MANATEE COUNTY, Fla. — Some good news for teachers in Manatee County — the starting pay just increased more than $2,000 after school board members approved a new contract with the district and the Manatee Education Association, the school district said in a release.
Starting pay jumped from $52,910 to $55,177 for teachers, which the district says will make area teachers among the highest paid in Florida. The district explains the new starting pay is comprised of a base pay of $48,586 and a supplement of $6,591 made available through the renewed 1-mill referendum voters first approved back in 2018.
The newly agreed upon contract also increases the minimum hourly pay for paraprofessionals or teacher aides from $13.34 to $15/hour, the district said.
This increase is also retroactive back to July 1, 2022. This means teachers will start to see pay increases starting in October.
“During this time when all school districts are struggling to recruit and retain the highly qualified teachers and paraprofessionals our students need and deserve, this is a significant step forward for our school district,” Superintendent Cynthia Saunders said in a statement. “I want to thank the bargaining teams for the district and the MEA, the School Board for its approval of the new contract, and our community for its continued support of our students and schools.”
Manatee County Schools also provided additional highlights of the contract, including the following:
- Cost of Living Adjustment (COLA) of $150 is applied to each teacher salary level.
- Teachers on a "Grandfathered" schedule will get a 4-level increase; those on a "Performance" schedule who "were rated highly effective" will get a 5-level increase and "effective" will get a 4-level increase.
- Supplemental/Differential pay will increase by 2% across the board plus supplements added
- Credit for prior teaching experience will increase from 10 years to 12 years
- Masters Supplement will increase from $300 to $1,500.
- Sub Coverage language-$20 per hour when teachers split classes or cover during their planning time; daily pay not to exceed the daily sub rate of $120.
- Curriculum Pay (Pay for curriculum and special projects including staff development) increases to $20/hour and is retroactive to August 2, 2022.
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