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Proposed teacher raises in Pinellas exclude some bringing experience to the school district

Teachers cast votes today on a newly reached agreement. If approved, it would give raises to those already in Pinellas schools, but cut pay for some who are new and experienced.
 
Pinellas County School Board member Eileen Long says the tentative contract agreement teachers vote on today is "disturbing" in that it lowers the pay rate for longtime instructors who are new to Pinellas County.
Pinellas County School Board member Eileen Long says the tentative contract agreement teachers vote on today is "disturbing" in that it lowers the pay rate for longtime instructors who are new to Pinellas County.
Published Feb. 5, 2019|Updated Feb. 5, 2019

Pinellas County teachers are casting votes today on a tentative agreement related to pay and other employee provisions recently reached between the school district and teachers union after 18 months of negotiations.

While the proposal carries 2.55 percent pay raises for the district’s 7,000 existing instructors and a small bump in salary for new teachers, those coming to Pinellas with between 23 and 29 years of experience will be hired at a lower rate than before if the new terms are approved.

For instance, if a teacher with 25 years of experience elsewhere is newly hired in Pinellas next year, they would start with a salary of $57,988 under the new agreement. That’s $216 less than they would have made this year, according to the district’s 2017-18 salary schedule for new teachers.

MORE: See the proposed hire salary schedule

Meanwhile, new teachers with no experience would get $809 more under the new agreement than they would have last year. Others with between one and 22 years of experience would earn more, too.

The change would only affect about 20 people, Paula Texel, a lead negotiator for the district’s bargaining team, said in an interview.

“What we try to do is do what is best for the majority of teachers across our district," she added. “We want to entice, to keep that salary up ... to have those veteran teachers come in. But again, it’s a formula that balances between everyone.”

Texel said monies from the state are “cascaded” through pay schedules each year to ensure veteran Pinellas teachers get a raise and teachers from elsewhere are encouraged to come to work in the district. With limited funds, cuts have to be made somewhere.

Still, Pinellas School Board member Eilleen Long called the set-up “disturbing" when reached by phone Tuesday.

The district used to do more to reward longtime teachers, she said. But leaders have started allocating more funds toward salaries for new teachers to aid recruitment efforts as the nationwide teacher shortage grows worse.

“You want to recruit, but at the same time, you also want to keep people that have been faithful to education,” said Long, a longtime teacher. “And I don’t mean just faithful to our district, but to education in general."

When the School Board voted to approve the tentative agreement, which sent it to today’s vote by teachers, members were “more concerned about the beginning teacher ... and the teachers who have been in the district a long time," she said. Somehow, teachers coming to Pinellas with experience in other districts were forgotten.

Long said the district should start looking at how other districts and states handle teacher pay because Pinellas “needs to stay competitive" in teacher recruitment.

Union president Mike Gandolfo, however, said he is unconcerned about the tentative pay structure for new teachers. The agreement provides raises for all existing teachers, and that’s what is most important, he added.

“I’m not working for people that aren’t hired yet,” he said. “I’m working for people who are in the system right now.”

Votes by teachers are due by 6 p.m. At least 51 percent must vote in favor of the new agreement for it to be approved.

Contact Megan Reeves at mreeves@tampabay.com. Follow @mareevs.