Voters to decide if teachers will get 6% raise

Broward’s teachers would get raises of about 6 percent if voters approve a tax referendum on the Aug. 28 ballot, school officials said Tuesday.

At a news conference to promote the referendum’s passage, Superintendent Robert Runcie and teachers’ union representatives urged constituents to vote yes on the tax, which would add 50 cents for every $1,000 in assessed property value. For a homeowner with a $225,000 property and a homestead exemption, the total increase would be about $100 a year.

If the referendum fails, “our teachers may be leaving in droves for Palm Beach and Miami-Dade counties,” teachers union president Anna Fusco said.

Both Palm Beach and Miami-Dade counties also are asking voters to approve tax increases to improve teacher pay.

The tax in Broward would last for four years and raise about $93 million a year. The average teacher salary is about $51,000, Fusco said. The 6 percent raise is approximate and still subject to negotiation, she said.

Here’s how the tax, if approved, is expected to be

divvied up:

72 percent, about $67 million, would increase pay for district employees who work directly with students.

20 percent, or about $18.6 million a year, would go toward hiring more school resource officers and security staff.

8 percent, or $7.4 million, would pay for additional guidance counselors, social workers and behavioral staff.

Runcie said the program would be audited annually to ensure the money is spent efficiently.