Manatee County School Board approves pay raises for teachers and paraprofessionals
The School Board of Manatee County has unanimously approved two contracts that will increase pay for teachers and paraprofessionals.
Board members approved the 2020-21 agreement during Tuesday’s meeting. The terms rely on continued funding by “annual Legislative action,” the board documents state, citing the bill signed by Gov. Ron DeSantis last June, House Bill 641.
“The salary improvements for instructional staff and paraprofessionals will be retroactive to July 1, 2020, and are expected to begin with the paycheck on Friday, February 26, 2021,” the district said in a news release.
The agreement with the Manatee Education Association for teachers includes:
- Base salary increases to $46,429 on the grandfathered schedule and $46,439 on the performance schedule. This portion of the agreement uses money from the state’s Teacher Salary Allocation.
- Eligible teachers will receive a three-pay level increase.
- Longevity pay worth $2,100 for teachers who completed 16 years in Manatee County last year, or $3,600 for those who completed 25 years.
When adding the base salary to the $5,201 teacher supplement provided by Manatee’s one-mill tax referendum, the starting pay for instructors is $51,630 — one of the highest for new teachers in Florida, according to the news release.
The agreement for paraprofessionals includes:
- A one-step movement on the salary schedule for eligible paraprofessionals.
- 2 percent increase to paraprofessionals at the top of the schedule.
- An increase of 10 cents per hour applied to each step of the salary schedule.
“For both contracts, all current contract language including health insurance premiums continues until 2021-2022 negotiations,” the release states.
In a prepared statement, Superintendent Cynthia Saunders said negotiations were ongoing between the district and the American Federation of State, County and Municipal Employees (AFSCME).
She also hoped to bring possible pay increases for other employees — including salaried, administrative, managerial and professional staff — to the next school board meeting on Jan. 26.
“I want to thank the negotiating teams for the district and the MEA on reaching this agreement, and for the School Board’s approval tonight,” Saunders said. “It means a lot that this school district continues to improve employee compensation so that we can attract and retain the best educators available for our students.”
This story was originally published January 12, 2021 at 8:38 PM.