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School Board Approves Raises for Manatee Teachers

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The School Board of Manatee County unanimously approved an agreement between the school district and the teacher's union that includes raises for teachers and paraprofessionals.

With funds from state House Bill 761 (which allocated resources for teacher salaries), and the addition of the local referendum millage supplement of $5,201 for teachers, the approved increases will raise the pay for a beginning starting teacher in Manatee County to $51,630 – one of the highest pay amounts for beginning starting teachers in the state of Florida.

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 agreement approved Tuesday by the school board resulted from a tentative agreement between the district and MEA reached in early December 2020. The agreement was subsequently ratified by MEA membership. Highlights of the approved increases are as follows:

Instructional Staff Members (Teachers):
  • Base salary increases to $46,429 (Grandfathered Schedule)/$46,439 (Performance Schedule) using the funds provided in the state House Bill 761 Teacher Salary Allocation
  • Eligible teachers will receive a three-pay level increase
  • Longevity for teachers who completed 16 years ($2,100)/25 years ($3,600) in Manatee County last year
Paraprofessionals:
  • one step movement on the salary schedule for eligible paraprofessionals
  • 2% to paraprofessionals at the top of the schedule
  • $0.10 per hour increase applied to each step of the salary schedule
For both contracts, all current contract language including health insurance premiums continues until 2021-2022 negotiations.

"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,“ said Superintendent Cynthia Saunders. "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.“

Superintendent Saunders also stated that negotiations are ongoing between the district and the AFSCME union and she hopes to bring a ratified agreement for AFSCME soon as well as proposed pay increases for additional district employees, including Salaried, Administrative, Managerial, and Professional (SAMP) employees to the next School Board meeting on Tuesday, January 26, 2021.

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