Teachers, staff ratify board-approved 3-percent raise
SARASOTA – Following School Board approval Nov. 20 of a 3 percent salary increase for teachers and other district staff, instructional and classified employees ratified the agreement. The results of the vote were announced yesterday by the Sarasota Classified / Teachers Association (SC/TA), which represents the district’s 2,916 teachers and 2,316 support staff.
More than 92 percent of the 2,010 instructional employees who voted approved ratification, while over 91 percent of the 1,292 classified workers who voted checked “yes” on their ballots. While the district’s 215 administrators were not eligible to vote, the ratification by teachers and other staff members means that they will also receive the 3 percent salary increase approved by the Board in a separate motion Nov. 20. Payments for all employees, retroactive to July 1, will appear in December paychecks.
The salary increase is smaller than last year’s raise of 5.25 percent. School revenue across Florida has been reduced as the housing market has cooled and economic growth has slowed. School districts also are being fiscally conservative in anticipation of further revenue reductions that could result from a statewide property tax referendum on the ballot in January.
School Board member Shirley Brown said she and her colleagues on the Board appreciate the professionalism of SC/TA members, both in the schools and at the bargaining table. "We are approving a contract that's not what it's been in the past," she said. "People all know that, in light of the cuts from Tallahassee. We sure know they deserve more than 3 percent, but the reality is that's all we could afford to give this year."
SC/TA President Pat Gardner said, “It’s a good settlement when you consider the problems with the economy in the state.”
Gardner said about 80 percent of the classified employees of Sarasota County Schools are SC/TA members, but all instructional and classified employees are eligible to vote in the ratification process.
More than 92 percent of the 2,010 instructional employees who voted approved ratification, while over 91 percent of the 1,292 classified workers who voted checked “yes” on their ballots. While the district’s 215 administrators were not eligible to vote, the ratification by teachers and other staff members means that they will also receive the 3 percent salary increase approved by the Board in a separate motion Nov. 20. Payments for all employees, retroactive to July 1, will appear in December paychecks.
The salary increase is smaller than last year’s raise of 5.25 percent. School revenue across Florida has been reduced as the housing market has cooled and economic growth has slowed. School districts also are being fiscally conservative in anticipation of further revenue reductions that could result from a statewide property tax referendum on the ballot in January.
School Board member Shirley Brown said she and her colleagues on the Board appreciate the professionalism of SC/TA members, both in the schools and at the bargaining table. "We are approving a contract that's not what it's been in the past," she said. "People all know that, in light of the cuts from Tallahassee. We sure know they deserve more than 3 percent, but the reality is that's all we could afford to give this year."
SC/TA President Pat Gardner said, “It’s a good settlement when you consider the problems with the economy in the state.”
Gardner said about 80 percent of the classified employees of Sarasota County Schools are SC/TA members, but all instructional and classified employees are eligible to vote in the ratification process.