Teachers in Broward won't be making $100,000 a year just yet — but debate over the idea isn't over.
The Broward County School Board voted down Board Member Allen Zeman’s plan to boost teachers’ compensation into the six figures, due to concerns over the budget cuts he proposed to fund the raises long-term.
Instead, the district’s new superintendent will be in charge of drafting a plan to find the funds.
“There is a risk of doing this,” Zeman said of his plan. “But there's a far greater risk in not doing this.”
In a 5 to 4 vote Tuesday night, board members rejected the proposal to increase teachers’ total compensation to an average of $100,000 by 2025 — compared to about $83,000 today, according to district staff.
READ MORE: Some Broward school board members raise concerns about six-figure compensation for teachers
Supporters say the pay hike is ambitious and sorely needed. With scores of public school educators continuing to question whether to stay in the classroom, one teacher told the meeting she was forced to take a second job to cover her bills.
But critics said Zeman’s funding plan was hasty and haphazard.
“This is too aggressive, too fast, too broad,” said Board Chair Lori Alhadeff. "I will not be supporting this."
Board directs superintendent to draft plan to boost pay
After voting down Zeman’s proposal, the board voted 7 to 1 to direct Superintendent Peter Licata to develop his own plan by January 2024 to increase compensation for employees.
That way Licata, who’s been on the job for two weeks, will have more time to assess the district’s finances after the start of the upcoming school year, when staff will have a better idea of total enrollment and per pupil funding.
“I'm not sure if we're looking in all the right places,” Licata said of Zeman’s initial proposal. “But our intent and the fact that we're talking about this is the right conversation.”
“This is doable,” he said of the raises. “I’m confident we can get here.”
READ MORE: Who is Peter Licata? The backstory on Broward's new superintendent
To fund the pay hikes, Zeman had proposed a 20% reduction in the district’s IT contracts, cutting 30% of the district’s budget for conferences and professional development, as well as trimming 15% of “contracted services" — which funds services for students with special needs, such as occupational therapy, physical therapy, speech therapy and nursing care, according to district staff.
Funding for Zeman’s plan would also have come from the tax referendum voters approved in 2022 — which is slated to expire in 2027, unless county residents vote to renew the tax increase.
Zeman’s proposal also called for scaling back custodial staff by about 200 positions, and “repurposing” dozens of schools that he says need to be closed due to declining enrollments. Ultimately, the board voted 7 to 1 to direct Licata by July 2024 to explore “repurposing” — or closing — five school sites.
Broward teacher says she works two jobs to cover bills
For teachers, while pay isn’t everything, it’s a big part of the equation. Renee Okenka, a Language Arts teacher at Western High School in Davie, said she simply can’t cover the cost of living in South Florida on her teaching salary alone.
Okenka told the board she was able to earn extra pay working as a club sponsor on campus, but was still forced to take a second job.
“Our teachers need this money in order to survive. To take care of their families. Because unfortunately, some of our best are leaving the profession."Student representative Landyn Spellberg.
“Even with all of these extra paid supplements, I was living paycheck to paycheck and was forced to pick up an extra job waiting tables in order to make ends meet,” Okenka said. “Teachers should not have to rely on picking up extra work outside of their base salary in order to afford to live.”
Teachers and student representatives urged the school board to move forward with a plan to boost teachers’ total compensation into the six figures — an amount that includes base salary as well as healthcare and benefits.
“Our teachers are telling you that they need this money,” said student representative Landyn Spellberg. “Our teachers need this money in order to survive. To take care of their families. Because unfortunately, some of our best are leaving the profession. And they won't be able to make the impact on us.”
The district is bracing for belt tightening and the possibility of steeper enrollment declines, after state lawmakers made every Florida student eligible for school vouchers beginning with the upcoming school year.
Still, Zeman argues that investing in staff compensation will reap dividends — keeping more teachers on the job.
“We say we value teachers. We say we want to pay teachers. We know what they contribute to our kids and to our schools and to our classrooms and to our community,” said Zeman. “Now it's time — because we can — to do something about it.”
