Miami-Dade teachers get raises and charter schools recoup funds owed by the District
Months into the school year, public school teachers in Miami-Dade are no longer in the dark about what kind of wage increases to expect.
The United Teachers of Dade, the teachers union, was able to secure a contract with the District with an average 4.5 percent increase in teacher salaries, as well as a guarantee that teachers’ monthly healthcare premiums will remain the same. A large portion of this raise is funded by money from local property tax revenue, as the state only increased the District’s funding by 2.49 percent this year.
The pay raise come after nine sessions of bargaining – and months later than usual. Union contracts are typically approved before the school year begins in August. It also comes shortly after the union successfully re-certified, as required by a state law that makes it more challenging than ever for unions to function.
“It is a victory because we see the attacks on public education from the state, and even with the little bit of money, we were still able to maintain something that we did not think was possible. We did it through our collective action,” said Karla Hernandez-Mats, president of the union.
Teachers voted on the contract on Thursday, and late in the evening, the union announced that it had passed with 82.22 percent of teachers voting in its favor. A little more than 50 percent of teachers voted in the election.
“This contract reflects our collective strength and dedication to advocating for the best interests of our educators, students, and community,” said Hernandez-Mats.
Paying off debt to charter schools
This year’s contract negotiations with teachers come as the District recently finalized a settlement with area charter schools, which were demanding a portion of local property tax revenue for charter school teachers’ salaries.
The district agreed to pay $179 million in total to charter schools in two payments.
Miami-Dade schools recently made a first payment of $87 million to charter schools. The funds were rounded up by eliminating spending for student devices, cutting IT infrastructure, cutting maintenance funding, and using funds from property tax revenue.
The school district was initially planning to litigate the issue in order to avoid paying charter schools, but in April, the Palm Beach County School District settled a lawsuit with local charter schools, agreeing to share property tax referendum funding plus interest.
In Broward County, an ongoing lawsuit on the same issue was halted in June and the district settled with charter schools after they received a letter from State Commissioner of Education Manny Diaz which insisted the District pay charter schools their portion. Manny Diaz used to work for Doral College, a private college affiliated with Academica, a charter school operator, and has been criticized for using his position to advocate for private and charter schools.
The Miami-Dade school district took the actions of Palm Beach and Broward as evidence that they too should settle with charter schools.
“I never thought we would have to pay retroactively with interest. But this is where we are now,” said Superintendent Dotres during a union bargaining session, according to an email sent out to union members. “The political landscape in Florida has changed, and it is not in our favor,” he said.
According to the union, the settlement was made in order to avoid future lawsuits.
“I think that the fact that they made poor decisions with the referendum, put pressure on them,” said Hernandez-Mat of this year’s teacher raises.
The chief financial officer of the district, Ron Steiger, says what he is stressed about is figuring out a way to pay the second payment of $92 million to charter schools, without impacting the operations of the district or teacher pay, as Superintendent Dotres has asked. This payment is due in July of 2025, and it is not yet clear how it will impact next school year’s budget.
But for this year, Steiger said “given our circumstances, what we are offering to teachers is one of the most favorable proposals statewide.”
In this year’s contract, there are also provisions which will explore workforce housing for educators, adjustments for teachers who work at Exceptional Student Education (ESE) centers, and an improved travel.
“I think the contract brings dignity and respect to the people,” said Antonio “Tony” White, vice-president of the union. “I am excited and proud,” he added.
This story was originally published November 8, 2024 at 5:33 PM.
