ORLANDO, Fla. — Negotiations between Orange County Public Schools and the Classroom Teachers Association union have gone to an impasse. For two months, the district and union have been negotiating the latest contract for Orange County teachers, but the two parties have not reached a final agreement.

“The conflict marks a new low between teachers and the district,” wrote the OCCTA in a release.

The school district is now two weeks into the new school year, and time is of the essence to finalize a contract.

According to the union, health insurance costs are top of everyone’s minds this year. Union representatives say the district is looking at a multi-million-dollar insurance increase. High health insurance premiums are not a new issue in the state of Florida. 

Data from the Commonwealth Fund found that Floridians paid more for premiums than people in any other state in the country. An important distinction, however, is that this data was collected from private-sector employees.

Meanwhile, the district stated its proposed package includes one no-cost plan for employees starting June 30, 2024.

Another issue the union contested involved teacher pay scales, specifically those for experienced teachers.

“There’s also huge wage compression, meaning that our veteran teachers are making a very similar amount of money to our beginning teachers,” said Orange County CTA President Clinton McCracken in an interview in July. “We aren’t rewarding our teachers with the most experience, those teachers who are helping our beginning teachers as mentors.”

The district says it offered a 9% increase in payroll for teachers, though union representatives hope for a higher stepping scale for those with more years under their belt.

Contract negotiations also included disputes over safety, teacher planning time, and paid holidays.

“Enough is enough. Year after year, OCPS gives our most experienced teachers the lowest percent salary increases. Our experienced teachers are leaving the District and our students are paying the price. We cannot agree to a deal that devalues veteran teachers, imposes huge health insurance increases, and ignores school safety concerns,” said Clinton McCracken, OCCTA president in a release.

From here, negotiations will be sent over to a special magistrate where there will be hearings over contract disputes. The special magistrate will come up with a recommended contract and then hand it over to school board members for final approval.

Celeste Springer is the education beat reporter for Spectrum News 13. If you have a story idea or concern, you can email her at celeste.springer@charter.com.