DeSantis Approves Teacher Raises, Florida Teachers Still Some Of The Most Underpaid In US

Daytona Beach, FL – Florida’s teachers are getting a boost in pay according to Governor Ron DeSantis. DeSantis made that announcement on Monday (March 21), saying $800 million of Florida’s record-setting $121.1 billion budget will go towards increasing the average minimum salary of teachers to at least $47,500. That marks a $250 million increase over last year’s funding, and brings Florida’s investments in teacher pay to greater than $2 billion since the 2020 Legislative Session. “We’ve worked really hard, particularly over the last few years, to increase teacher compensation,” said DeSantis. The money will also go towards increasing veteran teachers’ salaries, per DeSantis. However, despite the raise, Florida’s teachers will still lag behind other states when it comes to compensation for educators. The $47,500 starting goal set by the state is still less than what a majority of teachers in the US are paid.  One study from Business.org regarding teacher pay found Florida teachers in 2019-2020 actually made an average of $48,800 a year. Their study ranks Florida 47th out of all 50 states and Washington DC when it comes to fair compensation—followed by Arizona, Colorado, Virginia, and DC.  The National Education Association—the largest teachers union in the country—ranks Florida 49th when it comes to teacher salaries, with their study instead finding that Florida’s teachers make an average of $49,102 a year, equating to an 81 cent educator pay gap. That same study also found that Florida spends, on average, about $10,273 on each student, which places Florida 43rd overall in the nation. Data from the Florida Department of Education seems to paint a different picture. According to their 2021-2022 average salary breakdown, teachers make an average of about $51,566 a year. Regardless of whatever the accurate figure may actually be, on paper, Florida’s teachers are still being paid below the average salary of teachers across the United States—which is upwards of nearly $63,000, according to data from the Bureau of Labor Statistics. Volusia United Educators President Elizabeth Albert spoke to News Daytona Beach about the raise and said the union is very grateful. But VUE and the Volusia County School District already came to an agreement in December to raise the minimum salary to $47,500 amidst bargaining sessions. So what does that mean for Volusia’s teachers? That means the county will be free to negotiate a split for the money and disburse it accordingly. The union hopes that the county will now use that money to help boost the pay of veteran teachers. “What other field do you find where the more experience you have the pay doesn’t increase proportionately?” said Albert. According to Albert, the passage of this new budget also removes some of the contingencies from previous budget items. One of those contingencies required school districts to split their state money 80/20, with 80 percent going to bumping teacher’s pay, while the remainder was spread amongst everyone else. Now those contingencies are relaxed, and Albert says that will lead to a 50/50 split instead—half will go to bumping up the base pay, while the other half goes to veteran teachers/mid-career professionals who exceeded the $47,500 threshold. Now VUE is hoping to work with the district to try and figure out how to address the county’s shortage of teachers and staff. And while the union is grateful for the bump in pay, Albert says it “speaks volumes” that the state’s teachers will still be paid less than the average salaries of teachers across the United States. It, however, doesn’t crush her hopes. “We are moving in a better direction than we were the year before. We always want to stay encouraged and try to remain positive,” said Albert. Data from the NEA shows New York and California top the list when it comes to paying teachers. New York is at the top with an average salary of $87,069, while California pays its teachers, on average, $84,531. New York also spends the most on its students, with a total of $25,907 spent per student.