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Police union urges raises and staffing fixes as board ratifies contract modifications
Summary
Representatives of the Palm Beach County PBA urged the board to address delays in raises and a roughly 20% staffing shortfall in the district's school police force after the board approved contract modifications and ratification was reported completed.
Union representatives and school police officers used the public comment portion of the Palm Beach County School Board meeting to press elected members on pay, staffing and safety even as the board approved contract changes.
Katie Mendoza, an attorney who does bargaining for the PBA, told the board she had just learned members "are not gonna get their raise until December 20" with a retroactive pay date of Jan. 17. Mendoza and other speakers urged the district to accelerate pay timing where possible and to consider pay structures that make school officer positions more competitive with other county agencies.
During public comment, Mendoza and a PBA speaker said the district police department is staffed at about 252 officers while the budgeted number is 315 — a shortfall of roughly 65 officers, or around 20 percent. The PBA witnesses linked staffing and pay competitiveness to school safety and urged the board to examine budget priorities and consider targeted compensation steps.
Superintendent Michael Burke told the board the PBA had ratified the tentative agreement the previous day, and the board approved modifications to the collective bargaining agreement during the meeting. The board did not record any dissent to the motion. The meeting record did not include a district response that confirmed the payroll timing Mendoza reported; administrators and HR were directed in public comment to follow up.
Speakers also described the wide array of duties performed by school officers — from mentoring and investigation to medical response — arguing these responsibilities justify compensation that is competitive with other county law enforcement agencies.
What's next: The board approved the contract modifications; union representatives asked district HR and finance to confirm payroll and retroactive pay schedules. No on-the-record confirmation of the December 20 and January 17 dates was provided during the meeting.
Quotes from the meeting are taken from public comment and superintendent remarks on the record.
