ST. LUCIE COUNTY, FL – The District and the CTA/CU Negotiations Teams met to begin salary negotiations and have reached a tentative agreement for the utilization of referendum funds earmarked for teacher salaries. In this tentative agreement, the Board and St. Lucie CTA/CU agree to a four-year provision for all eligible teachers (including new hires) to receive a Referendum Recruitment and Retention Annual Supplement in the following amounts beginning with the 2019-2020 school year:
- Beginning teachers = $1,000
- 1- 5 years eligible experience = $2,000
- 6-9 years eligible experience = $5,000
- 10 years + eligible experience = $7,800
This supplement will be a part of regularly scheduled paychecks, and it will also apply to the FRS contribution. Eligible teachers are those who are newly hired and returning classroom/non-classroom teachers.
Superintendent E. Wayne Gent stated, “With the additional funding for teachers resulting from our voters’ approval of the recent referendum, the School Board is able to provide salaries for our teachers that are competitive with neighboring districts. Quality instructors in the classroom have the most influence on student achievement, and the ability to offer comparable salaries to our teachers is powerful. This impacts our ability to recruit and retain high quality candidates to support teaching and learning for our students and to continue the District’s trend of historic growth in graduation rates and academic achievements.”
St. Lucie CTA/CU President David Freeland said, “We are pleased with the collaborative effort between the St. Lucie CTA/CU and the school district to ensure that the referendum money will be used as presented to, and approved by, the taxpayers of St. Lucie County. Recruiting and retaining high quality teachers in our school district has always been a priority for the CTA/CU and the funding from the referendum will help to ensure that our district is competitive with the surrounding districts.”
Both the District and the Union are pleased with the progress of this year’s negotiations and additional meetings are scheduled to continue to work on remaining compensation and insurance issues.
About St. Lucie Public Schools
St. Lucie Public Schools (SLPS) proudly serves students with a graduation rate of 91.8 percent. As a B rated District, there are no failing schools, and SLPS ranks among the top one-third of Florida’s districts for student achievement. The District also has the distinction of being recognized as one of St. Lucie County’s Best Places to Work. The mission of SLPS is to ensure all students graduate from safe and caring schools equipped with the knowledge, skills and desire to succeed. Connect with us on Facebook, LinkedIn, and Twitter, or visit http://www.stlucieschools.org.
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