DOWNTOWN TALLAHASSEE, Fla. (WTXL) — The Leon Classroom Teachers Association will vote on a district offer that includes a one-time 1% salary bonus for teachers, with a decision expected next week.
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The Leon County School District presented the salary proposal at the bargaining table on Wednesday evening. The offer includes a one-time 1% bonus that would be added to the $1 million provided by the State last year for salary increases.
Scott Mazur, President of the Association, said they're taking the offer to their members for a vote.
Mazur said the positives about the offer include the district recognizing first- and second-year teachers with a salary increase, but he has hesitations that the pay raise is non-recurring.
"That's concerning because costs are just going up, right? So it's a band-aid on something that needs a little bit more...or a lot," Mazur said.
Hanna said he's hopeful the Association will accept the offer.
"So I think this was our opportunity to make a last-ditch effort to try to close the book for 25-26 and then, okay, let's now rally together on behalf of our teachers and our support staff that are working with students each and every day to make a difference in their life," Hanna said.
Meanwhile, Leon County Schools must cut about $7 million from its budget to ensure a balanced budget for the next school year, with decisions on specific cuts expected in March.
The district has outlined proposed cuts that include reducing district costs by $1.5 million, cutting the number of social workers from 27 to 10, and slashing funding for arts and athletic programs by 50%.
Leon County Schools Superintendent Rocky Hanna said the cuts are necessary despite their impact on schools.
"In a perfect world, we'd love to keep all of those resources in our schools. We've seen the wonderful results we've had in a number of our Title I schools with student achievement and school grades. But unfortunately, we just can't do it," Hanna said.
The budget pressures come as the district expects increasing costs, including their contracts with the Leon County Sheriff's Office, the Health Department, and health insurance contributions.
Despite potential resource reductions, Hanna said schools will still be able to decide where money is spent. For example, if they believe an interventionist is needed, they can convert dollars to fund that position.
"Although district-wide, we can no longer afford to fund these positions," Hanna said, "Individual principals may say, I need that reading coach, or I need that math coach, or I need an interventionist to do pullouts or push-ins with kids that are struggling. They absolutely will continue to have the autonomy to make those decisions."
The District is also considering a millage increase that would go on the ballot in November to support teachers.
Mazur said getting this measure on the ballot is critical.
"There is a tangible need here. Tangible need where a millage increase would have a significant impact on really making sure that our great educators that we've lost would have stuck around, right?" Mazur said.
School board members are set to discuss which items, if any, from this list, they want to cut on March 24th, after the legislative session is set to end on March 13th, when they believe they'll have more information from legislators related to the budget.
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