Manatee County School District Approves Salary Increase for District Employees

BRADENTON — Manatee County School District employees will receive a pay raise later this month following district school board approval Tuesday morning.

The pay increase was approved for district teachers and paraprofessionals following negotiations over the past several months. Employees represented by the Manatee Education Association, along with other non-teaching employees, will receive a pay raise, according to the teachers’ union.

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Once implemented, the base salary for teachers will increase to $47,500 per year. Teachers with master’s degrees will see their salaries increased by $1,200 and a retention bonus of $1,000 will be given to employees who did not receive the initial retention bonus from the Florida legislature during the pandemic.

Non-teaching staff — guards, bus drivers, food service workers, maintenance staff and others represented by the American Federation of State, County and Municipal Employees — will also receive the $1,000 retention bonus. In addition, staff will see an increase in flat rate compensation and retroactive salary increases.

The district will distribute bonuses to eligible paraprofessionals, teachers and teaching staff on Feb. 25, according to a union press release.

Approval of the contract remains subject to the Florida Legislature’s funding bill.

Samantha Gholar Weires covers the news for the Herald-Tribune and USA TODAY Network. Connect with her at [email protected] or on Twitter: @samanthagweires

This article originally appeared on Sarasota Herald-Tribune: Manatee Schools Negotiations End, Board Approves Higher Salaries