Lee County Schools win labor dispute, teachers union vows to appeal

LEE COUNTY, Fla. — The Teachers Association of Lee County plans to appeal a recent court ruling that sided with the Lee County School District in a dispute over the implementation of teacher incentive pay, union president Kevin Daley said.

A hearing officer with the Public Employees Relations Commission ruled Dec. 1 that the school district did not violate labor laws when it unilaterally implemented salary incentives for teachers at academically at-risk schools without negotiating with the union first.

The dispute centers on Resolution 2025-0603, which the school board adopted in June. The resolution declared an "educational emergency" in the district because one school, Tortuga Preserve Elementary, received a D grade. Under Florida law, having even one D or F-rated school allows districts to bypass collective bargaining requirements when implementing certain teacher incentives and assignments.

"The key thing to focus on here is the fact that the decision kind of reinforces the idea that the district can unilaterally deal with things that are traditionally mandatory subjects of bargaining," Daley said.

The incentive program provides additional pay to teachers at about 80 schools across the district, including elementary, middle and high schools. Teachers in certain grades and subjects at these schools can earn up to $7,000 more than colleagues teaching different subjects or grade levels at the same school.

Union challenges process, not program

Daley emphasized the union's issue is not with providing teacher incentives but with how the district implemented them.

"We're not inherently against the idea here. We're against the idea that it was done unilaterally and didn't involve the input from the employees," Daley said.

The union filed an unfair labor practice complaint in August, arguing the district should have negotiated the incentive program through collective bargaining. The hearing officer disagreed, ruling that Florida law allows districts to implement such programs without union approval when an educational emergency exists.

"This is the first time that a school district has kind of taken the next step and said, because you have one, you have 100," Daley said, referring to how the district applied the emergency designation district-wide based on one failing school.

Parents support teacher incentives

Vanti Primus Church, whose son Jalon attends Dunbar High School, supports the incentive program despite the controversy.

"I think they should definitely pay teachers more generally, just overall. But if they're able to bring in more money to bring in better teachers, or teachers from outside of different areas and things like that, then that'll be great," Primus Church said.

Jalon, a 10th-grader taking advanced placement classes, said he feels appropriately challenged by his coursework, though he noted the heavy workload.

"The work works pretty good. I can say that my only issue is like the amount of work I get assigned. Other than that, I can do the work," Jalon said.

Union plans appeal

The Teachers Association of Lee County is consulting with attorneys about appealing the decision. Daley said the union believes the ruling sets a concerning precedent for collective bargaining rights.

"It's a fight for every employee here in Lee County that works for the school district, and it should serve as a cautionary tale to people who don't have a union about why it's a good thing to have a union," Daley said.

The union argues that without collective bargaining, the incentive program could disappear if the district's financial situation changes or if all schools improve their grades.

"If we had collectively bargained it, and it were in the collective bargaining agreement, the board would be mandated to do this year after year," Daley said.

The school district offered the incentive package during summer and fall to retain teachers at academically at-risk schools. District officials said the program proved effective and declined to provide additional comments beyond the court ruling.

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