- Two key votes are standing between Leon County teachers getting more pay this school year after months of negotiating a new contract with Leon County Schools.
- The Leon Classroom Teachers Association said they've reached a deal to increase teacher pay.
- Watch the video to see what happens next.
BROADCAST TRANSCRIPT:
Two key votes are standing between Leon County teachers getting more pay this school year. After months of negotiating a new contract with Leon County Schools.
The Leon Classroom Teachers Association said they've reached a deal to increase teacher pay.
"If this is as far as the needle can be moved this year, then that just means we need to move the needle that much further next year," Scott Mazur, the Leon Classroom Teachers Association President said. "Until we are at a point where we really prioritize the greatest factor to student learning, which is the teacher in the classroom."
The two sides' tentative agreement increases the base pay for all teachers by at least $575.
"School board members and the superintendent have been working on this behind the scenes, trying to find as much money as we could for the teachers," Rosanne Wood, the Leon County School Board Chair said.
For teachers with more experience, they get an extra $100 increase for each year they've worked.
"Let's take a 20-year, you know, veteran teacher, you know, that teacher is going to get the 575 plus the $100 for every year," Mazur said. "So that's $2,000 added to the $575. So that person would be getting an increase of $2,575 for this year, retroactively paid to the beginning of August, with a lump sum in March."
Before teachers can see this pay raise the association must ratify the agreement and the Leon County School Board must vote on it.
"To find this money, which was extra than then was budgeted for," Wood said. "I understand it's going to mean some position cuts."
I'm told what exact positions or budget cuts are not known just yet. The money is coming from a mix of state funds and local tax dollars.
The tentative agreement is expected to be ratified and voted on by the school board as early as Tuesday.
