ORANGE COUNTY, Fla. — Teachers have ratified agreements with the Orange County Public Schools on compensation and contract language for the 2022-23 school year that will provide most of them with raises of about $3,000, the Orange County Classroom Teachers Association announced Friday.

Under the terms of the agreement, instructional personnel who worked during the 2021-22 school year will receive $900 cost-of-living increases to their base salary. In addition, teachers with a “highly effective” rating will receive a $2,425 salary increase, and those rated “effective” will get an extra $1,800 salary boost.

The starting salary for Orange County teachers will increase from $47,500 to $48,400. School psychologists' starting pay will climb to $56,250 from $47,150.

Teachers with advanced degrees also receive supplements, and those surged, too. The master's degree supplement, which had been $3,342, rose to $3,405. Additional pay for specialist degrees increased from $5,127 to $5,224, and teachers with doctorates will get a $6,888 supplement, up from $6,760. 

"We are pleased that teachers will receive the salary increase ahead of the school year," OCCTA President Clinton McCracken said in a statement. "Although this is a great step in the right direction, we will continue to work toward the pay that teachers deserve. We want to thank all educators, OCCTA and OCPS bargaining teams and the school board members for working together during this process."

Teachers with at least five years of experience also will receive a retention supplement of $500-$3,000 under the second year of a three-year agreement reached last year. Those supplements will be distributed in January 2023 with funding from federal COVID relief. 

Teachers also ratified an agreement regarding arbitration procedures.

Superintendent Barbara Jenkins said she was pleased the agreements were ratified.

“We are so pleased at the ratification vote, as it indicates a recognition of our teachers and instructional staff and the school board’s commitment to compensate them with funding that is provided," Jenkins said in a statement. "I also want to congratulate OCCTA and members of the district bargaining team.  I believe this is the start of another great year.”