Every year, the Teacher’s Union and the Hillsborough County School District sit down and renegotiate teacher contracts. In August 2022, the Union and the district arrived at an impasse regarding demands, specifically teacher pay. 

Due to the inability of both sides to reach an agreement, a mediator has stepped in to weigh in and make a decision. This decision, however, will not be binding, so it doesn’t mean that it will cause an end to disputes for the year. 

“Right now, it’s a stalemate. So, you know, by contract every year, teachers negotiate pay. The two parties came together this year, early, and they could not reach a compromise,” Principal David Brown said. “So, negotiations have stopped and…went to impasse and they [teachers and the district] brought in a mediator. Even when the mediator makes a decision, it’s still up to the school board to decide whether it’s approved.”

The teacher’s union demanded a total of $13 million in pay raises for the 2022 school year. The district promises teachers a pay schedule over which they will get raises over a period of time, however, the district claims to be unable to keep up with said schedule. 

The district agreed to pay teachers one step in their pay schedule as well as an additional non-recurring payment, which would be a supplement to their second step, but the Hillsborough Classroom Teachers Association (HCTA) says that this is not good enough and that teachers deserve their full pay. 

“Right now, the school district has the money to give us the two steps that we have earned and they’re choosing not to which is one of the reasons why we’re at an impasse,” Social Studies Teacher and RHS Union Representative Naze Sahebzamani said. 

The district, while admitting that they have received additional money in the form of COVID-19 relief funds, claims that the money is earmarked for programs and expenses other than teacher pay. If the parameters for this state-provided money are violated, then the money could be taken back from the county. 

“Part of it is [the county] is not funded well enough by the state, and I know you’ll read the paper and it’ll say ‘I’m giving a billion dollars to education’ but when you break down and look where that money is going, a lot of that is earmarked for different things, so it really doesn’t go directly towards teacher pay,” Brown said. 

A large problem is the county not being funded well enough by the state. 

The Florida Department of Education (FDOE) told Hillsborough County that in 2021 “its finances were at a critical level and, in fact, threatened to take over the district if it did not get its house in order.”

Due to the low level of funds, the county claims that even if there was a lot of money in their savings accounts, it would not be a constant income, so promising a lump sum to teachers is not possible. 

“The issue is, even if that helped build up our reserves, the money that we have in savings, it doesn’t, it’s not a reoccurring fee,” Former Substitute Teacher and current Hillsborough County Board Member Jessica Vaughn told WMNF in an interview. 

Teacher pay is especially important this year because of the rising cost of living in Hillsborough County and inflation rates still remaining high.

“Well, I think it’s always important to pay the teachers what they have earned. But, when you’re talking about inflation and the cost of living has gone up tremendously and we can’t afford to pay rent sometimes. It’s very hard to work in an industry where you’re living paycheck to week-before-the-next paycheck and have to get a second job and have to do other things just to make ends meet,” Sahebzamani said. “The teachers in Hillsborough County by large do this job because it’s their passion, it’s not a job, it’s a career, and they put everything they have into their jobs, and they’re not even being paid what they have earned, which is still not enough; but how are you supposed just to meet your basic needs when the district refuses to pay what you’ve earned?”