SEMINOLE COUNTY, Fla. — Seminole County teachers and other school employees will see an increase in their paychecks next year.
- Findings show money was being spent in other departments of schools
- Teachers will see pay increase in August
- Largest raise since the 2013-14 school year
- More Education headlines
The teachers union was able to secure a 3 percent raise for next year and another 1.25 percent the following year.
Over the past few months, Seminole County UniServ Executive Director Chardo Richardson has been diving into the books, checking to see where and how Seminole County Public Schools has been spending its money.
Richardson then discovered that there were certain surpluses in different categories such as building maintenance, electric usage, and even salaries.
They are all sums of money that he believes could be put to better use like pay increases for teachers, school workers, bus drivers, and principals.
“I sat down with an excel spreadsheet. We went line by line because all of that stuff is public record," Richardson said. "We sat down with the district and they provided numbers, I provided them numbers."
This year's 3 percent raise is the largest since the 2013-2014 school year.
That year, teachers received a nearly 3.5 percent raise, followed by a 2.36 percent, 2 and a quarter, 2 and three quarter, 2 and a half, and a .86 percent increase last year.
Despite the recent win at the negotiation table, Florida teachers still don't stack up nationally. The national average for a teacher's salary is $60,000, but a Florida teacher averages about 20 percent less.
“Without public schools nothing else is going to work. It's just not gonna work," Richardson said. "Yes we have to have a budget for law enforcement, we have to have a budget for this, but you will not have people there who are educated if you don't have public schools to get them off to the right start.”
Dan Smith has been a teacher for 26 years, and spent the past decade in Seminole County at Lake Brantley High.
Now, Dan serves as the Seminole Educations Associations President. When he heard about the 3 percent raise he admits he would have liked more, but says it was still a good win for all parties.
“I think it is very good, it is very positive, it will help," Smith said. "I think teachers need everything they can get and the 3 percent or whatever it adds to I think is very good for the teacher.”
Teachers will see the pay increase at the beginning of the school year in August, and the 1.25 percent increase the following year is contingent on spending by the Legislature.