Seminole County may have finally ended months of negotiations over teacher pay with a tentative agreement reached late Wednesday.
- 2015-2016: 2.25% pay increase for Seminole county school employees, retroactive
- 2016-2017: 2.75% pay increase
- Tentative deal to be voted on next week
On Thursday, Katie Murphy gave her final lesson to a group of fifth graders at Wicklow Elementary School.
Murphy is retiring after 37 years of teaching. But until the tentative agreement, Murphy feared she would walk out of the classroom for good at the end of the school year without getting any raise in pay for her last year of teaching.
“It’s nice to go out knowing you’re valued a little bit more,” said Murphy.
The tentative agreement follows months of talks, contentious meetings and rallies for the unions representing Seminole County teachers, bus drivers and other school personnel.
Teachers had pushed for a higher increase in pay than the 2.25 percent raise the district was offering. But in the end, despite a federal magistrate recommending a higher increase, the two sides agreed on the district’s original offer for the 2015-2016 school year. Teachers and other school employees will get the raise retroactively in their paychecks.
“I wish we could have done more for the bus drivers and the assistants. They’re still nowhere near a living wage. And we really need to work on that,” said Murphy.
Union representatives say the tentative agreement does lock in a higher raise for next school year – a 2.75 percent increase for the 2016-2017 school year.
Murphy says that means next year teachers can focus on their work in the classroom and not worry about spending hours at union rallies.
“There were several nights it was nine or 10 o’clock before I got home, and I started here at school at a quarter of eight,” Murphy said. “But it’s worth it if you know you’re moving things ahead. And those us retiring know we’re moving it ahead for future generations.”
Murphy and other teachers will vote on the tentative pay agreement next week, and the school board has to approve the measure later this month. But the tentative contract agreement is expected to become permanent.