KISSIMMEE, Fla. — A St. Cloud High School teacher along with other educators spoke out during public comment at the Osceola County School District meeting Tuesday about raising teachers' salaries.

  • April Isaacs says happy teachers means outstanding students
  • Teachers had turned down 2 percent pay increase
  • School board says there is no funding for raises
  • Superintendent refuses raise until teacher negotiations are complete

"Because when we have happy teachers, we're going to have outstanding students," April Isaacs said, who also teaches at a virtual school to make ends meet.

The Osceola County Education Association, which represents teachers and the school district, have been going back and forth when it comes to teachers' raises.

During negotiations, a 2 percent increase was recently offered, but teachers turned it down and are waiting for more negotiations to reach an agreement.

School board member Ricky Booth said the funding is just not there.

"We're going to continue to work. We're going to continue to talk with our leaders in Tallahassee. Whoever is in the governor's mansion, we're going to talk to them," Booth said. "We're going to work with our representatives in the senate. We're going to work with our representatives in the house … To understand there is funding needs here in public education."

The superintendent is making nearly $200,000. During Tuesday's meeting, the school board tentatively approved a two percent raise for Dr. Debra Pace and an additional $20,000 for meeting district goals.

But Pace has decided not to take the raise until negotiations with teachers are complete. Some teachers say the superintendent could not have met these goals without dedicated educators and they are hoping to be heard.

"If somebody earns a bonus, they earned a bonus. It's nice to hear that she will think about not taking the bonus until her employees are satisfied and into a salary," Isaacs said. "But more importantly, it's about the need to come back together and make sure that we're doing the right thing for the people who teach kids. Because we're all about the kids."

Some of the goals the superintendent met or exceeded in are: academic success, community engagement and fiscal responsibility.