The School Board of Lake County and the Lake County Education Association reached an agreement this week on a $7 million plan that increases teacher salaries.
House Bill 641 designated an allocation to increase the minimum teacher salary. The district and the union bargained how the money would be disbursed based upon restrictions of the General Appropriations Act.
Gov. Ron DeSantis in June signed the bill hoping it would raise Florida teachers’ minimum salaries to $47,500. But many districts, including Lake, did not receive enough money from the state to cover the cost of increasing salaries to that level.
If the proposed memorandum of understanding is ratified by both the union and the School Board, 80 percent of the allocation, or $5.7 million, will be used to boost the minimum base salary for full-time classroom teachers and certified pre-kindergarten teachers to $44,750. Currently, the minimum base salary is $40,400.
Additionally, 20 percent of the allocation, or $1.4 million, will be used to increase the base salary of all other full-time instructional personnel and pre-kindergarten teachers.
All full-time instructional personnel who already have a base salary between $44,750 and $47,499.99 will receive a 1 percent increase. All full-time instructional personnel with a current base salary between $47,500 and $50,999 will receive a 1.5 percent increase. All full-time instructional personnel, including all pre-K teachers with a base salary of $51,000 or above, will receive a 2 percent increase.
The School Board is scheduled to vote on Monday, Sept. 28. The union will schedule a vote shortly afterward.
