After eight months of a fraught negotiation process between the teachers union group and school district, the School Board of Palm Beach County voted Wednesday to raise teacher salaries by 3.5% as recommended by an outside mediator.
“ It means the world that we have a moment in time where teachers can look and say, ‘We have school board members who looked at the real needs and said, enough is enough. We are moving forward to make sure that you can do this job with dignity and pride,” said Palm Beach County Classroom Teachers Association President Gordan Longhofer.
Wednesday’s vote was 6-1. School Board member Gloria Branch was the lone vote against the salary increase.
“ We're an A-rated school district and just recently the Florida Department of Education designated us as being one of Florida's Academically High-Performing School Districts, and that's all due to our teachers,” Board Vice Chair Matthew J. Lane told reporters after the vote. “We need to do everything that we can to retain and recruit the best possible teachers for our children.”
The Classroom Teachers Association had been aiming for a 4.8% raise this school year. The district countered with a 1.5% average raise and a one-time bonus as it adjusts to a revenue shortfall of $66 million in its budget, which is caused by a significant loss of more than 7,000 students.
The union declared an impasse in November after the district's offer. A special magistrate recommended a 3.5% raise. The CTA adopted the recommendation, but the district didn’t, resulting in the school board having the final say in the matter.
Over the years, salary negotiations between the teachers union, which represents more than 12,000 teachers, and the district yielded raises. Last school year, teachers got a 7% raise; and a 3.5% raise in 2022-23.
Palm Beach is the third most costly county in the state in which to operate public schools, according to the Florida Price Level Index, which analyses the relative cost of personnel among Florida's 67 school districts. Palm Beach is the nation's 10th largest school district.
READ MORE: Broward School Board votes to direct $254M from Nov. 3 referendum to pay teachers, key support staff
For high school Spanish teacher Patricia Mendoza, Wednesday's vote was the light at the end of the tunnel of a months-long saga. She said the previous night she was brought to tears with fear of what might happen. She works three jobs, including her teacher position.
The raise is “ definitely going to help and I'm happy for my other coworkers. We fought hard to get it,” she told WLRN. Still, it’s not enough money to allow her to quit her other jobs as a school bus driver and weekend community manager.
“ So I don't have time for anything, not even to do my nails,” she said chuckling.
Students rallied behind their teachers by creating an online petition asking the School Board to vote for the higher increase. By Wednesday, the petition had close to 7,000 signatures.
" We really value our teachers. Our teachers motivate us, they inspire us and they allow us to be leaders in our community and be able to do things like this, which is why we realized that we need to advocate for them," Hannah Russell, a junior at Jupiter High School, told WLRN after the meeting.
Average teacher pay in the district is $69,300, higher than the state average of about $55,000 because of the area's high cost of living. However, the latest National Education Association report on teacher salaries shows that — for the third consecutive year — Florida ranked at the bottom nationwide. It found the average teacher salary in Florida public schools was $56,600 in 2025, compared to the national average of $74,400.
District officials argue that the district’s finances are not suitable for the 3% raise. However, members agreed the district's reserves are cushioned enough to absorb the $35 million cost.
Superintendent Michael Burke said he will work on implementing the board’s decision.
“There is no question that teachers deserve a meaningful raise, and I have deep respect for the work our teachers do every day in the classroom,” said Burke in a statement after the special hearing.
Burke and school board members sounded the alarm on the state of funding coming from Tallahassee for public education.
The state’s budget for 2026-27 has not been approved. The fiscal year begins July 1.
The House proposed a $113.6 billion package, about $1 billion less than the current budget that ends June 30. The Senate plan came in at $115 billion. Funding for private school scholarships is nearing $5 billion.
School systems statewide are facing dramatic enrollment drops, which translates into millions of dollars in less funding.
Public education supports say it’s up to voters to implore legislators to direct more money towards public education, especially in the face of a growing $4 billion voucher system directed at private schools.
“We will continue to advocate for higher teacher pay from the state. The long-term answer to teacher pay in Florida runs through Tallahassee, and we will keep making that case," Burke said.
After the union ratifies the package, the pay raise would be retroactive to July 2025, when the union's last contract with the district expired.
