School district and union pick magistrate to settle contract

The School District of Manatee County and the Manatee Eduction Association agree on one thing — they want an experienced magistrate to arbitrate the standoff between the two groups.

And this week they agreed on one more thing: Robert Hoffman is the man for the job.

The union and district agreed on Hoffman, a special magistrate with the State of Florida Public Employees Relations Commission, to rule on the impasse. The union is asking for salary increases and for the district to contribute more toward health insurance premiums for employees with spousal and family coverage. The district says it does not have the funds to accommodate union demands.

Hoffman served as special magistrate in Manatee in December 2011 during a standoff between the teachers union and the district. In that case, he ruled in favor of the district on the majority of nine issues, including salary negotiations. Hoffman sided with the union on a dispute over health insurance premiums, telling district officials at the time to more seriously consider the recommendations of the Health Insurance Committee, a body comprised of representatives from both sides.

“We wouldn’t have selected him if we weren’t comfortable with our experience,” union President Pat Barber said. “(In 2011) he made recommendations that recommended part of what we needed and part of what the district wanted. I haven’t reviewed those findings in a while, but he made enough recommendations on our side that it helped some school board members in their deliberation.”

District negotiator Bill Vogel said he has confidence in Hoffman, but previous rulings are too nuanced to use as projections.

“It’s very hard to speculate because times are different. Every circumstance is different,” Vogel said. “The special magistrates are very open-minded, and they listen to both sides and make decision based on the facts of every individual case brought before them.”

Both sides will have the chance to ratify Hoffman’s ruling. Any portion that both groups do not ratify will be decided by the school board, and the final agreement will consist of whatever rulings were ratified by the union and the district and whatever items the school board adjudicated.

Representative from both sides said the date for the hearing with Hoffman has not yet been set, but it will be some time after Christmas.

This story was originally published December 9, 2016 at 1:35 PM with the headline "School district and union pick magistrate to settle contract."