Teachers in Seminole and Osceola counties will get modest raises this year, after their unions recently reached agreements with their school districts.
But instructors in Lake and Orange counties must still wait for any pay hikes as negotiations between their unions and district administrators continue next month.
In Seminole, teachers rated “highly effective” will get a 2.3% raise and those with “effective” ratings a 1.36% raise. Teachers working at low-income schools would also receive a $100 bonus.
In Osceola, top-rated teachers will get $500 plus a 2% cost of living adjustment — about $990 per teacher — meaning they could add almost $1,500 to their salaries. Those rated “effective” will get a $350 pay raise plus the cost-of-living hike.
The school board in both counties must still vote on the agreements.
Janet Moody, the president of the Osceola County Education Association, said she was proud of the gains the union made this year.
“This agreement reflects the power of collective action and the voice of our members,” Moody said. “We secured pay increases, stronger workplace protections, and greater recognition of the professional and personal needs of our employees.”
Mark Shanoff, Osceola’s superintendent, said employee compensation has been a priority for the district over the last several years and he’s proud of the district’s “sizable” investment.
“We could never fully monetize the impact of our employees on the success of our school district. They are heroes,” said Osceola Superintendent Mark Shanoff.
Negotiations between the Orange County Classroom Teachers Association, the local union, and Orange County Public Schools, the area’s largest school district, remain ongoing.
This year, the union asked for a 1% raise across the board with an additional 4% for “highly effective” teachers — a rating that historically more than 90% of OCPS teachers earn.
The union met with district representatives on Wednesday, and the two will reconvene on Sept. 12, with the hope an agreement could be reached, union president Clinton McCracken said.
OCPS employs about 13,300 teachers and is among the county’s largest employers.
Last year, OCPS and the union struggled to reach an salary agreement, which led to a 12-hour public impasse hearing. In the end, the district chose smaller raises advocated for by Superintendent Maria Vazquez over a larger increase pushed by the union.
OCPS hasn’t brought an offer to the table yet this year, McCracken said.
He doesn’t expect the ongoing enrollment drops and budget shortfalls to impact the district’s counter-offer, however.
Heading into this school year, OCPS said it faced an expected loss of 3,000 students and a $28 million budget shortfall driven by increasing private school vouchers and decreasing birthrates. On Tuesday, the district said its initial headcounts found they were actually down almost 7,000 students and could lose another $25 million in per-pupil funding.
“They have already given a 5% raise to some (administrators) and they found that money creatively. So they’re going to have to find the money for raises,” he said.
In Lake County, the teachers union is frustrated that the school district, citing a loss of state money from an enrollment loss, does not want to provide teachers any raises this year.
The district “refused to pay teachers what they are worth,” the Lake County Education Association said in a statement Aug. 21, and is focused “on the dismal budget outlook” leaving teachers with “little hope of increased compensation.”
Lake County Schools has not commented on whether it plans to offer raises. During an Aug. 20 bargaining session, Assistant Superintendent Guido Zamora said it would be financially irresponsible to accept the union’s current offer.
“Our job is to keep teachers with students. If we were in a different budget position, would I agree to this? Potentially, yes. But at this time, the district is not in a position that I can financially, responsibly, make a decision and say, ‘Yes, we can accept this’,” he said.
Florida continues to rank 50th nationwide in average teacher pay, according to Florida Education Association data. The average teacher salary in Florida is $54,875, according to the FEA.
Gov. Ron DeSantis’s administration has pushed higher starting pay for teaches, and the Legislature has earmarked money for that effort.
Average starting teacher pay is $48,639, which is ranked 17th in the country according to the National Education Association.
But unions and veteran teachers have complained that effort has left little money to boost pay for more-experienced instructors.
