Most Orange County Public Schools teachers will receive nearly 10% raises, but the historic raises come as the district addresses a “surge” in health care costs by raising rates on some insurance plans. Superintendent Maria Vasquez said Thursday.
Vasquez said the district’s salary proposal would be “the largest salary proposal ever in Orange County Public Schools history.”
At a news conference at OCPS headquarters, Vasquez addressed the six-month-long conflict between the school district and the teachers union over pay raises and insurance. The superintendent said she and her staff want to get the proposed raises to teachers as soon as possible.
“They deserve this raise,” she said, later adding, “And yes, the process took too long.”
Orange County Classroom Teachers Association President Clinton McCracken said the teachers’ union also wants to see immediate raises, but believes the district’s health insurance proposal is unreasonable and too expensive.
McCracken said the union plans to accept the district’s salary proposal, which would give teachers an average annual raise of $5,400.
“I’m excited and I’m sure the teachers are excited too,” he said. This is especially true because the raises are at the rate requested by the labor union, rather than a flat raise that is not given based on years of experience.
However, the union has not accepted the district’s proposed premium increase.
That means the school district and union will argue the case before the Orange County Board of Education on March 5. The Board of Education has the final decision-making authority.
The district argues that the board should allow a $646 annual premium increase for employee-only health insurance, the most expensive and least used health plan.
Vasquez said the district will continue to offer free health insurance plans to employees and that the salary increases will more than offset increases in other plans. He also said less than 5% of his OCPS teachers with health insurance plans would see an increase of $646.
If the district’s plan is approved by the board and then approved by teachers, 90% of OCPS teachers rated “highly effective” will receive a 9.7% raise retroactive to their first day of work in the current school year. It turns out.
Health insurance premiums will not increase until September of the 2024-25 school year.
The union said several months ago that it could not support proposals that tied pay increases to “fundamental” changes to health insurance. McCracken said the district’s plan would lead to significant price increases for some plans, especially for employees who cover spouses and children on health insurance plans.
According to information he shared, prices have increased by more than 30% in some cases.
“That’s absurd,” he said. “That’s not acceptable.”
The district and union have been at an impasse since August, and both sides filed the lawsuit with a special judge in November. Judge Barry Goldman released his recommendation earlier this month, siding with the district on the pay plan but agreeing with the union that health insurance premiums should not increase as part of the pending contract.
Goldman wrote that he does not believe the district’s health insurance increases are “astronomical” as the union claims.
The union argued that the district plan amounted to a 64% increase in “group premiums” and that it was unacceptable, but the district said the claim was “misleading” and that employees whose premiums would increase by 64% He said there were no employees.
However, Mr. Goldman was not convinced that the insurance issue was at hand, as the cost of the price increase would not take effect until next year, and recommended that the insurance not be adopted.
The union hopes the board agrees with Goldman’s position.
But Vasquez said the self-insured school district rejected the magistrate’s recommendation regarding health insurance because it cannot cover teacher raises without suppressing premiums.
OCPS has not increased premiums in four years, and during that time it has contributed more than $100 million to cover shortfalls in the insurance fund. Health insurance costs are projected to be an additional $65 million if the district does not increase employee costs.
“It’s completely unsustainable,” Vazquez says.
Even if the increases are approved, districts will still pay more next year, absorbing more than 60% of the expected increases, he said.
“Historic pay increases are only possible by addressing the rising cost of health benefits here in Florida and across the country,” she said in a letter sent to OCPS teachers Thursday.
The salary proposal includes a 2% cost-of-living increase for all teachers. Teachers rated “effective” will receive a total raise of 7.75%, and teachers rated “highly effective” will receive a raise of nearly 10%.
Salary increases range from $3,775 for new teachers to up to $7,950 for the most experienced teachers.
