School district: No money for pay raises; $63 million in cuts possible

By CHRISTINA DeNARDO
Palm Beach Post Staff Writer
Tuesday, June 17, 2008

When the Palm Beach County School District unveils its budget recommendations next month, it won´t include any money for employee raises.

During a bargaining session with the Palm Beach County Classroom Teachers Association, district negotiator James Hayes said there´s no money in the budget for raises for teachers but re-emphasized the district´s commitment to no layoffs.

“The economy picture is a gloomy one and it will be for the forseeable future,” Hayes said.

Palm Beach County schools will need to cut $36 million from their budget next year. But when the rising costs of fuel, utilities and property insurance are included, the district´s budget will likely need be cut by $63 million.

The district negotiated small raises for bus drivers, school police and cafeteria workers earlier this year but those raises will expire in December. When the distsrict re-negotiates with the unions that represent those workers in the fall, they won´t offer raises to them, either.

This year the district had to cut the current year´s budget by instituting a hiring freeze for non-teachers and teacher´s aides, and cutting out-of-county travel and department budgets by 10 percent.

Superintendent Art Johnson has already said that teacher raises will be little or nothing this year. Last year the district spent $31 million on raises for its 12,000 teachers.

District officials point to school districts such as in Broward and Miami-Dade counties that drew up multi-year contracts promising rising salaries to teachers.

Now those districts may have to go back on their promise or lay off teachers to make ends meet. Miami-Dade Superintendent Rudy Crew already recommended the school board suspend raises negotiated two years ago.