Orange County teachers vote to approve ‘historic’ pay raise

ORANGE COUNTY, Fla. — Teachers in Orange County voted Monday night to approve a pay rise.

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Orange County Public Schools has called the 9% pay raise “historic.”

The Orange County Classroom Teachers Association voted Monday night on the salary agreement for the 2023-24 school year.

Watch: Orange County teachers could get see a pay raise as soon as next Wednesday

Officials said the increase passed with an overwhelming 99.5% of 7,123 ballots voting “yes.”

“It is exciting to see our teachers decisively voted to ratify their contract,” said Dr. Maria Vazquez, Superintendent, Orange County Public Schools. “With this vote, our hard-working teachers have guaranteed their well-deserved raises.”

Original report: Orange County teachers offered ‘historic’ 9% salary increase

Officials said the raises will be paid to instructional personnel retroactively to the beginning of the school year.

It adds up to about $5,400 for the average teacher a year.

Eyewitness News was there Monday night as the union counted ballots sent to 14,000 educators about whether to approve a new agreement with Orange County Schools.

Watch: Pay, politics, and student behaviors: Here’s why teachers are leaving Central Florida schools

“We know teachers will be excited to get those percentage raises. Again, we were able to get the reduction and the insurance increases. And there’s some other wins in there as well,” McCracken said.

OCPS officials said the district’s health insurance proposal will be implemented beginning with plan year 2024-25. However, the district will provide a premium discount for plan year 2024-25 totaling $4.4 million.

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