Martin County negotiators reach tentative agreement to move millage payouts to June

Martin County — Negotiators for the Martin County School District and the Martin County Education Association (MCEA) said Feb. 10 they reached a tentative agreement to revise how millage referendum stipends are paid.

Terry Harmon, chief negotiator for the school district, told the bargaining table the district’s revised memorandum of understanding (MOU) would treat the September 2025 payout as payment for referendum collections tied to the 2024–25 school year and move future payouts to a single end-of-year payment in June. "The MOU contemplates there will be a payout this year in June 2026," Harmon said.

Why it matters: The change aims to simplify timing and reduce the need for multiple ‘‘true-up’’ calculations during the year. Bargaining-unit members will receive a single lump-sum payment at the close of each fiscal school year rather than a separate September distribution and subsequent adjustments, a shift negotiators said should help with retention and financial planning for members who get stipends.

Key terms and clarifications

- Timing: The parties agreed the district will make a June payout for funds collected in the prior school year, beginning with collections in the 2025–26 cycle (first June payout expected in June 2026). Harmon described the September 2025 distribution as tied to 2024–25 collections and the revised schedule as treating current collections as payable at the fiscal-year end.

- Proration and eligibility: Under the revised language, employees who work the full school year and remain in the bargaining unit will receive the full stipend. New hires who start midyear are eligible for a prorated amount based on time worked. Retirees were described as eligible for a prorated portion for the year in which they retire; employees who transfer out of the bargaining unit or resign before year-end forfeit the stipend.

- True-up removal: MCEA negotiators asked why the MOU omits prior ‘‘true-up’’ language used to reconcile September and later payments. The district said the single June distribution is expected to eliminate the need for separate true-up calculations because all collections would be reconciled and paid at one time.

- Historical reference: An attendee noted an earlier practice that used a 77.41% distribution factor when calculating what portion of collected funds went to bargaining-unit members; the district said the new agreement uses fixed rates and that any unallocated funds would return to the district’s fund balance for the following year.

Reaction and next steps

Gary Simmons, chief negotiator for MCEA (representing FEA), said after a short caucus that the bargaining team was "comfortable and satisfied" and that "we can say that we have a tentative agreement on this." The parties discussed logistics for executing signatures that night (two signatures per side and dating the agreement) and prepared to sign the revised MOU.

Representatives said they plan to begin work on the next contract earlier than in previous years and expressed optimism about the collaborative process that produced the tentative deal. The session concluded after signatures were arranged and participants exchanged thanks.

What was not decided

No formal vote was recorded in the transcript; the parties described the outcome as a tentative agreement pending signatures. Specific dollar amounts, the exact per-employee stipend rates, and any budgetary offsets were not specified in the session record and were not included in the MOU language read aloud during the meeting.

Reporting note: Direct quotes and attributions come from participants during the Feb. 10 bargaining session; the article does not infer actions beyond what was said on the record.