FPER ¶ 114156

BRADFORD COUNTY SCHOOL BOARD

Decision of Florida PERC

Bradford Education Association, Charging Party,

V.

Bradford County School Board, Respondent.

CA-83-006, 83U-084

March 29, 1983

Before Powers, Chairman; Brooks and Renovitch, Commissioners

Unilateral Change - School Calendar - Settlement Agreement -

43.622,71.228 - Where parties settled unfair practice dispute by agreement under which school board agreed to bargain with teacher's union concerning aspects of school calendar that affected teacher's terms and conditions of employment, PERC entered consent Order incorporating parties' agreement.

Steven A. Been, Tallahassee, attorney for charging party.

Kenneth B. Crenshaw, Lake Worth, attorney for respondent.

CONSENT ORDER

On January 28, 1983, the Bradford Education Association (BEA) filed an unfair labor practice in which it alleged that the School Board of Bradford County, Florida, (School Board) had violated Section 447.501(1)(a) and (c), Florida Statutes (1981), by unilaterally adopting a new school calendar and refusing to negotiate on the subject of the school calendar after request for negotiations by the union. Following several procedural steps which are not relevant to the disposition of this case, the parties arrived at a settlement of the dispute and entered into a Stipulation For Consent Order which they filed with the Commission on Match 14, 1983.

Following review of the Stipulation for Consent Order and upon consideration of the record and of the purposes of Part II of Chapter 447, Florida Statutes (1981). the Commission concludes that the interests of the parties and the purposes of the statutes would be advanced by the entry of the consent order requested and agreed to by the parties. Accordingly, the Commission orders that:

1. The content of the Bradford County school calendar is deemed to be a mandatory subject of bargaining between BEA and the School Board.

2. If the School Board should desire to make any changes in the school calendar which affect the number or timing of teacher planning days, vacation days, or working days, or which affect any other matter which is a term or condition of employment of the members of the bargaining unit represented by BEA, the School Board will give BEA notice of the proposed changes prior to adoption and prior to implementation of such changes, and, upon request, will bargain collectively about such changes pursuant to the requirements of chapter 447, Florida Statutes, for mandatory subjects of bargaining. The School Board's obligation to bargain any such changes will not depend on the scope of any reopener in a collective bargaining agreement between BEA and the School Board.

3. The parties shall bear their own attorneys fees and costs of litigation in this case,

It is so ordered.