Associate teachers will not be used in Walton County this year

DeFUNIAK SPRINGS — Associate teachers will not be used in Walton County schools this year.

The School Board and teachers union failed to reach an agreement to implement the program designed to help Florida schools skirt strict state-imposed class size regulations that take effect Oct. 1.

“To me this was most logical and educationally sound thing to do for not only our budget, for the practices that go on in a classroom when two teachers are in the room, but also for the least disruption to our students since school already began,” Walton County Superintendent of Schools Carlene Anderson said.

Several school districts in Florida have opted to place an associate teacher and a lead teacher in classrooms because it allows for a little more flexibility in the number of students allowed in classes.

Associate teachers have the same certification as regular teachers, but they have fewer responsibilities and make less money.

Trisha Hutchison, president of the Walton County Education Association, said she declined to sign the agreement with the school district at a recent meeting because she wanted more time to look it over and offer amendments.

“It just seemed like they (school district officials) were wanting us to make a decision right then, and I’m not the kind of person to do that without thinking about it,” Hutchison said. “They withdrew it from the table (and) we didn’t think about it anymore.”

Hutchison said the teacher’s union met with the school district representatives once in July to discuss the associate teacher proposal. She said she suggested a few changes and then never heard back until the meeting two weeks ago, when the district decided to withdraw the proposal.

“They decided they didn’t want to put any more effort into it,” she said.

Anderson said she decided to withdraw the proposal because the school district could not afford to wait any longer with school in session and the Oct. 1 deadline to meet class-size requirements fast approaching.

Even if given more time, Hutchison said she wasn’t certain she would have agreed to the program. One of the biggest issues with the associate teachers is the salary reduction for the people it employs, she said.

“It’s basically the same thing as a regular teacher and they want to pay them $10,000 less,” Hutchison said. “You have all these people out of work and you’ve got all these people applying for these jobs — and they’re right, they’ll be standing in line for it — but I see it as taking advantage of people who are desperate for work.”

Hutchison said another fear is that the reduced salaries for associate teachers could be the first step in eventually cutting all teachers’ salaries and reducing staff.

“The smaller class sizes are for the kids and the state is supposed to pay for it and they don’t. I do understand that, but I just am … afraid of it (associate teachers) being another way to cut back on salaries,” she said.

Anderson said cuts might be coming anyway as the school district struggles to find money to bring in at least a dozen more teachers at full salary.

“They (union representatives) were clearly told at the table what this could amount to,” Anderson said. “Because we did not hire these associate teachers, that means the cost of each teacher we did hire was significantly higher and that could mean that we’re looking at reducing salaries in the future, reducing the workforce or consolidating (schools).”

School district officials are looking at the budget to decide how to proceed, but is hiring new teachers to ensure it is prepared to meet the class size amendment deadline, Anderson said.

The Okaloosa County School Board and the Okaloosa County Education Association have agreed to go forward with the associate teacher program. Santa Rosa County already has a similar program.

Under the agreement between the Okaloosa School Board and teachers union, associate teachers will make about $6,000 less than a lead teacher. The agreement will expire at the end of the school year unless both groups want to renew the contract. The program also will be voluntary, in that teachers can only be assigned associate teachers if they volunteer for the program.