ST. AUGUSTINE, Fla. — Note - A previous edition of this story referenced a pay document. That document only showed salaries for incoming teachers, not pay raises teachers receive during their time in the district.
Just in time for the holidays - teachers in St. Johns County could finally see the pay raise they've debated and protested for months.
First, they have to get an offer they can agree to - after 77%, more than three quarters, of all teachers who voted turned down the $1200 raise the district proposed.
It's the first time in St. Johns Education Association history teachers have turned down a raise, with the majority feeling the offer wasn't enough.
Now, it's back to the bargaining table.
It's been about three weeks since St. Johns County teachers filled downtown with red shirts and protest signs.
They want higher salaries - and school district leaders came to them with an offer almost immediately after.
"The teachers have spoken," said St. Johns Education Association President Michelle Dillon. "They made their voice heard."
Dillon says every teacher in the district had a chance to vote on the $1200 raise, not just those in the union, and they overwhelmingly shot it down.
She says one of the concerns is the tiny year over year increase a teacher has to look forward to after joining the district.
"A teacher with years of experience looks at someone, with no disrespect, coming new into the county, but there's not much of a difference between their salaries," said Dillon.
The union is hoping more teachers will be willing to come to the next bargaining session.
"There's nothing more powerful than unity and having a show of people saying, 'We are standing together, supporting each other, and we want a raise that matches the excellent work we do every day in St. Johns County,'" said Dillon.
First Coast News reached out to the school board chairman to hear the district's take on the issue, but her secretary said she's at a conference this week.
“We are currently still in negotiations with SJEA and expect that they will bring forth a proposal next week," said a district spokesperson.
The union and district leaders just met and set December 8th as the next bargaining session, so that'll be an opportunity to hear district leader's take on the issue.
