Alachua County Public Schools (ACPS) reached a tentative agreement with the Alachua County Education Association (ACEA) on Friday. If approved by the employees and the School Board of Alachua County, teachers and support staff would receive an across-the-board 3.5% salary increase.
“We appreciate the collaboration between the district and the ACEA to reach this tentative agreement,” Superintendent Shane Andrew said in a press release. “I’m sure it’s welcome news for employees.”
The 3.5% increase would cost the district an estimated $5,667,851, most of which would go to teachers, according to ACPS’s executive director of human resources, David Shelnutt. In addition, the district gives returning employees an automatic ‘step’ increase of about 1% if they completed at least half of the previous year’s contract. Shelnutt said the step increase cost about $1.54 million.
If the employees ratify the salary agreement and the school board approves it, district staff will apply the increased salary retroactively as far back as July 1.
Employees have not yet ratified the agreement, but ACPS hopes to have the new salary schedule on the school board agenda for Jan. 16 if the employee vote is done in time, according to a press release.
“I think the school board, as well as ACEA, both value our employees greatly,” Shelnutt said in a phone interview. “I know the district superintendent, all of us appreciate the hard work of our employees, and… we’re excited that we’re kind of on the last stretch of it.”
District staff negotiates with the ACEA every year, and Shelnutt said preparations for next year’s salary negotiations will begin in the spring. Last year, the district offered a historically large $10.5 million bonus and salary package using Elementary and Secondary School Emergency Relief (ESSER) funds to double the value of 2019-20’s $4.5 million package.
ACPS started the school year with teacher shortages reflecting a national trend. Shelnutt said the district is still trying to fill some vacancies, but there is a constant flow of employees coming into and leaving the district.
According to the ACPS job listings website, the starting pay for a new teacher with a bachelor’s degree is $45,717.
Editor’s note: This story was updated with the starting teacher’s salary.
I as a taxpayer don’t begrudge anyone a reasonable COLA such as this; however, how much thought has gone into targeting payraises or 1x bonuses to teachers that show well above average results? Getting a baseline on a class the forst week of school followed up the last week of school with a test proctored by a 3rd party might show if there was little or no progress or extraordinary progress. These teachgers could be given a reward such as an extra step increase additive, cash bonus, etc….too many K-12 students have minimal-to-no assistance at home but a dedicated teacher can make a difference by being available before and after school, taking calls on weekends in some cases, setting up tutoring circles, etc. etc. These are NOT newe concepts but too many teachers merely clock in and clock out and push agendas. Let’s get back to the basics and reward excellence…..sorry for the rant.
Important information missing is average teacher salary currently. This would have made the article much more informative. 3.5% of what?