Orange County teachers offered 'historic' 9% salary bump

ORANGE COUNTY, Fla. - Orange County Public Schools Superintendent Dr. Maria Vazquez announced Thursday a "historic" 9% salary offer for all teachers employed by the district – but also introduced significant changes to teachers' healthcare coverage. 

This marks the "largest salary offer ever in the history of Orange County Public Schools," Vazquez said during a press conference on Thursday of the district's choice to approve the Special Magistrate's recommendation. It's a $103 million investment in OCPS teachers, Vazquez said. 

Vazquez said 90% of OCPS teachers are "rated highly effective," and they'll get a salary bump of 9.7% if ratified. That's an average annual increase of $5,400. 

The pay raise adds an annual $3,075 for first-year teachers and tops out at $7,950 for the most experienced teachers in the county. 

"I'm inspired every single day by the work of our teachers who are dedicated to providing the tools necessary for our students to be successful. They deserve this raise," Vazquez said. "We're committed to using every possible dollar for salary increase. But our historic 9% offer is only possible by addressing the surging cost of health insurance, which is affecting everyone over the country."

Because of this, Vazquez announced that the school district will no longer assume all the financial burden of rising healthcare costs. OCPS is self-insured, Vazquez said, which means that the school district is responsible for paying all claims. This means the district is rejecting the Special Magistrate's recommendation on healthcare benefits. 

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"Keeping up with surging healthcare costs is simply not sustainable for our self-insured status. The alternative would be to shift coverage to the open market, which would unquestionably and significantly increase costs for all employees," Vazquez said. 

Because of this, OCPS proposes to cover 60% of the projected increase, with the rest to be covered by teachers. 

"For the last four years, not only have we not raised premiums, but the cost of claims have required more than an additional $100 million to cover employee healthcare needs," Vazquez said. "This year, the board committed $42 million to cover the costs of rising healthcare, and next year, the projected increase is expected to go up to nearly $65 million, which is why the changes to the plan need to be made." 

Vazquez went on to share details about different coverage plans available to teachers, including a no-cost plan. 

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These changes to healthcare premiums would not be reflected in paychecks until next school year, starting in September 2024. 

"I'm hopeful that we will be able to reach a resolution so our teachers are able to receive their well-deserved raises," Vazquez said. 

An impasse hearing is scheduled for March 5.