlled by the Newberry City Commission - on which staff members will be renewed from year to year.

Will teachers still get their benefits?

Will teachers get to keep their retirement?

The City of Newberry, which would control the majority of the governing board for the schools, does participate in the Florida Retirement System. It is unclear if the proponents have accounted for the fact that it is extremely expensive from the employer side to participate and how they will cover the enormous increased cost of paying into FRS with all the new employees. It’s also worth noting that it appears the Florida legislature is preparing to raise the rates employers pay into FRS.

Will teachers and staff get paid the same? More? Less?

Advocates of the charter switch say they will give teachers an immediate 3% raise but do not say if that is recurring or in addition to a COLA or really any other information on pay. Or if that raise applies to just instructional teachers or all staff. The charter school board will set the salary schedule subject to the minimum teacher salary established by the state. Other than that, nothing is guaranteed.

The most recent bargaining agreement with ACPS, teachers and staff were given 3.5-5% raises. However, teachers who move to the new charters will be employees of a governing board mostly controlled by the City of Newberry and therefore will not be eligible to stay in the union or be covered by the contract between SBAC and the ACEA.

If they wish, the teachers and staff can organize and form a new bargaining unit to the ACEA. The proponents, under questioning, refused to say if they would advocate for the teachers to form a union or if they would at least stay neutral and let the teachers decide for themselves. So, it appears they would resist any unionization attempt.

Who will pay the teachers?

Will the current support staff employed by the district who provide special services to children who need accommodations continue? Or will each school have to hire new ones?

Charter schools can choose which students can attend their schools and are not required to take those with disabilities and other challenges if the schools don’t have the personnel to assist that child. State law does not require charters to offer those services, which could play a role in staffing hires given the anticipated reduced budget. If a school can’t offer accommodations for a child, they could reject them and refer them to another school that can.

Who will run and lead the schools?

According to the proponents original presentation, the Newberry City Commission will appoint 3 of the 5 to serve as the board for the new district for 3-5 years and will determine who its new superintendent is. The City of Archer Commission would get to appoint 1 member of the governing board and the political group (Education First for Newberry, Incorporated) would get to appoint 1 member. Each school will have its principals.

The governing board mostly controlled by the Newberry City Commission would be responsible for developing the school’s operating budget, instructional programs, training and more based on feedback given from some community members whose qualifications are unknown.

Will the current non-instructional staff keep their jobs?

It’s unknown if all current staff will be offered a position in the new year. Advocates say they will offer existing faculty and staff their jobs back when the switch is made. But then say policies and staffing decisions will be made at a later date under new leadership. State law does not require some of the positions currently employed, such as guidance counselors who assist with mental health issues. Staffing will be determined by the charter school board and no job is guaranteed.

Why aren’t non-instructional staff allowed to vote on this?

State law determines that only parents and teachers get to hold a vote on the change. Apparently to the proponents, teachers should be thankful they have a vote anyways, again from the Archer Community meeting: “There's other power moves we could have taken that would have made this a whole different situation. We wanted to put this before the parents and the teachers. One of the examples was there's a house bill moving through that would have actually stripped the teacher vote down to just the parent vote and we said no we're going to go forward we want the teachers to have a vote.”

As advocates who follow legislation in Tallahassee we can tell you that the bill he is referencing (HB 109) stalled and by the time this meeting took place, was effectively dead. It begs the question: Did they wait until the Speaker pro tem Chuck Clemons told them the bill was dead to launch this because they knew they wouldn’t be able to use that bill to do it?

What will happen to our School Resource Officers? (Currently uniformed ASO officers)

FAQs for Teachers and Staff

Website by the Save Our Schools Newberry