ORLANDO, Fla. — The lowest-paid teachers in Orange County Public Schools will see a 16% boost in their salaries under an agreement that the Orange County Classroom Teachers Association reached Tuesday with the Orange County School Board.

The minimum teacher salary will climb to $47,500 from $40,900, and all teachers will receive at least a 1.27% increase as part of an agreement on wages and working conditions for the 2020-21 school year, OCPS announced.

The Classroom Teachers Association “promised to leave no teacher behind and are excited we could reach an agreement to ensure that every certified teacher will be given a raise,” association president Wendy Doromal said in an OCPS news release. “Through our united efforts, all members of the bargaining unit will not only receive a well-deserved salary increase but will also see some improvements in their working conditions.”

The deal covers all teachers including voluntary pre-kindergarten, the news release said, and all pay increases are retroactive to the start of the contract year. The District, which is the eighth-largest in the country, has more than 14,000 teachers.

The agreement followed a law that Gov. Ron DeSantis signed in June, allocating $500 million in spending toward a statewide goal of increasing teacher salaries, including minimum salaries to $47,500. 

The deal requires agreement from teachers before the school board can approve it.

The District said it would inform instructional employees when to expect the new salary and retroactive pay.

“We are pleased to reach an agreement with the CTA to provide salary increases to our phenomenal teachers during this challenging year,” Superintendent Barbara Jenkins said in the news release.