Below is the full text of the contract broken down in to the various articles. Clcik the plus sign (+) to display additionalsub-sections and text.
The School Board of Martin County, hereinafter referred to as the “Board” and the Martin County Education Association, hereinafter referred to as the “Association”, having met and negotiated in accordance with Florida Statutes Chapter 447 and having reached certain understandings, hereby agree as follows:
The following terms, as used herein, shall apply to this contract only:
Board: shall mean the School Board of Martin County.
Association: shall mean the Martin County Education Association.
Agreement: shall mean the four corners of this negotiated contract.
Employee: shall mean any contracted employee of the Board in the bargaining unit.
Employer: shall mean the School Board of Martin County.
Seniority: shall mean the length of continuous (unbroken) service with the Martin County School System; absences due to approved leaves shall not count as a break in service.
Days: shall mean calendar days unless otherwise indicated in this Agreement.
SACPRINCIPALMCEAFACULTYDACSUPERINTENDENTBOARDDOE (if applicable)
A. Marital status, race, creed, religion, color, sex, age, national origin, physical disabilities, political belief, participation or non-participation in employee organizations, or number of years teaching experience shall not be made a condition of employment.
B. Neither the Board nor the Association will discriminate against any employee of the bargaining unit on the basis of race, creed, religion, color, age, sex, religion, physical disabilities, national origin, political belief, participation or non-participation in employee organizations or participation or non-participation in a grievance. Nothing in this section shall prohibit the employee from legal recourses outside the contract.
C. All conditions of employment as set forth in this article shall apply to all employees except as specifically stated.
A. The work year for all ten (10) month employees shall be 196 days. Additional days may be added at the discretion of the Board at the same daily rate.
B. The school calendar, as adopted by the Board, shall include teacher workdays for planning/ preparation, professional development, early release days, parent/teacher conferences and holidays as follows:
1. There will be six (6) paid holidays.
2. A minimum of two and a half (2.5) uninterrupted pre-school days shall be scheduled as teacher workdays before the start of the student calendar and shall be designated by the District and used at the discretion of the individual teacher for classroom planning and preparation.
3. There will be one (1) planning/preparation teacher workdays after the first semester/during second semester.
4. Four and a half (4.5) days shall be designated as in-service/professional development days.
5. There will be one (1) post-school teacher workday on the last day of the teacher work year. This day shall be used for the employee‘s own preparation purposes.
6. There shall be six (6) student early release days. The time after student release on these days shall be utilized for professional development.
7. One (1) flex day will be available to teachers each school year. A flex day is defined as a teacher work day immediately preceding the first teacher pre-school work day. Flex days shall be used for planning and classroom preparation. A teacher may elect to work a flex day and then take one of the other teacher workdays off during the school year, including the last post-school day. Teachers must notify principals in advance as much as possible if a flex day will be utilized during any given school year.
8. Employees will not be required to attend any function outside the regular workday except for two (2) mandatory report card conference nights and one (1) open house/curriculum night. Report 4 card conference nights will be held from 5:00 p.m. – 8:00 p.m. after the first and third quarters of each school year and each represents one-half (1/2) of a teacher contract day.
C. When schools and school offices are officially closed for emergency reasons by the Superintendent, employees shall be paid as usual and no leave day previously arranged by an employee shall be deducted. Make-up days shall be scheduled by the Superintendent; however, the Association shall have the opportunity to provide input prior to the Board approval.
D. Nothing contained herein shall be construed as a waiver of or is intended to negate the District‘s management rights as contained in Florida State Statutes 447.209.
A. Salary checks will be paid every two weeks for twenty-six (26) pays for all employees, regardless of whether the pay date is a holiday/non-work day. If the pay date is a banking holiday, then the pay date would be one day earlier, unless doing so would create more than 26 pays in a calendar year. Should that situation occur, then the pay date would be the next banking day. All checks are issued in accordance with the annual pay schedule. The final pay will be issued on the regularly scheduled pay date for the pay period in which the work is performed with certain exceptions. Notes shall appear on all pay stubs regarding supplements, additions, and changes not reflected on Appendix B-Salary Schedule. Employees on a ten or eleven month schedule with a start date other than July 1st shall receive multiple checks (if entitled to the checks) on the last student day of school. The multiple checks issued on the last student day of school shall be eligible for direct deposit.
B. All benefit deductions and contributions will be accrued on a 24-pay cycle basis. All insurance deductions will be deducted the month of the coverage period to ensure adequate funding/payment for employee-paid benefits. Employees are responsible for all unpaid past due insurance premiums. Failure to pay past due premiums within thirty (30) calendar days will result in termination of coverage, unless other repayment arrangements have been made with the Benefits Department. The District will deliver written notice to the employee‘s address on file with Human Resources by certified mail thirty (30) calendar days prior to the effective date of coverage termination. The District may at its sole discretion extend the deadline for payment of past due premiums in the event of documented extenuating circumstances.
C. Employees who have taught summer school shall receive their retroactive paychecks within thirty (30) days of ratification of this Agreement.
D. All employees will be paid in accordance with the salary schedules attached in Appendix-B.
E. Sick leave during summer programs shall be accrued consistent with Florida law.
The Association and the School Board will endeavor to provide an opportunity for employees to attend college classes when there are extenuating circumstances. Employees shall notify the Association and the School Board upon knowledge of such circumstances.
A. A grievance is a dispute between the management representative of the Board and employee by name, group of employees by names, or Association involving the interpretation or application of this Agreement.
B. All employees within the bargaining unit may have the right to be represented, in the determination of a grievance, by the Association. However, nothing in this part shall be construed to prevent any employee from presenting, at any time, his/her own grievance, in person or by legal counsel, and having such grievance adjusted without the intervention of the bargaining agent if the Association has been given reasonable opportunity to be present, and providing the adjustment is not inconsistent with the terms of this Agreement.
C. If a dispute should arise concerning the interpretation or application of this Agreement, the complainant shall first informally discuss the problem with his/her immediate supervisor within fifteen (15) working days of the latter of either the origination of the dispute or of the complainant becoming aware of the alleged violation. If the complainant is not satisfied after informally discussing the complaint, the complainant may file a formal grievance within seven (7) working days with the principal or his/her designee.
D. The number of days indicated at each level is considered to be the maximum. Time limits, may, however, be extended by mutual agreement between the grievant and the appropriate level management representative. Verbal agreements shall be confirmed in writing.
E. An employee who is not assigned to an individual school may file a grievance with the director to whom he/she is responsible. The grievant and director will follow the procedure outlined in LEVEL ONE of this article.
F. In the event an employee has a complaint, he/she shall abide by the management decision involved prior to and during the time the grievance has been filed and has been processed.
G. A grievance may be withdrawn at any level but the same grievance may not be filed a second time by the same party.
H. For the purpose of this Grievance Procedure, working days are defined as those days, Monday through Friday, exclusive of legal school holidays.
I. All grievances will be processed during times which do not interfere with or cause interruption of the grievant‘s work responsibilities. Release time may be granted by the principal when deemed necessary. Such release time, as granted by the principal, shall be without loss of pay for such participation.
J. If not satisfied at the conclusion of the informal discussion, the employee may become a grievant by filing a written grievance with the principal within seven (7) working days. The written grievance shall be filed on the form provided (APPENDIX A). The original grievance is filed with the principal and a copy shall be forwarded to the Association, the Superintendent, and to the 9 Board Attorney. If the grievant does not file a grievance within seven (7) working days after the informal discussion period, the right to proceed with this grievance for this incident is waived by all parties.
K. Copies of the management decisions at each level and the grievant‘s written statements given at any step of the Grievance Procedure whatsoever, shall be forwarded to the grievant, Association, Board Attorney, and the Superintendent.
Within seven (7) working days after the filing of a grievance, the principal will meet with the grievant and formally discuss the grievance and any supporting evidence available so that a formal resolution of the dispute may be found between the two parties. The management position shall be entered in a written statement by the principal that is to be signed by both parties within seven (7) working days of the meeting. The grievant shall indicate with his/her signature his/her satisfaction, or lack of satisfaction, with the decision in writing. Copies of this statement will be made a part of the original grievance form by attachment and forwarded as in ―K‖ above. If the grievant is not satisfied with the disposition of the grievance at this level, or if no disposition has been made within seven (7) working days of such meeting, the grievance may be submitted within seven (7) working days by the grievant to the Chief Human Resource Officer; and further, a grievant who is not assigned to an individual school may continue directly to LEVEL THREE. If the grievant does not file a Level II or Level III Grievance within the timelines prescribed herein, the right to proceed with the grievance is waived and may not be filed a second time by the same party.
Within seven (7) working days of the receipt of the grievance appeal, the Chief Human Resource Officer shall review the appeal and shall render a decision, based on all the material presented, within seven (7) working days of said review. A copy of this decision shall be supplied to the grievant. If the grievant is not satisfied with the decision at LEVEL TWO, or if no decision has been made within seven (7) working days of such review, he/she may, within seven (7) working days, submit the grievance to the Superintendent. If the grievant does not file a Level III Grievance within the timelines prescribed herein, the right to proceed with the grievance is waived and may not be filed a second time by the same party.
Within seven (7) working days of the receipt of appeal, the Superintendent or his/her designee shall hear the appeal. The grievant may or may not attend the hearing at his option; and within seven (7) working days of said date, the Superintendent or his/her designee shall render his/her written decision based on the material presented, and such decision shall be provided as in ―K‖ above. If the grievant is not satisfied with the decision at LEVEL THREE, or if no decision has been provided within seven (7) working days, the grievant may move the grievance to arbitration within fourteen (14) working days.
The Association must submit written notice for arbitration of an unresolved grievance within fourteen (14) working days. The Association and the employer shall jointly request the Federal Mediation and Conciliation Service (FMCS) to furnish a list of seven (7) arbitrators from which the arbitrator shall be 10 selected. Such selection shall be accomplished within ten (10) working days; the Association and the School District each striking one (1) name from the list in turn until only one (1) name remains. The Association shall strike first. The arbitrator‘s decision shall be submitted in writing to all parties and shall be final and binding on all parties to this agreement, providing that the arbitrator shall not add to nor subtract from, modify, or otherwise alter the terms of this Agreement. The expenses of arbitration, including the arbitrator‘s fee/costs and expenses, and the cost of the arbitrator‘s transcript shall be borne equally by the employer and the Association. However, all other expenses incurred by either party in its preparation shall be borne by the party incurring same.
A. Upon appropriate written authorization (Appendix E), the Board shall deduct from an employee‘s salary, in uniform assessments: 1. Association dues 2. Contributions to the MCEA Tiger. Such authorization shall continue in effect until or unless revoked by the employee upon thirty (30) days notice to the Board and the Association. The Board agrees to remit the total amount of dues and CCE collected to the Association within ten (10) days after the close of the month. Authorization for such deductions shall be submitted to the Finance Office at least thirty (30) days before deductions are to begin. Upon authorization, the employee shall waive all right and claim to said monies so deducted and transmitted in accordance with authorization and relieve the Board and all its officers from any liability therefore. The Association and members of the bargaining unit shall indemnify and save the Board harmless against and from any and all claims, demands, suits, or other forms of liability that may arise out of or by reason of action taken or not taken by the Board, for the purpose of complying with this request.
B. Upon appropriate written authorization from an employee, the Board shall deduct from the salary of the employee and promptly make appropriate remittance for annuities, credit union, charitable donations and benefit deductions which meet the established criteria of the Board.
A. The privileges granted under this section shall be exclusively for the Association.
B. Authorized representatives of the Association shall have the right to use school buildings at such times that they do not interfere with school activities, provided the authorized representative has been given such permission and assignment of space by the building principal, and approved by the Superintendent.
C. The Association shall submit to the Superintendent by September 15th of each school year, the names of its authorized representatives who will be transacting official Association business. In the event that there should be additions or deletions, they shall be forwarded to the Superintendent immediately. Official Association business shall include: conferring with the building principal or supervisor and meeting with the employees.
D. Duly authorized representatives of the Association shall be permitted to transact official Association business on school property during such times which do not interfere with or cause interruptions of the employee‘s work responsibilities as determined by the principal.
E. The authorized representative of the Association shall, as provided herein, post notices of activities and matters on appropriate bulletin boards at each school site, as determined by the principal. The space and length of time for such use will be determined by the building principal on individual requests by the Association representatives. The Association shall, as provided herein, use employee mail boxes located at each school. All such posting and putting up of mail 12 will be handled during non-instructional time, before and after the students‘ school day and during the employee‘s duty-free lunch period. A copy of each school-wide communication placed in the employee‘s mail box by the building representative or his/her designee, will be given to the principal or his/her designee prior to placing in mail boxes or posting. All bulletins, printed materials, and other communications distributed under this section must show originator‘s name and address. The following logo will appear on all Association bulletins, printed materials, and other communications distributed under this section. Merchant advertisements will be limited to the ―Chalktalk‖. The Association agrees that they will limit their distributions to a maximum of five items a week.
F. The Association‘s authorized representative shall be given an opportunity at each building faculty meeting to present brief reports and announcements. Attendance at this portion of the meeting is strictly voluntary.
G. MCEA shall have the right to use the school electronic mail system to conduct business between the union and the district under the following circumstances:
1. General electronic communications shall be between the Association President and the District Administration.
2. MCEA membership shall have use of the school electronic e-mail for the following purposes: a. Informing membership of scheduled meetings; b. Distributing the following information to the Association membership: (1) Surveys (2) Newsletters (3) Ratification materials
3. MCEA shall initiate its electronic communication regarding number two above with members through its faculty representative and/or executive board members who in turn will forward the communication to members at their site.
A. A representative of the Association shall be granted an opportunity to address the assembled instructional staff during an employee orientation program. Upon request, the Association may be assigned a space to consult with its membership. 13
B. The Board shall furnish the Association with a camera-ready copy of the ratified Agreement suitable for reproduction within thirty (30) days of ratification by the Board and employees.
C. The Finance Director shall make available, to an authorized representative of the Association, copies of budgeting and financial reports in the Finance office, within twenty-four (24) hours of the Board‘s receipt of the same material.
D. The Chief Human Resource Officer will make available to the Association a copy of all applicable postings.
A. The working day for all non-teaching employees earning an extended day supplement, i.e. deans, team leaders, director of student affairs, guidance and staffing/program specialists, shall be eight (8) hours including lunch. The workday for all other instructional employees shall be 7.5 hours including a planning period and duty free lunch. Secondary, middle school and elementary teachers shall teach a maximum of 300 minutes. No less than 45 continuous minutes will be provided for planning/preparation for all teachers. Meetings during the workday will not be scheduled during the teacher‘s planning time unless necessary to accommodate parent(s) schedules and/or to schedule IEP meetings or other ESE related meetings. Work schedules will be assigned at the discretion of the Board. Any changes in scheduling within these limits must be discussed at each school site by a committee that includes representatives of the MCEA (equal to the number of elected MCEA representatives at the school), appointed by the MCEA President. Employees shall have a reduced day on that working day which precedes a holiday whereby employees shall be released no later than ten (10) minutes after the close of the student day.
B. Assignment of TEACHERS AS ADVISORS program duties and evaluation of teachers as advisors participation shall be limited to those duties that can be reasonably accomplished during the workday excluding the assigned planning period.
C. Any regular duty assignments in addition to the regular school day (including summer school) shall not be obligatory.
D. When school is not in session, employees may be given access to the building by arranging such access with the principal or his designee.
A. The principal shall schedule faculty meetings during the regular workday, as he/she deems necessary. Such meetings shall not exceed the regular workday.
Employees will not be required to attend any function outside the regular workday except for two (2) mandatory report card conference nights and one (1) open house/curriculum night. Report card conference nights will be held from 5:00 pm – 8:00 pm after the first and third quarters of each school year and each represents one-half (1/2) of a teacher contract day.
Employees may leave the work location during duty hours only when they are not supervising students and only when previously approved by the principal or designee.
A. Observation of a teacher‘s class by parents, shall be allowed only after consent of the building principal and 24 hours‘ notice, unless the teacher otherwise agrees to less notice. Each observation time period shall be no longer than one (1) hour unless agreed upon in advance between the parent(s) and teacher.
A. All employees shall have a thirty (30) minute duty-free lunch.
B. Employees may leave the work location during the duty-free lunch period upon notice to the principal or his/her designee.
C. Employees who are required to travel during the lunch period shall have additional time for such travel. Such travel time shall not be included as part of his/her duty-free lunch period.
D. On planning and work days teachers shall be given one (1) hour for lunch.
A. Non-Instructional duties shall be restricted as follows:
- Teaching employees shall not be required to collect money from pupils, nor perform record keeping duties related to the collection of money. Performance of such activities by teaching employees shall be strictly voluntary.
- Teachers may not be required to perform the following activities:
- Inspection for lice
- Records for an outside agency on a regular or continuing basis
- Discussion of the rationale for assignment of duties shall be afforded upon request to any high school teacher assigned non-academic responsibilities.
B. Teachers will not be required to administer scheduled medications on the regular school campus. Except for a teacher employed as an exceptional student education (“ESE”) teacher where it would 15
be necessary, no teacher will be required to perform scheduled diaper changes, intermittent clean catheterization, gastrostomy tube feeding, blood glucose monitoring or suctioning.
A. An Early Release Committee shall be established at each school site. This committee shall identify, and submit to the faculty for approval, in-service and activities for teacher participation on early release days. The committee shall include three (3) MCEA and three (3) principal appointees. Committee recommendations shall be submitted to the faculty by September 30 each year.B. On days of early student release as reflected on the school calendar as adopted by the Board, the principal shall seek faculty input prior to making his/her determination as to what activity assignments, if any, teachers will be given during the available time resulting from the student early release.C. The Early Release Committee may plan for up to one half of early release time to be utilized for collaborative planning activities, such as grade level or department level planning.D. ESE Release Days for Transition
- To discuss transition of students between elementary and middle schools, or middle schools and high school, ESE teachers may be permitted to meet on early release days for up to two (2) early release days. No DOE waiver will be sought so long as the statute allows for limited schedule changes at the discretion of the Superintendent.
- Any other individual teacher activities will not be permitted.
- Approval of the transition meeting is at the discretion of the principal(s).
- All class times on early release days, pertaining to primarily secondary schools, will be shortened to ensure that all teachers receive an equal amount of planning time.
The Board shall endeavor to make available to each work site, a telephone for teachers’ use for the purpose of contacting parents and for meeting other responsibilities associated with their employment duties.
Principals will implement a procedure for handling bomb threats in accordance with recommendations made by appropriate law enforcement agencies. Teachers may be required to visually inspect their respective classrooms/areas for anything which looks suspicious or out of the ordinary. Teachers may volunteer to assist in searches of other areas. Bomb squad assignment will be voluntary.
Employees are expected to dress in a professional manner. Professional dress shall be defined as clothing that is neat, clean and in good repair. Professional dress includes, but is not limited to, clothing articles such as slacks, sport shirts, skirts, blouses, dresses and capris. Clothing that exposes cleavage, midriff or undergarments is not professional dress. Also, clothing made of denim that has a double-stitched outside seam, rivets, appliqué on the back pocket or is inconsistent in color is not considered professional dress.
A. Employees shall be notified in writing when non-audio cameras/videos are installed in a workplace. A sign indicating this facility has video cameras for security reasons shall be placed at the main entrance to the facility.
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B. These cameras are installed for security reasons only.
C. Tapes from video cameras will not be used to evaluate employees.
D. The District will pursue any unlawful act which is shown on a tape. The District may also investigate any unethical act shown on a tape and may discipline violations that are supported by other evidence.
When a teacher is required to relocate to another classroom during the year, the principal and teacher will collaborate to develop a plan for a smooth transition. If the administrator requires that the move be made after contract hours, the teacher will be paid his/her hourly rate of pay.
No teacher shall be required to furnish school or teaching supplies at personal expense. Teachers shall be provided with equipment, materials and supplies necessary to properly execute their duties.
It shall be the responsibility of the teacher to determine grades and evaluate students in accordance with the Martin County School District Student Progression Plan grading scale.
GRADING SCALE
Grade Percent Grade Point Value Definition A 90-100 4 outstanding progress B 80-89 3 above average progress C 70-79 2 average progress D 60-69 1 lowest acceptable progress F 0-59 0 failure I 0 0 incomplete N 0 0 no grade; no credit P 0 0 pass (possible credit) W 0 0 failure *Grades with standard based report cards may have alternate grading systems
A. Violation of the Martin County Bring Your Own Device (BYOD) Responsible Use Guidelines or any other misuse by a student of a personal technology device shall not result in the discipline of any employee without other independent, supporting evidence.***See hard copy for Martin County “Bring Your Own Device” (BYOD) Responsible Use Gidelines for Students***
If an employee is a victim of assault and/or battery, he/she may pursue whatever legal recourses are normally open to him/her without restraint by the Board or its representatives. An employee who is the victim of assault or battery during the discharge of his/her duties, and who has his/her property damaged thereby, may be reimbursed for such loss providing (1) that the property is worn or in manual possession at the time of the incident; (2) that the maximum reimbursement shall be $300 to any employee per incident; and (3) that the decision of the Superintendent shall be final and binding. Payment shall not be construed as an admission of negligence, fault, or guilt.
The Board and the Association recognize the benefits of computer technology. The Board shall endeavor to provide state of the art computers and printers for teachers’ use at each site. Each site will establish a committee of teachers who will be responsible to review the location of computer equipment and make location recommendations to the site Principal who will give such recommendation significant weight.
An employee who has a regular class load shall not be required to cover an absent employee’s class in addition to his/her own class.
The Board shall provide the opportunity for all employees to be involved in selection, reviewing and evaluating instructional materials and curriculum planning.
In the event that a school is not able to secure a certified teacher, the Principal or designee will seek volunteer interim substitutes from his/her teaching staff. The teacher will be required to make up all planning/administrative time, which is missed due to the extra teaching period. This time may be made up at school or any other appropriate location, either before or after normal work hours and must be documented in written form. Compensation will be at the teacher’s regular hourly rate.
A room or space shall be assigned by the principal for scheduled parent-teacher conferences.
A copy of rules adopted by the Board, a copy of Florida School Laws, and a job description book shall be available to all employees at the media center or library at each school.
Tentative schedules shall be provided upon teachers‘ request each semester, at least one week ten (10) days prior to teacher pre-planning for the first semester and one week ten (10) days prior to beginning of the second semester. This does not preclude subsequent schedule changes.
The Board shall design a budgeting procedure and time line that will provide for teacher’s input at each grade level/department/team.
In the event that a school is not able to secure a substitute teacher, the Principal or designee will seek volunteer substitute teachers from his/her teaching staff. The teacher will be required to make up all planning/administrative time, which is missed due to the extra teaching period. This time may be made up at school or any other appropriate location either before or after normal duty hours and must be documented in written form. Compensation will be on a pro-rata share per period or block taught. The rate of pay to be divided will be $95.00 per day [e.g., high school for 3 blocks @ $95.00 = $31.67 per block].
Educational paraprofessionals shall not be used in a professional instructional capacity on a full-time basis.
A. The School site Administrator shall be responsible for:
B. In the absence of a School site Administrator, the responsibility for A.1-3 above will become the responsibility of the (in the following order):
- Assistant Principal 22
- Behavior Specialist
- Crisis Team Leader
- Mainstream Consultant when no school site Administrator is assigned to the site.
A. All teachers will create lesson plans. Lesson plans will contain specific components that include:
1. The learning goal, materials, procedures, activities, and assessments
2. Modifications or accommodations for students with an IEP/504 (e.g., extra time, seat preference, etc.)
3. Those ELL strategies and/or State Standards (identified by reference number) which are not currently in textbooks, district pacing guides, or other instructional materials.
B. Length and format of plan shall be at the discretion of the teacher. Teachers will be required to submit lesson plans upon request of administration no more than once per month, unless documentation exists in evaluations that prior lesson planning has been insufficient, in which case a teacher may be required upon three days‘ notice to submit additional lesson plans up to one week in advance. Meaningful and timely written feedback shall be provided on such lesson plans.
C. Teachers will be required to have lesson plans prepared one (1) school week in advance. These plans will be ready the first morning of the week the lesson plans are to be implemented.
D. Teachers are required to have emergency lesson plans, covering a minimum of three instructional days, submitted to the Principal/designee no later than the fifteenth (15th) student day of each school year.
E. While on extended leave, teachers will not be required to provide lesson plans, grade papers, or enter student grades beyond the first five consecutive days of absence. For the purpose of this section, extended leave shall be defined as leave beyond five (5) workdays.
The Board will endeavor to post positions, prior to May 1, with information on all in-service, curriculum study, and various other projects, including dates and times of curriculum study, special projects, and in-service to be held prior to the start of the next school year. Any new state programs allocated after May 1 will be exempt from the notification dates. Teachers may elect to request to participate, and will be notified prior to May 15 of their acceptance. Salary will be at the pre-announced stipend rate.
If an employee’s contract is not recommended for renewal, the Superintendent shall provide notification thereof no later than forty (40) calendar days prior to the end of the school year. If a full time instructional employee completes a contract year and is employed the first day of the next school year, there is no break in service.
A joint committee comprised of three (3) members appointed by the Superintendent and three (3) members appointed by the Martin County Education Association will be convened to recommend the policies and procedures governing the transfer/reassignment of teachers in the event that one or more public schools become a charter school(s).
An Evaluation Committee shall be established to develop and recommend procedures that comply with legislative mandates, local evaluation procedure, and evaluation process. The committee shall be composed of three (3) members appointed by the Superintendent and three (3) members appointed by MCEA.
C. Non-renewal decisions for annual, Category 1, contract teachers will be made on the information available at the time those decisions must be made.
D. Definitions
1. Annual Summative Evaluation Score: Final evaluation score comprised of the teacher’s
IPS and SGS scores.
2. Annual Instructional Practice Score (IPS) Evaluation: End of the school year review of a teacher’s summative IPS score. This includes a review of the final deliberate practice score. The annual IPS evaluation excludes the Student Growth Score for that year.
3. Annual Instructional Practice Score (IPS) Evaluation Conference: The conference held between the evaluator and the teacher to discuss the annual Instructional Practice Score. The teacher may provide additional artifacts to assist in determining additional ratings in the appropriate evaluation framework within the applicable Domains. Absent from this discussion is the Student Growth Score (SGS).
4. Annual Summative Evaluation Conference: The conference held between the evaluator and the teacher to discuss the summative final evaluation. The annual summative evaluation conference will be held following receipt of the teacher’s SGS. This conference includes a review of a teacher’s IPS and SGS, finalized with teacher and evaluator signatures to the evaluation.
5. Artifacts: Student or teacher work products. Student work products may include, but are not limited to, work samples, portfolios, projects, or creative works. Teacher artifacts may include, but are not limited to, lesson or unit plans, manipulatives, models, data analyses, student learning aides, classroom charts, formative student progress charts, observation tracking notes, running records, progress monitor reports (benchmarks), student common assessment results, individual or professional learning community meeting and/or task logs.
6. Category 1 Teacher: A teacher within the first three (3) consecutive years of teaching in the Martin County School District without a break in service.
7. Category 1 Teacher, Non-classroom: A teacher within their first three (3) years of teaching in the Martin County School District and fulfills a supportive role other than a classroom assigned teacher.
8. Category II Teacher: A teacher within the fourth (4th) year or longer of teaching within the Martin County School District without a break in service.
9. Category II Teacher, Non-classroom: A teacher within the fourth (4th) year or longer of teaching within the Martin County School District and fulfills a supportive role other than a classroom assigned teacher.
10. Deliberate Practice Midpoint Conference: The conference held between the evaluator and the teacher at the mid-point of the annual evaluation timeline. A formative discussion will take place to review progress to date on the element selected to comprise the deliberate practice plan. A mid-point score will be documented in the electronic evaluation system, which will contribute to a final summative deliberate practice score at the end of the evaluation timeline.
11.Deliberate Practice Plan: The individual professional development plan that includes one element of needed improvement selected by the teacher from a list of the following Marzano high-yield strategies/elements: (Providing Clear Learning Goals and Scales (Rubrics); Tracking Student Progress; Celebrating Success; Previewing New Content; Chunking Content into Digestible Chunks; Examining Similarities and Differences; Practicing Skills, Strategies, and Processes; Organizing Students for Cognitively Complex Tasks; Engaging Students for Cognitively Complex Tasks involving Hypotheses Generation and Testing; and Using Physical Movement.) The plan shall include a personal self-assessment to constitute baseline data with targeted dates for measuring growth expentancy. These data growth points will culminate in a summative deliberate practice score, which will comprise a portion of the instructional practice score. The Deliberate Practice Plan is not the Individual Professional Development Plan, but fulfills the state requirement for completing the Professional Development Plan (IPDP).
12. Domains 1-4: Elements of instruction organized within four (4) categories of the Marzano Art and Science of Teaching Evaluation Model. This includes Domains 1, 2, 3, and 4.
13. Effective: An annual summative evaluation score that yields an “Effective” rating as determined by the qualifying range.
14. Feedback: Timely and specific hand-written or electronic information provided about a prior action that serves to change or modify behavior to improve future actions or depth of understanding, and/or to affirm successful behaviors aligned to the appropriate evaluation framework. For evaluation purposes, feedback is typically provided to a teacher by the evaluator and follows the format for a continuous cycle of improvement.
15. Formal Observation: Evaluator observation of a teacher’s instructional practice and/or primary work performance. The formal observation consists of a classroom or non-classroom observation for 30 minutes or an entire class period, whichever is greater. A pre-observation conference and post-observation conference should be conducted in conjunction with the formal observation and held within the required timeline.
16. Highly Effective: An annual summative evaluation score that yields a “Highly Effective” rating as determined by the qualifying range.
17. Informal Observation: Evaluator observation of a teacher’s instructional practice and/or primary work performance. The informal observation lasts at least fifteen (15) minutes. While pre-observation conferences and post-observation conferences are not associated with the informal observation, evaluators shall provide timely and actionable written feedback to teachers regarding the observation.
18. Mid-Point Evaluation Conference: The conference held between the evaluator and Category I teacher at the mid-point of the annual evaluation timeline. A formative evaluation discussion will take place to review the instructional practice, deliberate practice and formative student growth mid-point scores reported on a mid-point evaluation document signed by the evaluator and Category I teacher.
19. Needs Improvement/Developing: An annual summative evaluation score that yields a “Needs improvement or Developing” rating as determined by the qualifying range.
20. Orientation Conference: Conference held at the beginning of the school year to explain and review evaluation criteria, both general and specific, that will be utilized to evaluate the teacher.
21. Pre-Observation Conference: The conference held between the teacher and evaluator prior to the formal observation to discuss the lesson prepared for the scheduled formal observation. The evaluator will ask questions of the teacher to preview the components of the lesson. It is expected that the teacher will share the formal observation lesson plan and any other pertinent teacher or student artifacts. During such time, the evaluator will score in domains related to planning and preparing as it pertains to the lesson to be observed, or other applicable evaluation framework domains.
22. Post Observation Conference: The conference held between the teacher and evaluator within five (5) student attendance days of the formal observation to discuss the results of the formal observation. Additional artifacts may be shared in order to demonstrate related components of the lesson, such as student work samples, or other formative or summative assessment results. During such time, the evaluator will score in domains related to reflecting on teaching as it relates to the lesson observed, or other applicable evaluation framework domains.
23. Satisfactory performance: The term used to describe a teacher’s annual summative evaluation score that includes all levels of performance except Unsatisfactory.
24. Struggling Teacher: A teacher who has received an annual summative evaluation score of Unsatisfactory or two (2) consecutive annual summative evaluation scores of Needs Improvement from the previous school years. The Struggling Teacher is entitled to a Teacher Improvement Plan (TIP) designed mutually between the evaluator and teacher for the purpose of providing supportive and structured intensive assistance to improve targeted areas, and thus overall performance.
25. Student Growth Score (SGS): The value that represents the difference between a student’s actual and predicted results as contributed by the teacher with respect to the content tested. Determined by state-wide or local district assessment performance data, this score comprises a composite value for all students assigned to the teacher. The calculation method may include, but is not limited to, a value added covariate model.
26. Teacher Evaluation System (TES): The term for the overall evaluation process and procedures for a Martin County Teacher.
27. Teacher Improvement Plan (TIP): An action plan mutually designed by the teacher and evaluator to provide support for improving a struggling teacher’s performance. The TIP action plan will supply a narrative designed by the evaluator explaining the gap between actual and desired performance and state specific criteria that will constitute improved performance. The evaluator shall enumerate the specific behavior(s) that require improvement with a minimum of three (3) support recommendations or strategies per behavior for improving the teacher’s performance, including specific assistance that will be provided by the evaluator in this endeavor. Reasonable timelines to make the needed adjustments will be provided. The timeline must include methods for monitoring the evidence of improvement, or lack thereof, which shall include, but are not limited to, additional formal and informal observations, and formative conferences with feedback based on artifacts and other evidence.
28. Unsatisfactory: An annual summative evaluation score that yields an “Unsatisfactory” rating as determined by the qualifying range.
29. Value Added Model (VAM): The statistical method developed by the state to measure student learning growth for the FCAT assessment.
A. The primary purpose of evaluation is the improvement of student learning growth by improving instructional services. Employee‘s shall be evaluated a minimum of one (1) time per year. Information from evaluations may be considered in promotions and termination of personnel.
B. The evaluation process shall be both formative and summative. The formative process shall consist of individual classroom or other role-specific observations and artifact evidence pertinent to and the instructional process of employees by administrators and/or principals for the purpose of gathering evaluation evidences.
C. Evaluation criteria shall be both general and specific and be made known to the employee by the last workday in August of each year. Employees hired after the last workday in August shall be informed of the evaluation criteria/procedures before their assignment begins. This shall include an explanation and discussion of both the general and specific criteria and the evaluation process and forms, and notification of teacher category status (Category I or Category II). The administrator may utilize a sign off form or provide the information to a group of employees. This provision requires only an explanation and is not intended to incorporate the evaluation process or forms into this Agreement.
D. A mid-point evaluation conference shall be held and consist of a meeting between that Category I employee‘s principal and/or administrator and the Category I employee, at which time the observations and other evidences collected to the mid-point of the evaluation cycle shall be discussed. The instructional practice and formative student growth scores will be quantified on a mid-point evaluation to be reviewed and signed by both the principal and/or administrator and the Category I employee. Copies of the mid-point evaluation shall be filed in the employee‘s personnel file and one (1) copy made available to the employee.
E. A Mid-point Deliberate Practice Conference will be held between the employee‘s principal and/or administrator and employee for the purpose of discussing and reviewing progress achieved at the mid-point of the evaluation timeline on the deliberate practice growth plan.
F. The annual Instructional Practice Score Conference shall consist of a meeting between that employee‘s principal and/or administrator and the employee, at which time the observations and artifacts or other evidences collected during the year shall culminate in a final instructional practice score. This score represents a portion of the annual summative evaluation score, and shall be discussed, reviewed and signed by both the principal or administrator and the employee. Copies of the annual instructional practice score shall be filed in the employee‘s personnel record with one copy made available to the employee.
G. The Annual Summative Evaluation Conference shall consist of a meeting between that employee‘s principal and/or administrator and the employee, at which time the Student Growth Score shall culminate in an annual summative evaluation score yielding an overall Highly Effective, Effective, Needs Improvement (Developing for a Category I employee) or Unsatisfactory rating, and shall be discussed, reviewed and signed by both the principal or administrator and the employee. Copies of the annual summative evaluation shall be filed in the employee‘s personnel record with one copy made available to the employee.
H. Sites with multiple administrators trained to conduct the District‘s performance appraisal shall
establish a rotation schedule in which no bargaining unit member shall be evaluated by the same
administrator for more than two (2) consecutive years. Teachers shall be observed by no less than two (2) site administrators at elementary and three (3) site administrators at secondary per school year. The evaluating administrator shall conduct the formal observation(s). For non-classroom or non-instructional teachers whose evaluators are not school based, no rotation schedule shall be established and those bargaining unit employees shall be evaluated by one (1) administrator trained to conduct the District performance appraisal system.
I. For each and every evaluation conference held, the employee will be provided a copy of the evaluation conference form at the time of signing. The employee‘s signature does not signify agreement. Additional comments may be made by the evaluator or employee and attached to the report with a copy to the Superintendent.
J. Student Roster Verification
1. Survey Two and Three FTE verification will be used for Roster verification.
2. Teachers shall verify students assigned to their classroom prior to data submission by the District to the FLDOE. This verification shall occur at a minimum of twice annually, corresponding to the October and February FTE survey counts.
3. Teachers will review the student roster and verify its accuracy by signing and dating the
list. Teachers will be provided sufficient, dedicated time within the regular school day
to verify their student rosters prior to submission of the rosters to the District. 4. Teachers will be notified at least two (2) weeks in advance of the due date for submissionof roster verification.
5. The District will provide training each year, during the regular school day, for the
student roster verification process. This training will include written directions for
roster verification that are clear and easily understood as well as contact information
for assistance in the verification process.
6. A teacher may request a change to the roster through the addition/deletion district process if the change is due to a data entry error from the corresponding FTE survey count.
It is agreed that if a teacher provides evidence that a student has accumulated absences not
accounted for in TERMS, that exceed 10% of the number of student attendance days from day
one student enrollment to day one of FCAT or other approved assessment and if such evidence aligns to
other independent evidence such as sign in/sign out sheets, then on a case-by-case basis the student may
be considered for removal from a teacher‘s roster.
a. Elementary teachers will use their school‘s student sign in/sign out sheets to document their class attendance as class-by-class is not available at this level. Student absences will be recorded by the teacher in Pinnacle. Secondary teachers will keep attendance on a class-by-class basis. Elementary teachers will keep attendance on a morning and afternoon basis. Elementary teachers must log into Pinnacle the specific timeframe of a student‘s absences in the am or pm section of notes.
A. All formal observations and one (1) of the three (3) informal observations, including pre-observation and post-observation conferences shall be scheduled in advance with the teacher. A teacher will be provided with a two-week window of advance notice for the remaining two (2) informal observations.
B. The evaluation conference will be held within five (5) student attendance days from the date of the formal observation at which time the evaluator shall present a copy of the electronic feedback report and discuss the employee‘s strengths and weaknesses.
C. The evaluator will make specific written recommendations and provide assistance to the teacher to help him/her attain an effective performance level. The employee‘s signature does not signify agreement. The employee may request an additional observation by the same evaluator or another evaluator. Subsequent observations and formal evaluations for those employees should not be conducted until three (3) weeks have elapsed.
D. All formal and informal observations of employees relied upon for the purposes of Domain 1 of the evaluation framework shall be conducted openly with the full knowledge of the employee.
E .At the formal Mid-point, Annual IPS and Annual Summative Evaluation Conferences a completed formal evaluation form shall be discussed by the teacher and evaluator. The employee‘s signature does not signify agreement, but only that it has been read and discussed. Additional comments may be made by the evaluator or employee and attached to the report with a copy to the Superintendent.
F. Both the Annual Instruction Practice Conference and/or Summative Evaluation Conference shall include an overall discussion of the employee’s strengths and weaknesses. If needed, the principal and/or administrator will make specific written recommendations to assist the teacher in attaining a satisfactory performance level. The employee’s signature does not signify agreement.
G. There shall be mutual written agreement by the Board and the Association before a teacher receives an observation on the day before Winter Break, Spring Break or Thanksgiving Break.
H. All statements within the evaluation shall relate to job performance.
I. Unsupplemented extra-curricular activities that take place outside of the 7.5 hour day shall not be used for evaluative purposes.
J. Non-participation in voluntary activities that take place outside of the 7.5 hour day is not to be made a part of the evaluation process.
K. Any data collected on the evaluation forms for Domains 1-4 for evaluative purposes will be stored in an electronic file and shall be accessible to the teacher. Each time a submission is made to this electronic file an automatic e-mail alert will be sent to the teacher’s school e-mail account.
***See hard copy for timeline***
A. Appeal Steps
1. Step 1 – Notice of Appeal, no later than the 10th student contact day following receipt of the Annual Summative Evaluation, the employee must file in writing with their principal and copy the Superintendent that a concern exists. The teacher and Principal will meet to discuss the concerns no later than 5 work days after the notice of appeal. A decision will be issued in writing within 5 work days.
2. Step 2 – If the employee is not satisfied with the outcome of the discussion, the employee may appeal the Principal‘s decision by filing a notice of appeal with the Superintendent within 5 student contact days following receipt of the Principal‘s decision. The parties will meet to discuss the concerns within 10 work days. A decision will be issued in writing within 5 work days.
3. Expedited Arbitration – If the employee is not satisfied with the outcome of the previous step the employee may, within 5 work days, request Expedited Arbitration as an option to resolve the evaluation appeal. The intent of the parties is to keep individual hearings to approximately four (4) hours maximum with the arbitrator requested to submit a decision within 10 work days. Expedited Arbitration will take place as timely as possible. Dates will be agreed upon by the District and Association.
B. Miscellaneous Provisions:
1. The Board and the appellant shall not be permitted to assert in such arbitration proceeding, any grounds or rely on any evidence not previously disclosed to the other party. Both parties agree that the award of the arbitrator shall be final and binding.
2. The Board and the Association shall share equally the fees and expenses of the arbitrator. Neither the bargaining agent nor the Board shall be responsible for the cost of arbitration by a member of the bargaining unit when the appeal is not processed by the Association.
3. No reprisals of any kind shall be taken against any party in interest participating in the
appeal procedure.
4. Notwithstanding the expiration of this agreement, any appeal arising while the agreement was in
effect may be processed through the appeal procedure until resolution.
5. Any teacher for whom an appeal is sustained shall be reimbursed or made whole in accordance
with the award of the arbitrator.
6. Each party shall bear the full cost of its representation at all steps of the appeal procedure.
7. A teacher shall have the right to have an Association member representative present when an
appeal is being discussed. In a case where no Association member representative is present to
attend the informal procedure, the discussion may be postponed and the Association staff will
have the right to appoint an Association member to attend the informal session. Nothing in this
part shall be construed to prevent an employee from handling his/her own appeal, in person or by
representative of choice, and having such appeal adjusted without the intervention of the
bargaining agent if the Association has been given reasonable opportunity to be present, and
providing the adjustment is not inconsistent with the terms contained herein.
8. If an appeal is filed, no human capital decisions will be made based upon that evaluation until the
appeal process has been completed.
All Annual contract teachers who receive a Highly Effective on the IPS portion of the TES and who have not been placed on a Teacher Improvement Plan (TIP) will be renewed, subject to budgetary constraints
Pursuant to 1012.61, Florida Statutes, employees are allotted ten sick leave days each year, up to six of which per year may be used as personal days. Any employee who is absent more than ten days (or equivalently, 75 hours) in a single year may have their score on Marzano Element #59 reduced according to the following table:
Amount of Time Missed Beyond Ten Days
Score on Marzano Element #59
0-3 days (0-22.5 hours)
Innovating
3-10 days (22.6 – 75 hours)
Applying
11-20 days (75.1 – 150 hours)
Developing
21 or more days (150.1 or more hours)
Beginning
Time missed beyond ten days due to medical need (FMLA, etc.), will not be counted against the employee for this purpose. An administrator who has reasonable suspicion that leave is being misused may require documentation or other verification of the circumstances requiring leave to be taken.
A. Discipline of employees shall be progressive except for serious offenses and shall be for just cause.
B. Notwithstanding the foregoing, no other management action, apart from a letter of concern or a written reprimand, shall be subject to the grievance procedure.
A. Sick leave
1. Sickness or death. Each employee is credited with four (4) days sick leave the first day of employment. Hence, he/she is credited with an additional day at the end of each month of employment not to exceed one day for each month of employment. All sick leave accumulates without maximum. The unused portion of sick leave shall accumulate from year to year. Sick leave shall be defined as leave for personal illness or disability of the employee, or illness or death of a member of his/her immediate family. Immediate family shall be defined as a spouse, parent, child, brother, sister, other close relative or any dependent relative who resides within the employee‘s household.
All or any portion of the sick leave taken by an employee because of her pregnancy may, at the employee‘s option, be charged to her accrued sick leave according to the following:
1) Absence must be due to illness due to pregnancy or disability caused by pregnancy, miscarriage, abortion, childbirth and recovery there from, all of which shall hereafter be referred to as a pregnancy.
2) A teacher shall keep the principal informed as to the date of probable return to the assignment.
2. Personal Leave: Six (6) days of accrued sick leave may be used for the employee‘s personal business, provided the employee can not take more than five (5) personal days consecutively.
Personal leave requests shall not be approved for any day immediately preceding or following a paid holiday. The exceptions to this provision are:
1) in the case of an emergency
2) bereavement for a member of the employee‘s immediate family as defined in Article XI.1(A)(1) of this contract
3) to observe a religious holiday of the employee‘s faith
When misuse of personal leave is suspected, the Superintendent or his/her designee may investigate and require verification of the emergency, bereavement or religious observation.
An employee planning to use a sick leave day or days for personal business will notify the principal one (1) day in advance. The principal may waive the one-day notice in cases of emergency.
3. There shall be no limit on the number of days of sick leave an employee may accrue, except that at least one-half of this cumulative leave must be established within this district.
4. Effective for employees hired on or after July 1, 2011. Sick leave accrued and transferred in from another qualifying employer under F.S. §1012.61(2)(a)1 shall be brought in for purposes of sick leave only, and not for purposes of terminal pay for accumulated sick leave pursuant to Section H. and/or I. of this contract. Any sick leave taken by an employee shall be chargedfirst against leave earned in the District until exhausted and then against leave transferred in from another qualifying employer under F.S. §1012.61(2)(a)1.
5. Return to Active Employment. Upon return from sick leave, the employee shall be returned to his/her former position if available or to a substantially similar position for which the employee is qualified, and shall be placed at the same position on the salary schedule as if the employee had been in actual service to the district during such leave. ―Substantially similar‖ as used above shall mean positions requiring the same certification as the former position.
B. Verification of leave: Upon return from leave as described in paragraph ―A‖ the employee shall complete the necessary forms for verification of the reason for absence. Such forms shall be readily available and submitted to the immediate supervisor by the end of the second full work day following the employee‘s return from leave.
C. Extended professional leave with pay: For the encouragement of continued professional development and resulting improvement in the quality and level of experience of the teaching staff, extended professional leave with pay for periods not to exceed one school year may be granted by the Board.
1. Any certified employee who has satisfactorily completed six (6) consecutive years teaching service in the school district immediately prior to applying for sabbatical leave may apply for extended professional leave with pay.
2. An extended professional leave with pay may be granted to permit a certified employee to engage in study, travel study, or research.
3. A certified employee who requests an extended professional leave with pay for study will be expected to enroll as a full-time student carrying a full load (full-time student as determined by the institution attended) of academic work at an institution of higher learning approved by the appropriate accrediting agency.
4. The applications for extended professional leave with pay, including a plan for study, travel study, or research, must be submitted to the Superintendent or his/her designee during the period of January 15th to February 15th preceding the school year for which the leave is requested. Applicants will be notified not later than March 31 as to the disposition of their applications. An employee receiving permission to take extended professional leave with pay shall inform the Superintendent, in writing, of his/her intention to either accept or decline such leave. Such notifications shall be given not later than fifteen (15) days after the applicant has been notified of approval of his/her request for leave.
5. Three (3) employees may be granted extended professional leave during one school year.
6. An employee making application for his/her first extended professional leave with pay shall have preference over one who has previously had such leave. Upon termination of an extended professional leave, an employee shall not be entitled to another such leave until he/she has completed an additional six (6) years of service in the school district.
7. The employee who takes an extended professional leave with pay shall agree in writing to teach one (1) year in this school district after returning from such leave. If he/she fails to fulfill this obligation before a two (2) year period has elapsed, he/she shall repay the school district the salary paid him/her while on leave, within thirty (30) days.
8. During extended professional leave with pay, the employee‘s insurance premiums provided according to this contract shall be paid by the Board.
9. Extended professional leave with pay may be counted as one year‘s experience for the purpose of salary schedule computations.
10. Extended professional leave with pay shall provide for the employee to receive seventy-five percent (75%) of the salary that the employee would receive if in actual service to the district.
D. Professional leave days with pay may be granted, upon approval of the School Board, to employees for the purpose of:
1. attending and/or participating in professional educational meetings relating to educational workshops, seminars, or conferences sponsored by professional educational organizations, colleges, universities or government agencies concerned with public school matters.
2. visitations for the purpose of observing instructional techniques or programs.
3. serving as an authorized delegate of the Association, to state and/or national affiliate‘s convention, workshops, lobbying, or school site visits. The number of days shall not exceed 2.2% of the bargaining unit members for this purpose. Members of the Association Executive Board may use no more than 20% of the 2.2% days for school site visits. No one person may use more than 2 days for school site visits. The primary purpose of a school site visit is not to recruit members. As a pilot project, four (4) additional days shall be granted to five (5) identified Executive Board members for the purpose of receiving training beneficial to the District. A committee of three (3) members appointed by the Superintendent and three (3) members of the Association shall be established for purposes of assessing the pilot project. If needed, ten (10) additional days for Association business shall be reimbursed to the School Board at the substitute daily rate.
E. Any employee called for jury duty during school hours or who is subpoenaed to testify during school hours in any judicial or administrative matter in which the employee is not a party (unless subpoenaed by the other party) shall be paid the normal salary.
F. When a school has a required night meeting, an employee shall be excused to attend a college
credit course provided:
1. The course is needed for recertification or for educational certification in another area, and;
2. A professional leave form has been submitted and approved by the Martin County School Board. Appropriate documentation must accompany the request.
3. An employee who teaches an adult education class may be excused from a required night meeting upon submission of a personal leave form to the principal.
G. Illness-In-The-Line-of-Duty leave not to exceed ten (10) working days shall be granted, without
loss of sick leave, to any employee absent from his/her duties because of personal injury received
in the discharge of duty or because of illness from any contagious or infectious disease contracted
in school work. In the case of sickness or injury occurring under such circumstances as in the
opinion of the Board warrants it, additional leave may be granted.
H. TERMINAL PAY FOR SICK LEAVE
1. Employees hired on or before June 30, 2011 shall be entitled to receive pay for accumulated sick leave upon retirement, resignation, or death as follows:
a) After ten (10) years of service, the daily rate of pay multiplied by fifty percent (50%); or
b) After fifteen (15) years of service, the daily rate of pay multiplied by one hundred percent (100%).
2. Employees hired after July 1, 2011, shall be entitled to receive pay for accumulated sick leave established within the district upon retirement, resignation, or death as follows:
a) After fifteen (15) years of service, the daily rate of pay multiplied by fifty percent (50%).
3. Employees qualifying for the above terminal pay must retire or resign at the end of the school year and give ninety (90) days prior notice. The Superintendent may waive these requirements.
4. It is agreed that implementation of the changes to this section shall occur only following implementation of the same or greater benefit reductions by employees represented by AFSCME as well as for non-bargaining employee groups via changes to School Board rules. Absent the same or greater benefit reductions within those employee groups, the changes contained within this section shall be null and void and the language shall revert back to language as contained within the 2013-14 contract.
I. Military Leave Provision
Military leave will be granted to an employee pursuant to provisions outlined in Florida Statutes section 1012.66, as well as Florida Statutes sections 115.07, 115.09, and 115.14, that allow the protection of civilian pay, benefits, and position during the time that the employee is called to active service of the Armed Forces.
1. Any employee who is a member of the National Guard or any reserve component of the Armed Forces of the United States who is ordered by appropriate authorities to attend a prescribed training program shall be granted leave and shall be paid the first seventeen (17) working days of such training in accordance with section 115.07, Florida Statutes. Leave with pay shall not be granted to an employee who voluntarily extends his or her training time or who is required to serve additional training time due to excessive absences from prior training periods.
2. Reservists or National Guard Members called for active duty will be granted leave in accordance with section 115.14, Florida Statutes, and will be reinstated in accordance with the requirements of the Uniformed Services Employment and Reemployment Rights Act (―USERRA‖). In accordance with section 115.14, Florida Statutes, the first thirty (30) days of active duty service will be with full pay.
3. Application for reemployment shall be filed with the School Board within six (6) months following the date of discharge of release from active military duty, and the Board shall have a reasonable time not to exceed three (3) months, to reassign the employee to the same or similar position in the school system.
4. During the leave, the employee will accrue leave benefits, experience credit and will be considered an active employee for purpose of all benefits including group health insurance.
J. Compassionate Leave Bank
The compassionate leave bank exists so employees may donate payout of sick leave days for use by eligible employees who need extended time off due to a catastrophic, serious health condition of a member of the employee’s immediate family, residing within the employee’s household, for whom the employee is the primary caregiver. Immediate family shall be defined as husband, wife, father, mother, son, daughter, sister, brother, aunt, uncle, first cousin, niece, nephew, father-in-law, mother-in-law, brother-in-law, sister-in-law, son-in-law, daughter-in-law, stepfather, stepmother, stepbrother, stepsister, stepson, stepdaughter, half brother or half sister. The employee must exhaust all applicable paid leave prior to application to the compassionate leave bank. Funds generated from the payout of donated sick leave shall be deposited into the compassionate leave bank.
A. Compassionate leave may be granted for catastrophic events including serious injury or illness of someone in the immediate family. Normal pregnancy, common illness, illness or injury covered by Workers’ Compensation, mental or nervous conditions, chemical dependency, alcoholism or related conditions’ are not eligible for compassionate leave.
B. Sick leave payout is available for donors wishing to voluntarily contribute a designated number of days to the compassionate leave bank. Donors may specify the individual who will be the recipient of these days.
1. A donor may authorize a deposit of the value of unused sick leave earned into the compassionate leave bank by completion of the appropriate form. The leave payout shall be based on the current daily rate of pay of the employee multiplied by eighty percent (80%) of the value of the day.
2. The amount of days contributed by anyone donor may not exceed five (5) days per year.
3. Employees who wish to donate to the Compassionate Leave Bank must hold at least thirty (30) days of accrued sick leave as of the last duty day and have used no more than six (6) of their ten (10) days of accrued sick/personal leave during the year.
4. Days for which such payment is deposited shall be deducted from the employee’s accumulated leave balance. The payout for the accumulated leave and deposit into the bank shall be reflected on the employee’s paycheck stub.
5. Unused leave shall not be kept by the recipient or returned to the donor but will be retained in the bank.
C. Employees receiving or donating compassionate leave bank days shall be responsible for their respective taxes arising from this transaction.
D. While using compassionate leave, the employee will not accrue annual or sick leave.
E. An overview committee will be formed to review administration of the bank and determine disputed eligibility. MCEA shall have representation and voting rights equal to other groups represented on this committee.
Employees who are required to split their work assignment between two (2) or more work locations during the same work day shall receive compensation for travel at the established mileage rate as authorized by the principal and approved by the Board.
The Board will reimburse teachers for approved expenses within three (3) weeks of their Finance Office “received date”. After notification of payment problems, the Board shall have two additional weeks to investigate the circumstances involved.
All openings for extra compensation positions, as listed in Appendix “B”, shall be posted in the school for at least five (5) days before appointment with a brief description of the duties involved
The effective date for an employee‘s salary increase because of a new academic degree shall be the receipt date of the new certificate by the Human Resources Department.
A. Advanced degrees will not be used in setting salary for instructional personnel hired on or after July 1, 2011, unless the advanced degree is held in the individual‘s area of certification and is only a salary supplement.
B. Instructional personnel with a district start date of July 1, 2011, or after must have a degree major posted on their transcripts which matches a subject listed on their Florida certificate in order to qualify for an advanced degree supplement at the master, specialist or doctorate levels.
C. A yearly salary supplement for an advanced degree will be offered for an advanced degree that:
1. Is in the same subject area as one already shown on the teacher‘s current Florida Temporary
or Professional Educator‘s Certificate;
2. Is in a subject area which has been added to the teacher‘s Florida Temporary or Professional Educator‘s Certificate as a result of earning the advanced degree; or
3. Is in a college/university program related to the subject area shown on the teacher‘s Florida
Temporary or Professional Educator‘s Certificate.
4. If the major is not an exact match to a major listed on the DOE Guide, but the major as stated on the transcript clearly mirrors terminology which is reflective of an area of certification on the teacher‘s certificate, the degree will be considered in-field.
D. Martin County School District will utilize the Department of Education Guide to acceptable major‘s chart to determine eligibility for advanced degree supplements.
E. The effective date of the salary supplement shall be the date of confirmation of subject area certification on the teacher‘s Florida Educator Certificate.
F. In no case will the salary supplement precede July 1st of the fiscal year that the request for the upgrade was submitted in writing.
The CTE End of Course Assessment Honorarium rate is $150.00 per test submission completion. If a completed test submission is accepted, the Honorarium shall be disbursed no later than thirty (30) days after acceptance of a completed test submission. Honorariums can be proportionately split between instructional personnel for proportionate work.
The Tiger Woods Career Exploration Stipend, under the Tiger Woods Foundation Grant, is set at the rate of $20.00/hour. This stipend is equivalent to the Club Sponsor stipend and is attached to the position, not the employee. The disbursement of this stipend will be made in equal monthly installments beginning no later than thirty (30) days after commencement of the program. This stipend is only available so long as the Tiger Woods Foundation Grant is awarded.
A. Summer program teachers in FTE generating programs will be paid an hourly rate for the hours worked computed as follows: The teacher‘s annual salary divided by 196 day work year divided by a 7 hour work day. In addition, 5% will be added to the hourly rate in lieu of sick leave earned.
B. Summer school pay will be based on the salary schedule adopted for the days employed.
C. No sick leave will be accrued during summer school. Any personal or sick leave taken during summer school will be unpaid.
D. Planning time will be provided during the teacher days at the rate of thirty minutes for every 2 hours and 30 minutes of student contact time.
E. One-half day of preplanning will be scheduled prior to the opening of summer school.
F. One-half day of post-planning will be provided at the conclusion of summer school.
G. The faculty of each school will review and vote on the school‘s established criteria for summer school staff selection by the end of the first semester. If more than 50 percent of the votes are negative, a committee will be formed for the purpose of revising the criteria for summer school staff selection. Each committee shall be comprised of eight (8) members – four (4) appointed by MCEA and four (4) appointed by the principal. This committee shall meet by the first week in February with criteria to be submitted to the principal by March 15. The principal will schedule a
faculty meeting to review the committee recommendations. A majority vote of the faculty will be required to adopt the criteria for implementation during summer school.
H. When combining schools for summer school is necessary, summer school site locations shall be rotated where possible.
I. The only exception to the above will be exceptional education summer school teachers. A committee shall be formed comprised of eight (8) members – four (4) appointed by MCEA and four (4) appointed by the Director of ESE to establish criteria for ESE summer school staff positions county wide. The ESE teachers shall vote according to the above timelines.
The School Board will provide automatic deposit of paychecks for bargaining unit members.
A. The School Board shall continue to provide the full cost of the insurance premium associated with District provided core employee benefits for any bargaining unit member who is disabled and receiving workers‘ compensation for up to six (6) months following placement on workers‘ compensation leave. The employee may elect to participate in COBRA consistent with law.
A. The Board will provide, without cost to full-time employees, as part of the core benefit package, a group term life insurance policy in the amount of $35,000 for each employee under age 65. This policy reduces 35% ($22,750) for employees age 65 to 69, and 50% at age 70 ($17,500 policy). The Core benefits package for full-time employees will consist of insurance for health, dental, vision, life and Employee Assistant Program (EAP).
B. The Board will provide a flat amount not to exceed $6,500.00 annual insurance contribution toward medical insurance to all full-time employees. The Board shall also provide all full-time employees dental, vision and life insurance benefits at no cost to the employees. Dental insurance will be funded to the DHMO level.
1. Full-time employees are defined as employees in a regular position that are regularly
scheduled to work at least 37 ½+ hours a week. Full-time employees shall be eligible to
receive a flat amount not to exceed $6,500.00 annual insurance contribution. The full-time
employee can elect dependent coverage if the employee pays the total cost of the dependent
coverage.
2. Part-time employees are defined as employees in a regular position that are regularly
scheduled to work less than 37 ½ hours a week. These employees will be designated into two separate categories of employees for insurance purposes. Employees that work 30 – 37.49 hours per week are eligible to receive a flat contribution not to exceed $5,800.00 if they elect to enroll in insurance benefits and may purchase family coverage. Employees that work 29.99 hours or less per week are not benefit eligible.
3. In the event both the husband and wife are employed by the Board on a full-time basis as
defined in number one above, a flat amount not to exceed $13,000.00 annual insurance
contribution will be allotted for family coverage.
4. The effective date of coverage for new employees shall be the first of the month coinciding with or next following 30 days of employment in a benefit eligible position, transfer to an eligible position, or return from an unpaid leave of absence.
Note: These changes to Article XIII will become effective July 1, 2015.
C. Cafeteria Benefit Plan
a. The cafeteria plan for optional fringe benefits, intended to be in accordance with the requirements of IRS Code Section 125, shall be continued as a, ―payroll reduction option‖. The Board shall make no contribution.
b. Neither the Board nor the Association assumes any responsibility nor liability for individual
tax consequences which may occur as a result of employee participation or non-participation
in this benefit program. Each employee is to determine for himself or herself the tax effect of the plan participation or non-participation, and no representations nor guarantees are made or implied by either the Board or the Association as to the tax effect of plan participation or non-participation for individual employees.
D. The Board will provide professional liability insurance for all employees in the amount of $100,000.
E. 401(a) Special Pay Plan
The Board has adopted a 401(a) Special Pay Plan that is mandatory for all employees. This program was adopted to reduce an employee‘s tax liability on terminal pay.
The School Board of Martin County, hereinafter referred to as the “Board” and the Martin County Education Association, hereinafter referred to as the “Association”, having met and negotiated in accordance with Florida Statutes Chapter 447 and having reached certain understandings, hereby agree as follows:
The following terms, as used herein, shall apply to this contract only:
Board: shall mean the School Board of Martin County.
Association: shall mean the Martin County Education Association.
Agreement: shall mean the four corners of this negotiated contract.
Employee: shall mean any contracted employee of the Board in the bargaining unit.
Employer: shall mean the School Board of Martin County.
Seniority: shall mean the length of continuous (unbroken) service with the Martin County School System; absences due to approved leaves shall not count as a break in service.
Days: shall mean calendar days unless otherwise indicated in this Agreement.
SACPRINCIPALMCEAFACULTYDACSUPERINTENDENTBOARDDOE (if applicable)
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