Following negotiations held on Thursday, Dec. 17, Broward County Public Schools and the Broward Teachers Union have reached a tentative agreement regarding a pay increase for BCPS’s Education Professionals and Educational Support Professionals. The terms of this contract agreement include a salary increase that ranges from 1% to 1.33%, and includes a $2,000 one-time stipend for all education professionals.

“Highly effective” teachers will receive a higher salary than those classified as “effective” on the salary schedule, which is determined by a teacher’s performance. Based on the school board’s salary schedule, “highly effective” teachers will receive a raise of 1.33% while “effective” teachers will earn a 1% raise. Teachers on the grandfathered salary schedule will earn a 1.07% raise.

“This is something that we have been working out for a long time to get this wage adjustment as fair as possible with that $15 minimum that’s been asked for,” Anna Fusco, president of Broward Teachers Union, said in a Dec. 17 press conference. “While educators and staff deserve much more funding from Tallahassee, this contract settlement with Broward Schools shows some level of local recognition can be made when we work together.”

In addition to the stipend for Education Professionals, BTU has also agreed upon supplementary terms regarding Educational Support Professionals. The terms include a $1,500 stipend, an increase in the minimum wage for classroom assistants from $11.51/hour to $13/hour and an increase for teacher assistants from $13.27/hour to $15/hour.

“I am so grateful that the district and school board were able to provide salary increases and one-time stipends for our BTU members,” Interim BCPS Superintendent Vickie Cartwright said at the press conference.

At MSD, many teachers feel that this salary increase does not properly reflect their efforts as educators, especially throughout the past year because of the struggles of teaching during a pandemic.

“The cost of living is going up but my salary is staying stagnant,” MSD English and Creative Writing teacher Stacy Lippel said. “[The 1% increase] kind of feels like an insult to our profession.”

On Jan. 11, the terms of salary increases were approved by BTU as 75% of union members voted yes for the ratification of terms for educational professionals. Additionally, 99.1% of union members voted yes for the ratification of terms for education support professionals.

During a special session meeting held on Friday, Jan. 21, the school board unanimously approved the salary increases and are working to provide the one-time stipend and raises as soon as possible.