Orange County teachers approve new union contract offering small raise amid budget shortfall

Teachers, school psychologists, and other instructional staff in Orange County Public Schools overwhelmingly approved a new union contract last week delivering 4 percent raises for most teachers, with $2 million in additional funds set aside for paying longtime teachers and educators with advanced degrees.

Under the new collective bargaining agreement, approved by 91 percent of union members who voted, the starting salary for teachers will rise to $50,000. For school psychologists, minimum pay will rise to $58,410.

The agreement offers 4 percent raises for teachers who are rated “highly effective” by the district — representing roughly 90 percent of teachers, as of last year — or a raise of 3.01 percent for teachers rated “effective.” A union representative confirmed that less than one-third of union members participated in the ratification vote.

Although minimum pay for Florida teachers ranks 17th highest among states nationwide, Florida’s average salary for teachers broadly ranks 50th, largely due to veteran or longtime teachers earning little more than starting teachers.

This issue, also known as salary compression, has been a chronic issue plaguing Orange County schools and schools in other Florida districts. According to the Florida Education Association, a statewide teachers union, average teacher pay has fallen nearly 13 percent over the last decade, when adjusted for inflation.

“Educators aren’t asking for riches — they’re asking for the chance to build a stable life, to afford to live in the communities they serve, and to lift up the next generation,” FEA president Andrew Spar, a former music teacher, said in a statement. “They want to be able to teach without worrying about making ends meet, and to give every student the attention and care they deserve.”

According to the Economic Policy Institute, a national research think tank, Florida teachers make about 22 percent less than their similarly educated peers in other professions.

Local union leaders in Orange County — home to one the nation’s most cost-burdened metros — are aware of how far behind teachers feel when it comes to addressing the region’s higher cost of living and educators’ struggle to make ends meet. “This agreement represents an important step forward, but it’s not the finish line,” Clinton McCracken, president of the Orange County Classroom Teachers Association, said in a statement about the new union contract.

“Our members deserve pay that reflects the true value they bring to our schools and communities,” he argued.

The union initially fought for guarantees on functioning air-conditioning systems in classrooms, but that proposal was withdrawn.

The Orange County CTA, first established in 1975 as one of the state’s earliest public sector unions, represents nearly 14,000 teachers and instructional personnel throughout Orange County Public Schools, the eighth-largest school district in the U.S.

According to the union, Florida Gov. Ron DeSantis’ education budget this year only allocated enough money for a 0.67 percent raise, so union leaders are proud they managed to negotiate an agreement with the district offering more. The FEA, their parent union, estimates the state budget approved for teacher raises this year — totaling $101 million — ultimately amounts to just an extra $20 added to each teacher’s paycheck.

“We’re proud of what we’ve achieved, and we’re even more committed to what comes next,” said McCracken, an art teacher for more than 20 years. “We’ll continue moving forward, stronger together.”

In addition to pay raises, the agreement reached between the union and the Orange County school district also offers guaranteed 30-minute lunches for teachers, protection against unfounded claims made by students about a teacher, and guidance on how to navigate the use of artificial intelligence tools in classrooms.

The union initially fought for guarantees on functioning air-conditioning systems in classrooms — considering the dangers of malfunctioning AC during Florida’s brutal summers — but that proposal was later withdrawn, McCracken confirmed.

The approval of the new union contract comes amid a broader attack on public education under the Trump administration and, closer to home, an anticipated district budget shortfall of about $44 million, according to a district spokesperson, tied to a steep drop in student enrollment.

The Orange County school district projected a loss of about 6,600 students from the public school district this fall, representing a loss that’s more than double district leaders’ initial estimate. About 2,500 of the students lost this year, tellingly, were from immigrant families, the district spokesperson added.

Neither the union, nor the district, directly addressed whether this drop in enrollment affected wage negotiations for school staff this year when contacted by the Weekly.

Pay negotiations have been more or less fruitful for unionized teachers in other parts of the state. Teachers in Pinellas County, for instance, approved a roughly 1 percent raise this year, the Tampa Bay Times reported, on top of a 5 to 9 percent raise teachers received this summer as a result of a local ballot referendum approved by Pinellas County voters in 2024. Lee Bryant, president of the Pinellas Classroom Teachers Association, admitted it’s a “tough year” for wage talks.

“We’re just overstaffed, under-populated with students. It’s a difficult, difficult year, and the fact that the state offers educators 0.7 percent is insulting, and it should be insulting to everybody who supports public education,” Bryant told the Times. “Even worse, they offered nothing for anyone else — support staff, bus drivers.”

Teachers in Leon County, meanwhile, recently voted down a tentative agreement their district reached with the union, after teachers learned the district’s offer would only give them an additional $40 in pay per month.

“When you work as hard as we do, and we do work very hard, it’s disappointing that you don’t feel like they really have your back. They think they do, but they don’t really,” Susan Vinson, a 30-year teacher, told the Tallahassee Democrat after a bargaining session last week.

The Florida Legislature and DeSantis approved a sweeping law (SB 256) in 2023 designed to get rid of the state’s teachers unions, adding logistical barriers that make it more difficult for public employee unions to remain certified. Although the law has wiped out more than 100 other types of bargaining units — including all of the state’s adjunct faculty unions in higher education — all of the state’s K-12 teachers unions and unions representing full-time university faculty so far have nonetheless managed to remain intact.

Orlando’s daily dose of what matters. Subscribe to The Daily Weekly.

Orange County teachers approve new union contract offering small raise amid budget shortfall

Tags: