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Principals and union move to protect preschool-week professional development time; agree on MOU process and proration rules
Summary
HCTA and district leaders agreed to convert parts of their agreement into MOUs to protect preschool-week PD time at the school level, adopt a proration method for newly hired staff for any bonus, and schedule follow-up meetings ahead of a planned board ratification.
Negotiators representing Hernando County teachers and district management agreed to pursue memoranda of understanding (MOUs) to protect preschool-week professional development time and to formalize payment and proration language for any one-time bonus. The parties said MOUs would be folded into contract language after unit ratification and board action.
Lisa Braithwaite (principal, Explorer K-8) asked for a block of protected hours during preschool week so teachers could prepare classrooms and greet families without district-directed trainings that leave some schools scrambling. "We're asking for time to be prioritized and protected," she said, and the principals present suggested making that time school-based PD where appropriate rather than a district-wide training.
Mike Lasher (principal, Eastside Elementary) and other principals agreed to take the idea back to principal teams and to survey staff about how best to use the day. "We could also survey staff," Braithwaite said, noting variance across grade levels and programs. District officials said converting the approach to an MOU would allow the parties to collect data on what worked and what language to include before moving it into the contract.
The parties also clarified payment mechanics for any agreed bonus: district staff described a proration method that divides the per-thousand rate (discussed verbally as $1.97 per $1,000) by the number of days worked in the school year to calculate a prorated payment for staff who started mid-year. District staff noted timing constraints tied to posting, ratification, and payroll (staff discussed a target of presenting the item for a board agenda in mid-April and needing a final count by the end of March to meet payroll cycles).
Negotiators agreed to set meeting dates to continue bargaining and to caucus to finish impasse-related discussions; they did not record a final ratification in this session. Next procedural steps include finance clarifying encumbrances and HR confirming final counts for payroll so the MOUs can be posted for board consideration.
