As you know, the state budget that was recently passed includes an allocation of around $215 million, to provide full-time classroom teachers and principals with a $1,000 bonus, using funds from the American Relief Plan.

More recently, as details regarding the distribution of bonuses began to emerge, larger questions loom regarding whether the bonuses - now identified as 'relief payments' - will be paid.

For too many of our colleagues, a ‘thanks for a job well-done’ bonus after the stress and uncertainty of working through the pandemic may not materialize at all. As was true with Best and Brightest bonuses, the non-classroom teachers (school counselors, psychologists, media specialists, etc.) and our essential support staff will not qualify for these bonuses from the state.

CCEA brought the topic of bonuses to the bargaining table in April hoping to secure an early commitment from the District to provide matching bonuses for instructional and support personnel left out of the state bonus. We know that every employee working in Citrus schools through the past year helped to ensure our students were safe and that learning continued. It is our position that as federal COVID relief funds make their way into the District, nonrecurring dollars will be available to cover the cost of one-time bonuses. We await a response from the District.

Beyond knowing who will be receiving bonuses and when, we know that you have questions about these bonuses. It remains unclear whether bonuses will be paid to individuals who retired or separated from employment during or after the 2020-21 school year. It is also not yet known whether bonus checks will be issued directly from the state, or if the District will be tasked with distribution of funds. What we know is true of bonuses (generally speaking):

• Bonuses are taxable at a higher rate than regular income.
• The recipient will be responsible for taxes on the bonus.
• Bonuses do NOT count toward retirement under FRS. 

We encourage you to follow the progress of negotiations online and look for additional updates from CCEA in the weeks ahead.

RESOURCES:

CCEA and District bargaining sessions are livestreamed through the Citrus Schools’ YouTube channel and recordings of all prior sessions are accessible for review.

FEA has added a list of FAQs on their website. The page will be updated as more information is made available.

October 7, 2019 - Governor Desantis Pitches Increase to Teacher Pay -  From a schedule press conference in Jacksonville, the Governor released a plan to raise the minimum teacher salary in the state of Florida to $47,500 – impacting a little more than half of all of teachers in the state. Paired with the introduction of legislation by Sen. Rob Bradley to repeal the flawed Best and Brightest bonus scheme, the governor's announcement could be seen as evidence that the voices of FEA members and public education advocates are actually being heard.

While the plan is incomplete, that there is a

September 18, 2019 - FEA's second article in their series exposing how Florida policies are undermining student success focuses on the scam that is VAM. Since its introduction into teacher evaluation processes, educators across the nation have protested the use of this flawed measure to identify ineffective teachers and brand schools as 'failing'. Recently, the Florida Legislature paved the way for school districts to move teacher evaluation models away from their reliance on VAM as the measure of student performance, but unfortunately it remains an instrument of disruption for the state. 

Read

August 26, 2019

Over the next few months this multi-part series will take a deep dive into the ways that Florida’s education policies have led to a full-scale crisis in the teaching profession.

Every student in Florida deserves to be in a classroom with a certified, highly-qualified, and dedicated teacher. Students deserve schools with full-time media specialists and schools that are staffed with more counselors and nurses than security guards. Florida’s students deserve the very best. Currently, Florida’s politicians are failing Florida’s future.  

Over the past two decades the Legislature and