St. Lucie County - Tuesday July 26, 2022: The St. Lucie Public Schools District has successfully completed all salary and compensation negotiations for the 2022-23 school year.
The starting teacher salary in St. Lucie Public Schools will increase from $44,984 to $47,500. Additionally, the minimum pay for all support staff will increase to $15.00/hr.
Although the percentage of the raise for those currently below $15 an hour will vary, all CU-Protech and CWA employees with receive a minimum raise of 4% across the board.
All employees will receive a one-time bonus of $426.44 on August 12th which represents a take-home paycheck of $300.
Teachers making under $47,500 will receive an increase to bring them to the new minimum amount, and teachers on the grandfathered schedule or those who are rated effective will receive an increase of $1,700 rather than the current rate of $850.
Teachers on the Pay for Performance salary schedule rate as highly effective will see an increase of $2260, double the current rate of $1,130.
Teachers with 15 or more years of experience will see a supplement increase of $2600, bringing their current referendum supplement from $7,800 to $10,400.
A priority has been placed on retaining experienced teachers and combined, a highly effective teacher with more than 15 years of experience would see an increase of $4,860 over last year.
Superintendent Jon R. Prince said, “We are pleased to be able to provide these salary increases for our employees during these difficult financial times. We are committed to recruiting and retaining the very best teachers for our students.”
Agreements were also reached regarding health insurance premiums for employees. The Board is committed to contributing an amount equal to 50% of the premium increase of the high deductible plan for all employees who carry school district insurance as well as making a one-time Health Savings Account Contribution of $750.
Education Association of St. Lucie Union President David Freeland stated, “Although there have been concerns with experienced teachers statewide, this agreement has attempted to address some of those concerns and ensure that all teachers receive a raise during these difficult times. We are pleased to be able to negotiate a minimum 4% raise for our Classified and Protech units.