![\"Broward](\"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-fl\/wp-content\/uploads\/2026\/09\/IMG_tfl-l-broward-school_3_1_P2QJLI25_L903490379.JPG\" "\\"Broward")
<\/p>\n <\/p>\n
Broward County School Board member Adam Cervera had been advocating for a 7% raise for teachers. He said on Tuesday, Sept. 8, 2026: \u2018I am tired of having to listen to teachers tell me about their second and third jobs that they have to work because they can\u2019t pay rent, or they can\u2019t pay their car note, or they can\u2019t pay their doctor bills, or they can\u2019t go out to eat or they can\u2019t buy groceries.\u2019<\/p>\n
Joe Cavaretta<\/p>\n
South Florida Sun Sentinel | May 11, 2026<\/p>\n
As it tries to bear the brunt of a financial storm, the Broward County School Board approved its budget for the 2026-27 school year \u2014 but without a guaranteed salary increase that teachers had been desperate for.<\/p>\n
At a heated meeting that ran late into Tuesday night, two board members who had been pushing for raises refused to approve the $4.7 billion budget, which passed in a 6-2 vote. One member didn\u2019t vote.<\/p>\n
Around $12 million is going toward maintaining past raises, accounting for some salary growth for eligible educators, but this doesn\u2019t materialize into teachers seeing a bump in paychecks.<\/p>\n
However, a referendum on the Nov. 3 ballot could bring a boost of over $230 million in funding for public schools, the vast majority of which would go toward salaries.<\/p>\n
READ MORE: Broward School Board votes to direct $254M from Nov. 3 referendum to pay teachers, key support staff<\/a><\/p>\n Anna Fusco, president of the Broward Teachers Union, said board members were \u201c weak and uneducated\u201d and they \u201cshould know better, and they don\u2019t.\u201d<\/p>\n Educator Melissa Sherman was among many who spoke emotionally at the meeting.<\/p>\n \u201c Year after year, the employees in your classrooms have absorbed the difference. We\u2019ve adjusted our budgets. We\u2019ve postponed our purchases. We\u2019ve taken second jobs,\u201d she told the board.<\/p>\n \u201c At some point, \u2018we value our teachers\u2019 has to show up somewhere other than a slogan. It has to show up in the budget,\u201d she added.<\/p>\n Florida ranks last nationwide in teacher pay<\/a> and per student funding. The average teacher salary in Florida public schools was $56,600 in 2025, compared to the national average of $74,400, according to a National Education Association report.<\/p>\n In South Florida in particular, where the cost of living has skyrocketed in recent years, teacher salaries aren\u2019t keeping up.<\/p>\n A family of two with two kids in Broward County would need to make $124,800 annually to live a modest and adequate lifestyle, according to calculations by the Economic Policy Institute.<\/p>\n Board member Maura McCarthy Bulman, who voted to approve the budget, pointed to the enrollment woes that the district is facing. The first day of the 2026-27 school year saw 11,000 fewer students<\/a> compared to last year\u2019s first day, equating to about $100 million less funding. Last month, it was revealed the district is considering closing 10 schools<\/a> next school year.<\/p>\n \u201c I just want everyone to understand that we\u2019re not bringing money out of the sky,\u201d McCarthy Bulman said. \u201cWe are in a very tight budget, losing students, losing money.\u201d<\/p>\n \u2018This budget does not meet the expectation\u2019<\/p>\n In budget hearings leading up to Tuesday\u2019s final vote, board member Debbie Hixon had pushed for a minimum 4% raise for teachers, saying she would not vote for anything below it.<\/p>\n \u201c We say that we value our teachers and employees, and our budget must demonstrate that commitment,\u201d Hixon said. \u201c This budget does not meet the expectation I have for honoring the direction of this board and prioritizing our employees.\u201d<\/p>\n Board member Adam Cervera, the only other dissenting vote, had been advocating for a 7% raise.<\/p>\n \u201c I am tired of the broken promises from this district,\u201d he said. \u201cI am tired of having to listen to teachers tell me about their second and third jobs that they have to work because they can\u2019t pay rent, or they can\u2019t pay their car note, or they can\u2019t pay their doctor bills, or they can\u2019t go out to eat or they can\u2019t buy groceries.\u201d<\/p>\n As proposed, the general-fund budget, from which teacher salaries are paid, is approximately $3.5 billion, an increase of $50 million from last year. However, that doesn\u2019t translate into more for schools and teachers, Omar Shim, the director of capital budget warned.<\/p>\n Of the $3.5 billion, charter schools receive 19% and the Family Empowerment Scholarship, a state voucher, makes up 12%. That leaves the remaining $2.1 billion for district-run schools.<\/p>\n Superintendent Howard Hepburn and the board members who approved the budget are looking to the referendum on the Nov. 3 ballot as a point of relief for teacher-salary bumps.<\/p>\n In 2022, voters approved a property-tax increase that\u2019s equal to $100 per $100,000 in assessed property value. This year\u2019s ballot asks voters to renew it, which could mean $238.4 million for traditional public schools. In May, the board approved having 90% of the collected money<\/a> go toward teacher salaries.<\/p>\n Moreover, the district projects to save as much as $52 million under the budget, half of which would come from a hiring freeze at the central office.<\/p>\n Board member Allen Zeman predicts the savings will be higher than that. And once it\u2019s known if the referendum was renewed, the district will be in a better position to understand its financial reality, he said. For now, however, he said it\u2019s best to deal with the current facts.<\/p>\n \u201c This board has been very clear about wanting to find money to compensate people,\u201d he said. \u201cI will not sleep until teachers make $100,000 each.\u201d<\/p>\n The budget can be amended and the cost savings identified could give way for a 4% raise down the line, according to Superintendent Hepburn.<\/p>\n Fusco, the president of the Broward Teachers Union, accepts the referendum is needed. If it doesn\u2019t get renewed, \u201cthere will be a catastrophe,\u201d she said, \u201cbut it was never put in place to take over\u201d the raises outlined by the district\u2019s budget.<\/p>\n Yvonne Moniz, a special-education teacher at Virginia Shuman Young Montessori elementary school in Fort Lauderdale, told the board she\u2019s passionate about her job.<\/p>\n \u201cBut if that referendum and that 4% doesn\u2019t come, I may not be able to stay here,\u201d she added. \u201cI am so sad about it. It\u2019s the reality of what the cost is.\u201d<\/p>\n