LCS, Teacher Union Reach Agreement

Late Friday, after ten months of bargaining, the Leon Classroom Teachers Association (LCTA) and Leon County Schools (LCS) reached an agreement that includes $5.12 million in salary increases.

The tentative agreement increases base teacher pay by $575 a year, with an additional $100 per year of service. Members of the union and the Leon County School Board are expected to approve the agreement in March. The increases will be retroactively applied to pay periods dating back to August 2.

Superintendent Hanna’s comment on the agreement highlighted the fact that, “This year, under our current proposal to the Leon Classroom Teachers Association, we have committed up to a 7% pay increase based on the number of years of teaching experience. If this offer is accepted, over the last seven years, the beginning teacher salary in Leon County will have increased by $11,000 ($36,500-$47,500) or 30%.”

Hanna also noted that, “Veteran teachers will have received an average annual increase of over $1,500 per year. All teachers will then be making over $1,000 more, per month, today than they did seven years ago. Also, teachers now receive two more planning days and two additional paid holidays per year bringing the total number of paid holidays to eight which is more than any other district in the state.” 

Despite the agreement, the LCTA was still critical of LCS in announcement of Facebook. The post stated that “our teachers agreed to a tentative agreement that will bring our members an increase in salaries, but not what we deserve” and noted the “district made the choice to refuse to bring a reasonable offer for seven months; they chose to deny teachers their hard earned money for nearly a year, even through the holidays.”