Broward Teachers Union and district at an impasse in contract negotiations
By Natalie La Roche Pietri
February 14, 2026 at 8:42 AM EST
Contract nNegotiations between the Broward County school district and the teacher union grouprepresenting the county’s teachers reached a stalemate on Friday after the parties could not come to an agreement over health insurance premiums. the district credits to the budget shortfall.
The Broward Teachers Union, or BTU, was seeking to maintain all health insurance options the district offers with no premium payments, while the district sought to add costs to a couple of the plans — blaming a budget shortfall. .
"I'm shocked that this happened," BTU president Anna Fusco told WLRN on Friday. "We came up with real change and solutions and they just shut it down."
The impasse also applies to negotiations with the labor unions Broward County Police Benevolent Association and Federation of Public Employees, affecting about 25,000 employees.
As it stands, the district offers three different free insurance plans for all employees. The district's proposal would keep the lowest-tier plan free, add a cost to the middle-tier plan and an even bigger cost to the highest-tiered plan, each tier dependent on base salary, according to Ernie Lozano, district chief human resources officer. For example, the price for the middle-tier plan for an employee making less than $25,000 would be $25 monthly, while the highest-tier option would be $45 a month.
Health care costs have skyrocketed in recent years for a number of reasons, including higher provider costs, more use of services and an increase in medical claims. These increases, the district said in a statement, add an even larger strain to the budget, so the changes would be a way of stabilizing the budget over time.
"No one is trying to take away health coverage — the focus is on keeping the plan financially stable for the long term," according the district press release.
Fusco said the added costs induce more stress on teachers, who have no control over the higher costs of services or whether they get sick, as those payments will be coming out of pocket at a time when there's also demand, but no meaningful answer, for increasing teacher salaries.
Navigating a budget deficit
Broward County Public Schools, the sixth largest district in the country, is facing a budget shortfall of $90 million due to a drastic drop in student enrollment. When enrollment goes down, so does funding.
The district says this financial sinkhole is unmanageable without changes, including the ones made in the proposal to healthcare coverage options.
In Fusco's eyes, the deficit shouldn't be mitigated at the cost of something that would benefit teachers. If the main source of problem is the budget, then school board members and district staff should be make smarter decisions on how funding is spread, she said.
The financial standing of Broward County schools has oftenbeen recently making de waves, even catching the attention of Gov. Ron DeSantis when— who he called the district a "disaster" last month and suggested a receivership to navigate the troubled waters. Soon after the governor's comment, school board member Adam Cervera invited state officials to review district finances.
" We need transparency, we need accountability and we need to have the confidence that this mismanagement will not be ignored or swept under the rug," Cervera told media at a press conference in January.
But that doesn't sit right with Fusco.
"We should have financially intelligent business people in our district," she told WLRN. "We shouldn't have another entity come in and check our books.” She added she is .. I'm “disturbed” that that" officials are "okay with that."would allow that.
School board members can't retell details of the negotiations that occurred behind close doors. "I consider myself a big advocate for our teachers and will continue to fight for adequate salaries" and "make sure they're properly taken care of," Cervera told WLRN on Friday.
After the declaration of the impasse, a special magistrate becomes involved to make recommendations. Negotiations will continue during the impasse process the district will continue to offer a free employee-only health plan. Open enrollment begins in October.
The Broward Teachers Union, or BTU, was seeking to maintain all health insurance options the district offers with no premium payments, while the district sought to add costs to a couple of the plans — blaming a budget shortfall. .
"I'm shocked that this happened," BTU president Anna Fusco told WLRN on Friday. "We came up with real change and solutions and they just shut it down."
The impasse also applies to negotiations with the labor unions Broward County Police Benevolent Association and Federation of Public Employees, affecting about 25,000 employees.
As it stands, the district offers three different free insurance plans for all employees. The district's proposal would keep the lowest-tier plan free, add a cost to the middle-tier plan and an even bigger cost to the highest-tiered plan, each tier dependent on base salary, according to Ernie Lozano, district chief human resources officer. For example, the price for the middle-tier plan for an employee making less than $25,000 would be $25 monthly, while the highest-tier option would be $45 a month.
Health care costs have skyrocketed in recent years for a number of reasons, including higher provider costs, more use of services and an increase in medical claims. These increases, the district said in a statement, add an even larger strain to the budget, so the changes would be a way of stabilizing the budget over time.
"No one is trying to take away health coverage — the focus is on keeping the plan financially stable for the long term," according the district press release.
Fusco said the added costs induce more stress on teachers, who have no control over the higher costs of services or whether they get sick, as those payments will be coming out of pocket at a time when there's also demand, but no meaningful answer, for increasing teacher salaries.
Navigating a budget deficit
Broward County Public Schools, the sixth largest district in the country, is facing a budget shortfall of $90 million due to a drastic drop in student enrollment. When enrollment goes down, so does funding.
The district says this financial sinkhole is unmanageable without changes, including the ones made in the proposal to healthcare coverage options.
In Fusco's eyes, the deficit shouldn't be mitigated at the cost of something that would benefit teachers. If the main source of problem is the budget, then school board members and district staff should be make smarter decisions on how funding is spread, she said.
The financial standing of Broward County schools has oftenbeen recently making de waves, even catching the attention of Gov. Ron DeSantis when— who he called the district a "disaster" last month and suggested a receivership to navigate the troubled waters. Soon after the governor's comment, school board member Adam Cervera invited state officials to review district finances.
" We need transparency, we need accountability and we need to have the confidence that this mismanagement will not be ignored or swept under the rug," Cervera told media at a press conference in January.
But that doesn't sit right with Fusco.
"We should have financially intelligent business people in our district," she told WLRN. "We shouldn't have another entity come in and check our books.” She added she is .. I'm “disturbed” that that" officials are "okay with that."would allow that.
School board members can't retell details of the negotiations that occurred behind close doors. "I consider myself a big advocate for our teachers and will continue to fight for adequate salaries" and "make sure they're properly taken care of," Cervera told WLRN on Friday.
After the declaration of the impasse, a special magistrate becomes involved to make recommendations. Negotiations will continue during the impasse process the district will continue to offer a free employee-only health plan. Open enrollment begins in October.