The Pinellas County school district has offered teachers a 0.7% raise this year, the amount tied to the district’s share of $100 million in state-approved salary funding. Gov. Ron DeSantis and Education Commissioner Anastasios Kamoutsas have urged districts to deliver the increases quickly, even if it means bypassing collective bargaining.

The Pinellas Classroom Teachers Association countered with a call for 3.5% raises, arguing that the proposal falls far short of what educators need to keep up with rising costs.

“The state budget shows no value to our educators,” union President Lee Bryant said in a text message, pointing to the Tampa Bay area’s 3.3% Consumer Price Index. “This offer is well below the cost of living.”

District leaders acknowledge the financial strain. Superintendent Kevin Hendrick recently pointed to soaring housing costs as a major hurdle in recruiting new teachers. Deputy Superintendent Stephanie Woodford, who leads contract negotiations, said limited revenue and growing expenses—particularly insurance—leave little flexibility.

Woodford noted that voter-approved increases in a local property tax referendum are providing up to 9% in additional salary boosts, but she cautioned that the revenue is temporary. “We need to stop looking at the referendum as separate funding,” she said.

Still, teachers consider the state and local recurring revenue streams their most reliable source of pay, while referendum dollars are seen as less dependable because they require renewal every four years.

Woodford said the district has focused on improving working conditions, such as expanding bereavement leave and making sick leave more accessible, and stressed that the negotiations remain collaborative. “This is just a year where this is what we’re able to do,” she said.

Bryant, while dissatisfied, acknowledged the district’s challenges. “Pinellas is in a very bad spot financially,” he said, citing declining enrollment, high living costs, hurricane damage, and families leaving the county.

Both sides are scheduled to resume negotiations Sept. 16.

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