Palm Beach County’s 13,000 teachers, already the beneficiaries of a salary boost from a new property tax, will get a raise this year too, retroactive to July 1.
The raises, averaging 3 percent, were approved on Wednesday by the School Board. They will cost the district $24.7 million.
Justin Katz, president of the Classroom Teachers Association, described salary negotiations with the school district as the “quickest and most amicable” in his 12-year tenure with the school system. He said the package still has to be approved officially by a vote of teachers in March.
The highest raises, 3.5 percent, would go to teachers rated “highly effective.” Teachers rated “effective” would earn 2.75 percent. Teachers who get an unsatisfactory review or need improvement would receive .5 percent, considered a cost of living adjustment.
The package includes a one-time award for media specialists, guidance counselors and other educators not eligible for Florida’s Best and Brightest $6,000 teacher bonuses. The district agreed to budget $1.5 million for 1,400 specialists to get $1,200 bonuses if they are highly effective, and $800 if they are effective.