Pasco School Employees Ratify New Contracts

After counting over 6,000 teacher and school related personnel (SRP) votes, the United School Employees of Pasco received a stamp of approval on the most recently negotiated contracts with the District School Board of Pasco County.

Sixty-six percent of eligible employees cast ballots on Wednesday, January 14, 2015. The USEP Election Committee counted the ballots tonight at the United School Employees of Pasco offices. 89% of the teachers and 90% of school related personnel voted in favor of the tentative agreements.

Employees had several weeks from the date the tentative contract agreements were signed to review the settlement summaries and salary increases and language. The results show overall satisfaction with the most recent salary and working condition improvements.

At the USEP Building Representative Council meeting held Tuesday, January 13, 2015, Building Representatives voted unanimously to recommend the tentative agreements to Pasco’s teachers and SRP. The Pasco County School Board will vote on the tentative agreements at their next scheduled meeting of January 20, 2015.

Both the teacher and school related personnel settlements provide significant salary improvements for employees and are among the best in the state. The agreements also continue to provide a fully-paid employee health insurance package that includes major medical insurance, prescription drug coverage, a mental wellness program, and life insurance.

“I am gratified by the high percentage of approval, and we’re happy that the SRP and teachers affirmed the hard work of the dedicated members of the negotiating teams,” USEP President Kenny Blankenship said.