Santa Rosa teachers may see on average a 3.87% salary increase. Not everyone is satisfied

After 12 negotiation sessions over seven months, the Santa Rosa County School Board approved a 3.87% average raise for teachers Thursday morning in a tentative agreement that is now awaiting ratification from the Santa Rosa Professional Educators.

The proposal offers a 3.87% increase in total instructional salaries at a total cost to the district of $5,006,020.

The base salary for teachers will be $39,130 and will increase based on years of service. These increases are as follows:

• Zero years of service: 1.9% salary increase.

• One to four years of service: 3.8% salary increase.

• Five to seven years of service: 4.05% salary increase.

• Eight to 10 years of service: 4.3% salary increase.

• 11 to 13 years of service: 4.55% salary increase.

All other instructional staff will receive a 3.8% salary increase. All salary increases will be retroactive to July 1, 2023.

With a timely ratification by SPRE, instructional employees could be scheduled to receive their retro checks by the end of April with their first check including the salary increase in the May 15 pay cycle, according to a notice by David Gunter, chief negotiator for the school district.

For the 2023-24 fiscal year, increases to administrative salaries will be consistent with the 3.8% performance pay proposal offered to instructional employees. Administrators receiving an overall annual evaluation of "highly effective" will get an increase of 4.1% and administrators receiving an overall annual evaluation of "effective" will get an increase of 3.075%.

“The Santa Rosa County District School Board and I are extremely happy to conclude negotiations with SRPE, the bargaining agent for our instructional staff,” Superintendent Karen Barber wrote in a statement to the News Journal Thursday. “This year the school board contributed just over $5 million in new funding to the bargaining unit, resulting in an average raise of 3.87%. If the current tentative agreement is ratified by the teachers, the school board and this superintendent will have provided a cumulative average raise of 16.07% to teachers over the last four years. We are so fortunate in Santa Rosa County to have exceptional teachers who are dedicated to our students and to the district’s mission to Love, Educate, and Prepare ALL student for graduation and a successful future!”

While the school district was satisfied about the agreement, Santa Rosa Professional Educators President David Godwin said that the bargaining agent was “forced into the agreement” due to the drawn-out negotiation process.

On Feb. 15, SRPE declared an "impasse" with the school district in hopes of getting a hearing before the school board after many months of being unable to reach an agreement on teacher salaries. However, on March 11, the school district sent a letter requesting the appointment of a special magistrate, according to Godwin, which would significantly prolong the process.

Godwin said he was then told by a school district attorney out of Jacksonville that it would take until the summer to prepare for a meeting with a special magistrate, which would pass the deadline for the district to use the state’s Teacher Salary Increase Allocation (TSIA) that the state uses to supplement district salaries for teachers. These funds would have to be sent back to the state instead of going into the pockets of teachers.

Knowing that the SRPE could not get in the way of getting teachers the additional funding, Godwin said that they were “forced into an offer” with the school district to secure a salary increase for teachers that they could see before the end of the 2023-24 school year.

“There’s no way we could send that allocation back to the state and not get it into the hands of our teachers,” Godwin said.

“The money that was intended to help recruit and retain teachers was essentially weaponized against teachers by the superintendent and school board,” Godwin told the News Journal. “It was a forced settlement.”

Godwin said he expected more after the school district received an almost 6% increase in discretionary funding last year, but only gave teachers a 2.07% increase out of its discretionary funds,

Barber said Godwin's claim that the settlement was forced is "baseless."

"Less than 48 hours ago, I watched Mr. Godwin and the District’s Chief Negotiator, David Gunter, reach a tentative agreement, shake hands, and pose for a celebratory photograph marking the end of negotiations," Barber wrote in a statement to the News Journal Friday morning. "It is truly disappointing that, in the face of such a positive moment for our entire school district, Mr. Godwin chose to immediately turn to making baseless allegations against me and the School Board.  At all times, our team engaged in good faith bargaining with the intent of reaching an agreement with SRPE."

Barber has maintained that throughout the negotiation process, the district has had to be fiscally responsible, especially when it comes to keeping the district’s financial ratio stabilized at 5%. This ratio allows them to secure better interest rates when it comes to projects such as building new schools to address issues such like overcapacity.

She said the district has also experienced a $13 million increases in operating expenses, making the budget even tighter.

Once SPRE declared impasses, Barber said she never refused to waive the special magistrate process. Had they not reached the agreement on March 13, both SRPE’s legal counsel and the District’s legal counsel were anticipating further discussion regarding a potential School Board impasse hearing in April, she wrote. This hearing became unnecessary once both sides reached an agreement.

"For Mr. Godwin to go from shaking hands, smiling, and posing for a picture to just hours later claiming SRPE was 'forced' to reach an agreement is baffling to me," Barber said.

Godwin posted a video Thursday on the Santa Rosa Professional Educators YouTube page to “bring some closure" to this year’s negotiation session.

In the video, Godwin expressed that they received tremendous support from the community during the process. Although they did not get the outcome they hoped for, he said they will continue fighting for teachers.

Godwin said they did “everything that we possibly could to get highest increase possible” and will continue to do so next year and the year after.

This article originally appeared on Pensacola News Journal: Santa Rosa Professional Educators and School Board reach agreement