SDOC has agreed to pay all instructional employees a $2,000 supplement in the May 15th paycheck AND to continue to negotiate the Cost of Living Adjustment increase! Support professionals will bargain next Thursday, April 20th, and we are hopeful for a similar result!

Thank you to EVERYONE who has signed this petition and helped support our Osceola educators throughout the year! Your continued advocacy through email and letter writing campaigns, as well as your presence at school board and bargaining meetings is the reason this progress is possible. Tonight's agreement will allow employees immediate access to essential dollars and will guarantee a COLA increase for next year’s salary. 

While we wanted to receive the recurring COLA increase this year, we understand that such a long-term budget investment will require a longer conversation and consideration of the changes the Florida state legislature is making to available funds. Therefore, we view the $2,000 supplement and continued COLA negotiations as the best possible way to allow our staff significant short-term relief, as well as access to the maximum amount of funding available for long-term increases. Furthermore, we are hopeful that our supporters' tremendous engagement this year will encourage a realignment of next year’s budget priorities, allowing for further salary increases. 

This is just the beginning!