Talks between the Volusia Teacher's Organization and the school district failed again after teachers walked away from negotiations Thursday.
District officials and union leaders met for several hours Thursday. The end result? No deal.
In a release sent Thursday, Volusia County Schools officials said they presented another plan to provide a permanent pay raise, ranging from $1,000 and up to $1,750 for teachers for the current school year and retroactive to July 1, 2014, for an approximate cost of $6 million.
Under the district's proposal, minimum teacher pay would be increased from $36,000 to $37,000. The union's last salary proposal costs about $6.8 million, but it increases minimum teacher pay to $36,750.
Andrew Spar, the president of the Volusia Teacher's Organization, called the three days of negotiations a waste of time.
"They actually said that they want to give a very small increase, or a smaller increase to those who have tenure than to those who don't have tenure," Spar said. "(They) said if they want the bigger increase, they need to give up their tenure. That's bullying."
The teachers are asking for new salary schedule that would award teachers about a 3 percent increase on average, which is equivalent to two steps. Volusia County teachers are currently paid four steps behind where they should be, Spar said in a statement.
A step is typically referred to as an increase for years of experience. Teachers agreed to no step increase in 2008-09, 2010-11, 2012-13 and have not gotten one so far this year.
The district declared impasse via email March 25. The teachers requested to return to the table April 7, and the two sides have met three times since that request (April 9, 13 and 16).
No new talks have been scheduled. A magistrate will most likely be designated to make a recommendation after listening to both sides, but a date for the impasse hearing has not been set.