VIERA, Fla. – A Brevard County circuit judge on Tuesday rejected the School Board of Brevard County’s bid to strike part of the arbitration award won by former Satellite High School teacher Melissa Calhoun. The ruling leaves intact the arbitrator’s finding that letters of reprimand issued to Brevard teachers require “just cause.”
Circuit Judge Curt Jacobus signed the order this morning. It denies the board’s Request to Partially Vacate Arbitration Award and grants the Brevard Federation of Teachers’ request to confirm the award in full.
What the judge decided
The board had argued that arbitrator Mark I. Lurie exceeded his authority on one narrow point. It said Lurie had no power to find that letters of reprimand require a finding of just cause. Jacobus rejected that argument.
The order finds the arbitrator did not exceed his authority. It also reaches a second, independent conclusion. Even if the arbitrator had exceeded his authority, the court found, the board “waived their defense by litigating the merits before the arbitrator.”
Jacobus cited Schnurmacher Holding, Inc. v. Noriega, 542 So. 2d 1327 (Fla. 1989), the Florida Supreme Court decision that sharply limits when courts may overturn binding arbitration awards. The union had relied on the same case in its June response, filed by attorney Mark Wilensky of Dubiner & Wilensky. That filing argued the board never raised its position that a reprimand is not discipline at Step III of the grievance process and could not raise it for the first time in court.
The grounds for vacating an arbitration award in Florida are set out in section 682.13, Florida Statutes.
District: “narrow contractual issue”
Brevard Public Schools Chief Strategic Communications Officer Janet Murnaghan provided the following statement to The Space Coast Rocket:
“This ruling concerns a narrow contractual issue arising from arbitration. While we disagree with the Court’s decision, the Court concluded that the District waived its right to challenge this portion of the award by litigating the issue through arbitration.
The District prevailed on the central issues in this case. The arbitrator affirmed that the District acted within its authority in deciding not to renew Ms. Calhoun’s contract and not to rehire her.”
The district did not say whether it plans to appeal. Under Florida’s appellate rules, a party generally has 30 days from the rendition of an order to file a notice of appeal.
Union: “This case never should have been filed”
Brevard Federation of Teachers President Anthony Colucci provided the following statement:
“We are pleased that the court rejected the District’s attempt to overturn the arbitrator’s decision. This case never should have been filed. The District chose to spend taxpayer dollars fighting a valid arbitration ruling rather than simply honoring the collective bargaining agreement.
The irony should not be lost on anyone. Superintendent Rendell recently testified in Tallahassee about what he characterized as frivolous litigation involving unions. We hope today’s decision causes the Superintendent and School Board to reflect on their own decision to pursue this unnecessary lawsuit.
BFT will continue to vigorously defend our members and enforce the contract the District agreed to.”
What the award gave Calhoun
Brevard Public Schools declined to renew Calhoun’s annual contract in 2025 after she addressed a student by a preferred name without written parental consent, as required under Florida law. School Board member Megan Wright issued a public statement defending the non-renewal, and the union filed a grievance on Calhoun’s behalf.
Lurie’s Feb. 19, 2026 award ordered the district to rescind the letter of reprimand and replace it with a less severe informal action. He found the reprimand violated the contract because it was based on a parental complaint that was not provided to Calhoun in writing beforehand. He directed the Satellite High principal to recommend Calhoun for reappointment, but wrote that he had no authority to require the superintendent to accept that recommendation. He upheld the non-renewal, and the district has said it will not rehire her.
As The Space Coast Rocket previously reported, the board’s May 20 petition did not challenge the non-renewal. It targeted only the holding that letters of reprimand are discipline subject to just cause, which makes reprimands grievable under the teachers’ contract district-wide. With the award now confirmed by the court, that holding stands.
The Space Coast Rocket has requested comment from Calhoun. This story will be updated with any response.
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