District, teachers agree on contract

Orange County Public Schools and the Orange County Classroom Teacher Association resolved all bargaining issues following a nearly 12-hour impasse hearing Oct. 16.

The agreement includes teacher salary increases of 2.25% for those rated highly effective (93% of teachers evaluated) and a 1.7% increase for those rated effective (6.5% of teachers evaluated).

The contract now will move to the CTA members for a vote.

The impasse and resulting resolution come just seven months after the district and union reached an agreement for the previous contract. In that agreement, completed in March, instructional staff rated as “highly effective” received a historic 9.7% average raise. The overall increase ranged from $3,775 to $7,950 per teacher (depending on rating), with the average increase being $5,400 annually. That raise was paid retroactively. 

When combined with those raises, teachers rated as “highly effective” will receive an 11.25% raise over the last two years, and the minimum increase for all teachers is 9.45%.

The agreement contains also a one-year continuation of retention supplements, a one-year continuation of select supplements, allows three days of district-paid bereavement leave, allows non-classroom teachers to work remotely, adds federal PUMP Act language into the contract (the act is a bill that expands workplace protections for mothers who need to express breast milk) and includes changes to the instructional evaluation article.

Union representatives said they still were not satisfied with the salary negotiations.

“While we are disappointed with the School Board’s decision to side with the district on wages, supplements and evaluation rights, we are proud of the progress CTA members made possible — securing key wins like bereavement leave, pumping protections and recognition for advanced degrees,” CTA representatives said in a prepared statement. “This fight is far from over, and with the strength of our union, we will continue to push for the respect, pay and conditions our educators deserve.”

The two sides found common ground about a month after the CTA rejected the district’s Sept. 13 offer to increase teacher salaries by 2% and declared an impasse.

At that time, CTA representatives said they proposed an average increase of 4.4% on top of the nearly 10% increase they received earlier this year.

“Teachers can’t afford to support their families in Orange County,” OCCTA President Clinton McCracken said in a prepared statement. “This is unacceptable. Trying to pay your bills and keep up with the cost of living is weighing heavily on teachers.”

The OCCTA also opposed recent changes to the Instructional Evaluation System, approved in July by the state, to reduce the burden of evaluations on teachers and ensure a more streamlined approach.

The School Board urged district and CTA negotiators to return to the bargaining table to work on a comprehensive parental leave program.