Broward School Board approves pay raises for teachers and staff

Teachers in Broward County are getting a raise again.

On Tuesday, the Broward County School Board unanimously approved a contract that will give instructional staff a one-time $1,000 bonus and a raise of up to 5% depending on experience and performance. Staff will also receive retroactive pay to July 1, 2022, and their salary increase within the month.

The agreement, reached on Jan. 17, calls for investing more than $50 million in educational professionals, including teachers, social workers, counselors, speech pathologists and school psychologists. More than 95% of the county’s public-school teachers approved the contract.

Outgoing Superintendent Vicky Cartwright called the raise the “largest salary increases our teachers have received in a decade.”

“I am so grateful for the work that occurs every single day, keeping to our core guiding principles of students first,” Cartwright said. “These professionals work with their students on a daily basis ensuring that they are providing a quality education.”

For Anna Fusco, president of the Broward Teachers Union, the work isn’t done. She said she’s committed to sit down with the negotiation team again before the next school year.

“I know a lot of our teachers are happy, but we have a lot of steps to move forward,” Fusco said. “Some things were not finalized at the table because we didn’t want to hold up the overall salary increase for every teacher.”

BREAKDOWN OF THE AGREEMENT

One-time $1,000 bonus

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4% raise for grandfathered

● employees

5% raise for staff rated

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highly effective

3.75% raise for staff

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rated effective

$48,925 starting salary

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for new teachers

Grethel Aguila: @GrethelAguila