Hillsborough County Schools agree to modest increases in teacher salaries
HILLSBOROUGH COUNTY, Fla. - The Hillsborough County Teacher’s Association announced Wednesday it’s reached a tentative compensation agreement with the school district.
The deal includes modest salary increases for educators across the board.
READ: Florida ranks 2nd worst in nation for teacher pay, NEA report finds
"This is a significant day for employees in the HCTA bargaining unit," Superintendent Van Ayres said in a statement. "These pay increases are so deserved, and I want to make sure our employees recognize how much we care for them and are excited to welcome them back for the 2024-2025 school year."
According to the terms, which will still need formal approval from union members and the Hillsborough County School Board, existing employees will have an additional year added to their pay schedule. Most teachers will also receive a $500 bump in salary and a one-time payment of $1,500.
Educators at the top of the union scale who are ineligible for raises will receive a one-time $2,000 payment. Starting pay for new teachers will also increase by $500 to $48,000 a year.
READ: Hillsborough County millage increase referendum will be on November ballot
In their announcement about the tentative deal, the school district and teachers’ association both acknowledged they aren’t where either side would like to be on teacher pay.
"Our district is still not able to provide competitive salaries compared to surrounding school districts," the statement read in part.
In the statement, HCTA Vice President-Elect Regina Gambrell called the pay increases ‘a positive move in the right direction’ but said they still plan to work toward their goal of attaining ‘a livable wage’ for all employees.
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Nationally, Florida teachers are some of the lowest paid in their profession; in May, the National Education Association released a study that ranked Florida 50th in the country in average teacher pay, despite being 16th in starting teacher salaries.
The Florida Department of Education pushed back on the report, saying that it doesn’t take income tax and cost of living into account.
According to education advocates, the salary disparity makes it hard for Florida to recruit and retain the best and brightest educators.
In Hillsborough County, where teachers are paid thousands less than in several neighboring counties, it can be even tougher to compete for teachers.
"They come in for a few years, it's a challenging and difficult job, and then they're moving on. We're not getting career teachers and career educators," HCTA President Rob Kriete told FOX 13 in May.
It’s the reason why Hillsborough schools this fall will ask residents to approve their first property tax increase to help fund educator salaries.
Most surrounding districts in the Bay Area, including Pinellas and Pasco, have a tax in place to support their schools and are able to pay their teachers thousands more on average.