After 10 months of bargaining, the Leon Classroom Teachers Association and LCS agreed late Friday on a contract that includes $5.12 million in increases for salary raises.
Bargaining began in April 2023 with the teachers proposing roughly $6.7 million for salary raises to accommodate new and veteran teachers, reduce turnover and make salaries more equitable.
The district’s original offer was about $4 million, leaving a $2 million gap that the teachers maintained the district could afford to cover.
The district’s agreement to provide $5.12 million toward salaries still must be ratified by the union and approved by the School Board before it can be retroactively applied to the teachers’ pay periods, dating back to Aug. 2.
Union representatives are seeking both approvals before the end of March.
“Our goal, and listening to teachers over the last couple of years is to address compression and add some separation between beginning teachers and teachers with tenure years,” Superintendent Rocky Hanna told the Tallahassee Democrat Friday.