Citrus County Education Association

Red For Ed Wednesdays

Every Wednesday, CCEA joins teachers across the state of Florida in a visible show of support for our neighborhood public schools. We wear RED for Public Ed because we know all too well the compromises that have to be made --and the impact of those compromises on our students-- when funding for our schools is inadequate or bogged down in mandates. We wear red to call attention to the solvable problems in education. Recruiting and Retaining teachers can't be solved with flawed accountability systems. With more than 3,500 teacher vacancies in K12 classrooms across Florida at the start of the 2019-2020 school year, Florida schools aren't failing--FUNDING is FAILING Florida's schools!

Fund Our Future, Citrus

As a statewide teacher shortage grows, our professional association is advocating for meaningful changes in state and local policies that directly impact our classrooms. Fund Our Future is an ongoing campaign to recruit and retain teachers, promote student success, and invest in our neighborhood public schools. Every student deserves to have a highly-qualified teacher, but even here in Citrus County, the 2019-2020 school year began with 39 posted instructional vacancies. Our students need opportunities to learn and grow to their greatest potential, yet flawed systems of accountability lead to teaching to the test. Together, we are speaking up and speaking out for our neighborhood public schools -- and the students educated in them!

Bonus Questions Not Yet Answered

As you know, the state budget that was recently passed includes an allocation of around $215 million, to provide full-time classroom teachers and principals with a $1,000 bonus, using funds from the American Relief Plan.

More recently, as details regarding the distribution of bonuses began to emerge, larger questions loom regarding whether the bonuses - now identified as 'relief payments' - will be paid.

For too many of our colleagues, a ‘thanks for a job well-done’ bonus after the stress and uncertainty of working through the pandemic may not materialize at all. As was true with Best and Brightest bonuses, the non-classroom teachers (school counselors, psychologists, media specialists, etc.) and our essential support staff will not qualify for these bonuses from the state.

CCEA brought the topic of bonuses to the bargaining table in April hoping to secure an early commitment from the District to provide matching bonuses for instructional and support personnel left out of the state bonus. We know that every employee working in Citrus schools through the past year helped to ensure our students were safe and that learning continued. It is our position that as federal COVID relief funds make their way into the District, nonrecurring dollars will be available to cover the cost of one-time bonuses. We await a response from the District.

Beyond knowing who will be receiving bonuses and when, we know that you have questions about these bonuses. It remains unclear whether bonuses will be paid to individuals who retired or separated from employment during or after the 2020-21 school year. It is also not yet known whether bonus checks will be issued directly from the state, or if the District will be tasked with distribution of funds. What we know is true of bonuses (generally speaking):

Bonuses are taxable at a higher rate than regular income.
The recipient will be responsible for taxes on the bonus.
Bonuses do NOT count toward retirement under FRS.

We encourage you to follow the progress of negotiations online and look for additional updates from CCEA in the weeks ahead.

RESOURCES:

CCEA and District bargaining sessions are livestreamed through the Citrus Schools’ YouTube channel and recordings of all prior sessions are accessible for review.

FEA has added a list of FAQs on their website. The page will be updated as more information is made available.

Thank An Educator

May 3-7, 2021 ~ Teacher & Staff Appreciation Week has never meant quite so much...

Citrus County's educators have met the challenges of teaching during a pandemic with determination, creativity, patience, and care--all to keep students safe and learning. There is no doubt that our public school employees have truly gone above and beyond to support students and the community as a whole. Here's your opportunity to show appreciation for the unique contributions of the teachers and school staff who are making a difference every day!

Submit a shout-out to the teacher or school staff member that you'd like to recognize and we'll deliver your message to them along with a small token of appreciation!

CLICK HERE

Public Ed Activist BINGO

We've consolidated a whole lot of Public Ed Activism into a fun, clickable game of

2021 CCEA Nomination Forms

CALLING ALL POTENTIAL LEADERS: The window for nominations for 2021 CCEA Elections is now open!

Citrus County Education Association is seeking nominations for the following positions:

2021-22 Worksite Leaders (1 year term)
Elementary Director II (1 year term)
CCEA Delegate for 2021 NEA Representative Assembly (virtual, July 2-6, 2021)
State Delegate for 2021 NEA Representative Assembly (virtual, July 2-6, 2021)
CCEA Delegate for 2021 FEA Delegate Assembly (Orlando, FL, October 14-16, 2021)

Must be a CCEA member in good standing to be eligible for nomination. Download the nomination form here, and return it to Kimberly Larue (CCEA Elections Committee Co-chair) at CREST by 2pm on February 12th.

All nominees for Executive Board positions or Assembly Delegate may submit information to be included in CCEA's Special Election Newsletter. Please email the following to valerie.smith@floridaea.org:

Full name
Job Title
Worksite
Bio (100 words or less)

Elections will be conducted at all worksites the week of March 15th. Please look for additional information in the weeks ahead.

Settlement Reached!

Following several weeks of ongoing bargaining discussion, CCEA and CCSD have reached a tentative agreement on the 2020-21 Economic package. The settlement utilizes the state’s Teacher Salary Allocation funds ($2.4million) along with additional Board funds to achieve a $46,000 minimum salary for all instructional staff, while ensuring that every instructional employee receives AT LEAST a $1,500 improvement. CCEA Support will receive .46/hour in addition to the annual step increase which has already been applied.

As is true of every year's bargaining efforts, CCEA is dedicated to ensuring all educators in Citrus Schools receive substantive and equitable pay raises. Each year seems to present a different set of challenges--performance pay requirements, Best & Brightest bonuses, etc--and this year is no exception.