Florida’s largest teachers’ union leader says the latest report on low teacher pay represents more evidence that Gov. Ron DeSantis and the Republican-majority Legislature are “failing” the state’s public schools by “favoring unaccountable voucher and charter schools.”<\/p>\n
“When public dollars are diverted away from public schools, and teachers can\u2019t afford to stay in the profession, it\u2019s students who lose,” said <\/a>Florida Education Association President Andrew Spar. “Public schools have been forced to cut essential services, lay off teachers and staff, and increase class sizes, all of which put students last.\u201d<\/p>\n The FEA represents Florida\u2019s largest teachers\u2019 union representing more than 120,000 members.<\/p>\n Spar’s remarks were in response the latest National Education Association report. For the third consecutive year, the NEA reported that Florida is again at the bottom of the list for teacher pay nationwide.<\/p>\n The average teacher salary in Florida public schools was $56,600 in 2025, compared to the national average of $74,400, according to the NEA report, which was released Monday.<\/p>\n The average Florida salary for teachers is about $2,000 more than last year and a substantial increase since the 2016-17 school year. However, it hasn\u2019t risen on par with inflation, which sits at 3.3% in the U.S. currently. When adjusted, the average teacher salary decreased by an estimated 4.6% over the past decade.<\/p>\n It\u2019s an issue that affects teacher retention, said Spar.<\/p>\n \u201cEvery time you have that turnover, students lose out,\u201d Spar told WLRN. \u201c\u200aThe bottom line is it’s really hard for teachers and people to work in our schools without having to work two and three jobs.\u201d<\/p>\n A new Gallup poll<\/a> reveals that 71% of U.S. K-12 teachers hold at least one second job.<\/p>\n The NEA report’s authors wrote the low teacher pay nationwide is causing “widespread financial stress, declining morale, and increasing strain on educators.\u201d <\/p>\n The NEA report analyzed teacher pay in all 50 states and the District of Columbia.<\/p>\n In South Florida, where the cost of living has skyrocketed in recent years, teacher salaries aren’t keeping up.<\/p>\n A family of two with two kids in Miami-Dade County would need to make $120,900 annually to live a modest and adequate lifestyle, according to calculations by the Economic Policy Institute. <\/a>For Broward County it estimates $124,800 and $127,260 for Palm Beach County.<\/p>\n \u201c\u200aWhat we saw in the NEA report is that average teacher pay in Florida has only gone up about 3% over the last few years,\u201d Spar said, \u201cand when you look at that compared to inflation, you wonder why teachers are leaving because you can’t keep up with the cost of goods.\u201d<\/p>\n The average starting teacher salary in Florida is $49,400, slotting at number 19 compared to the rest of the country.<\/p>\n The union effect<\/p>\n Teachers earn 24% more on average in states with collective bargaining, the NEA report said.<\/p>\n It\u2019s not a surprising statistic to Gordan Longhofer, president of the Classroom Teachers Association of Palm Beach County.<\/p>\n \u200a\u201dYou find that where unions are encouraged to be more active, it’s a better product, it is a better focus, it’s a better life for the teachers so that they can invest more of themselves into what’s going on,\u201d Longhofer told WLRN.<\/p>\n A recently passed state bill makes it harder for public sector unions to remain certified, requiring at least 50% of all employees in a bargaining unit to participate in an election. The union must then win 50% plus one of that total.<\/p>\n \u201c\u200aFlorida is struggling with [teacher] salary, but that’s also because of the very harsh attacks that unions have come under in Florida,\u201d Longhofer said. \u201cNot just the teacher’s union, but other public service unions. They have come under tremendous attacks and as a result, there is a lot of drive to basically eliminate some of that advocacy and those protections for the employees.\u201d<\/p>\n