The Broward school district did not breach employment contracts with a group of teachers who were forced to retire last school year after being told they would have jobs this fall, a Broward judge ruled Thursday.

The Broward Teachers Union had filed a class-action lawsuit on behalf of the teachers in June after the School Board, tightening its budgetary belt, changed its policy to prohibit most teacher retirement extensions -- but not before telling 32 teachers they would have jobs this school year.

Those teachers had received letters early in the school year saying they could delay their retirements one more year.

But after the district grasped its budget woes, the teachers received letters in May rescinding the extensions.

The union said the district did not give the teachers enough notice that they would be forced to retire. It also argued that the letter telling teachers they would have a job constituted a contract.

School district attorneys countered that decisions on teacher contracts are never final until the end of the school year, when School Board members vote on them.

Circuit Court Judge Ronald Rothschild sided with the school district at a hearing Thursday afternoon.

``The School Board did not vote on the approvals for the one-year extension,'' he said.

BTU President Pat Santeramo said the union plans to appeal.

Florida teachers, like public officials, can delay their planned retirements in some school districts under the popular Deferred Retirement Option Program, called DROP.

When employees enter the program, they earn interest in an investment account for five years before they retire and cash out the money.

Until reversing its position in May, the school district had allowed teachers to apply for three one-year contract extensions after the five-year DROP period. Miami-Dade put an end to that practice last year to save money.

Most Broward teachers who asked to push back their retirements last school year -- about 200 -- did not receive letters approving their requests. The other 32 teachers did.

``We believe we had a contract,'' said Janet Vandivort, a former guidance counselor at Marjory Stoneman Douglas High School in Parkland who attended the hearing.

``We made all our plans and got no notice to plan our finances,'' she added. ``We're upset.''

As negotiations between BTU and the district on this year's contract for teachers continue to drag, the union is urging teachers to cut back on volunteering for extra duties, staying after school without pay and going to meetings for which they are not compensated.

The ``Work to the Rule'' effort starts Monday and wraps up Nov. 25, the day before Thanksgiving, according to the union's website. The union used the same tactic when negotiations stalled last year.

Miami Herald staff writer Hannah Sampson contributed to this report.

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