Teachers deserve better pay

The Manatee County School District has reached an impasse regarding teacher contracts. As a teacher, I can say that we felt strongly that this proposal was not acceptable because of the increase in insurance for families and, in my opinion, the pitiful raise that was proposed. Teachers took a huge pay cut in 2008 and I’m still feeling the effects of that. We need to work towards making up that gaping deficit. The new proposal is to ratify the exact same contract or else lose our retroactive pay. I don’t appreciate these bully tactics being used. I’m not a 3-year-old who needs a time-out because I misbehaved. The teachers had the right to vote and we rejected a terrible contract. I feel like district negotiator Bill Vogel is trying to “stick it to us” because we are standing up for ourselves.

We have a teacher shortage here in Manatee County. Last year, my school lost two teachers who were “Teachers of the Year” because they moved to a county with better pay and insurance. If we continue on this track, we are going to lose all of our good teachers. I don’t blame teachers who are on the performance pay schedule who look for a better situation than what we are given here in Manatee.

Interesting facts: Superintendent Diana Greene’s salary is $189,995 and she will receive approximately $2,850 more each year. In 2020 she will be making $201,394.93!

The average superintendent salary in Florida is $142,990. Our superintendent is a first-time Superintendent and makes $47,005 more than the average in Florida.

Teachers in Manatee earn an average $47, 950 (the state average). In Sarasota County they earn $57,026, a difference of $9,076. Our school board makes $4,000 above the average, principals about $10,000 above the average.

We deserve better!

This story was originally published November 15, 2016 at 2:23 PM with the headline "Teachers deserve better pay."