OCEA is thrilled to announce that on July 12, 2023, OCEA and SDOC reached a Cost of Living Adjustment agreement for all bargaining unit employees to receive a 5% raise in their minimum base salary! Additionally, the base salary for new teachers will increase by $500, while current teachers will also receive a recurring raise of $1,200 for Highly Effective or $900 for Effective and Grandfathered educators.
This is a $22.8 million compensation package for teachers, a $4 million compensation package for Education Staff Professionals (ESPs), and a $3 million compensation package for Teamsters for the 2023-24 school year! This is in addition to the one-time $1,500 instructional supplement and $500 ESP supplement which was given last spring during our negotiations! All three tentative agreements will now go to both the School Board and OCEA members for final ratification and settlement before dispersion to employees.
OCEA believes this is the largest raise SDOC employees have collectively received in the last 20 years! Such success would not have been possible without the tremendous commitment of supporters like you! Every person who signed our petition, contacted school board members, spoke out on social media, shared news stories, and signed letters helped us reach our goal! We are so thankful to feel the love and support of thousands of community members and are excited to get back to our students this fall!
We would also like to thank Dr. Mark Shanoff and the Osceola County School Board for their support of our educators. Tentative agreement documents will be made available on the “Tentative Agreements and Ratification Documents” webpage on our School District public website at: https://www.osceolaschools.net/Page/6812
“I speak on behalf of our School Board members when I say we will continue to collaborate with OCEA in order to get these dollars into the hands of our dedicated educators as soon as a tentative agreement is ratified by both parties,” said Superintendent Dr. Mark Shanoff.
OCEA President Janet Moody stated, “This tentative agreement is a historical achievement for the 2023-24 Instructional and ESP Bargaining Leadership Teams.”
OCEA relishes the opportunity to continue to pursue the very best package for all employees. We sincerely thank Management’s team for their collaborative efforts and patience, as it takes time to change a mindset and learn to work together toward an actual worthwhile goal. We will continue to explore more and different methods while we continue to negotiate with management in future school years to get additional monies into employees’ pockets.” Let us enjoy our victory and refresh before continuing on our journey to support the best public education system we can create. Onwards!