School Board votes to accept magistrate's recommendations in contract dispute

At Milton High School auditorium, in a very spirited public forum regarding the contract-negotiations impasse with the Santa Rosa Professional Educators and the the educational-support union, the Santa Rosa County School Board voted unanimously to accept the special magistrate's recommendations regarding the district's management-employee contract dispute.

With hundreds of citizens (mostly teachers and school support personnel) in the audience, each side presented its case before the board for 30 minutes.

After 15 minutes of public input, the board, citing economic hardship, voted unanimously to accept the magistrate's recommendations, which effectively deny teachers and education-support personnel the automatic in-step raises for ensuing contracts.

In-step raises will now have to be an item of negotiation each school year's contract, breaking with a 35-year tradition in salary schedules.

The public forum was required by state statutes, as a final step in the impasse process.