LEE COUNTY, Fla. — The Teacher's Association of Lee County is negotiating with the Lee County School District for teacher salary increases, but many members say they're unhappy with the district's current offer.
More than 3,400 people belong to the Teacher's Association of Lee County, which advocates for better teacher pay.
TALC President Kevin Daly and his team met with district officials Wednesday for salary negotiations for the upcoming school year.
"I think the district is doing what it can to kind of free up some money," Daly said.
In March, the school district announced sweeping cuts, slashing each department's budget by five percent, which they say saves nearly $16 million.
The district says some of the money from the budget cuts will go toward increasing teacher salaries, as well as other priorities.
Hear the specifics of teacher salary negotiations in Community Correspondent Ella Rhoades' report:
Daly says the union asked for a $65 million salary package.
"My goal is to get to a point where teachers don't need second jobs," Daly said.
He says with their proposal, teachers could receive a 6-10% raise. The proposal also includes bereavement and parental leave.
When Fox 4 asked the district about the details of their offer, a spokesperson said, "We have begun interest based bargaining with the teachers union and already reached agreement on some language. We will continue to negotiate until all issues are resolved."
Daly says many members don't like what the district brought to the table.
"We haven't heard almost any positives about it," Daly said. "You know when we hear that there's this much kind of dissatisfaction around the idea, we know we're responsible to push back."
The clock is ticking since negotiations don't happen over the summer. If the district and union do not reach an agreement, teachers won't see a bigger paycheck come August.
The current salary for a teacher just starting off in Lee County is $50,500.
"Yeah, no raise is not an option ever. I don't care how poor the district is, no raise is never an option," Daly said.
Daly says if they come to a decision in early August, raises might make it for the first paycheck. If not, teachers will later get back pay, if a negotiation agreement is made.
The union and the district go back to the negotiating table May 5.
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