ORLANDO, Fla. – Orange County teachers will get their pay raises, but it took the Orange County School Board more than five hours to approve how exactly it will be structured.
In a 6-2 vote, board members decided to give teachers a raise based off "pay for performance."
Vice chair Kathleen Butler Gordon and Rick Roach voted against the contract.
According to the Orange County Classroom Teachers Association all teachers will get a base increase of $1,475. Above that developing teachers will get an extra $500, effective teachers will get an extra $1,000 and highly effective $1,300.
In a release, highlights of the recommendations and school board decision included the following:
--The school board will include retroactive pay to August 2013 in whatever contract is implemented before a May 31 deadline set by the Florida Department of Education.
--The salary offer preserves the contractual rights of Professional Services Contract ("tenured") teachers through the adoption of the new salary schedule prior to July 1, 2014.
--99 percent of teachers who had an evaluation during school year 2012-13 will receive at least a $2,475 increase in salary.
--Of the 99 percent, teachers rated as "highly effective" will receive a $2,775 increase in salary.
The pay will be retroactive from August 2013, the beginning of the school year. The board spent several hours asking questions and making comments clarifying their options before the vote.
All 13,000 teachers will get to vote on the school board's decision, but according to the teacher's union the board's decision is final.