By Tom St. Myer
In our Feb. 8 issue, we examine the six-month stalemate between the Santa Rosa School District and the Santa Rosa Professional Educators – a $1.3 million gap between each side.
Santa Rosa Professional Educators President David Godwin noted the last proposal from the school district did not address salary compression. Under the current contract, a Santa Rosa teacher with 15 years of experience earns only about $2,500 more than a first-year teacher.
| Bachelors | Masters | Specialist | Doctorate | |
| 5 Years | $47,500 | $50,572 | $52,108 | $53,644 |
| 10 Years | $47,500 | $50,572 | $52,108 | $53,644 |
| 15 Years | $50,043 | $53,115 | $54,651 | $56,187 |
Salary compression arose last year after the state raised salaries to a minimum of $47,500. That mandated increase has led to school districts paying veteran teachers the same as those with no experience.
Santa Rosa County pays its teachers less than Okaloosa. Both Santa Rosa and Okaloosa districts have earned A’s since 2017. However, teachers in both counties must work for over 13 years before getting a pay raise.
A first-year teacher with a bachelor’s degree earns the same salary of about $49,000 as a teacher in their 13th year in the Okaloosa County School District. A teacher with a bachelor’s degree finally receives a bump of nearly $1,000 in their 14th year.
Escambia County Public Schools pays a 10-month teacher the state-mandated $47,500, but the amount increases by nearly $5,000 for 11 months of instruction and almost $10,000 for instructional employees who teach for 12 months. Their pay increases slightly with 17 years of approved experience and continues to increase in years 18-20.
Check out ‘Priceless’ Work for Low Pay at 11 a.m. on inweekly.net.
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Pensacola MSA Ranked #77
The Milken Institute ranks Metropolitan Statistical Areas (MSA) annually to determine the best-performing cities. The Pensacola MSA, which includes all of Escambia and Santa Rosa counties, was ranked #77, down three points from last year. Two years ago, we ranked #75
The indicators that hurt us the most were Housing Affordability: 126, Job Growth (2021-2022: 125, and in the High Tech Industry category – GDP Growth (2017-2022) 146; Industries with LQ 1: 171; and Location quotient: 154. We did best in Broadband coverage, ranking 39 – improving from 166 two years ago.
- Okaloosa County (Crestview-Fort Walton Beach-Destin) ranked #17. It ranked 6th in the Gini index, High Tech GDP Growth (2017-2022), and Wage Growth (2017-2022).
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Real News with Rick Outzen
Today’s Lineup:
State Rep Alex Andrade on his defamation bill advancing in the Florida House and the impact of Gov. DeSantis’ initiatives to “keep Florida’s streets clean and safe” on the lawmaker’s panhandling bill.
ABC News Tom Rivers will share the latest on King Charles III’s cancer diagnosis.
Ballard Partners’ Dan McFaul will discuss his lobbying efforts to find a new downtown location for the post office. We might touch on the failure of House Republicans to impeach Sec. Mayorkis.
Rob Fabbro will share the details on the eight pickleball courts he’s building in downtown Pensacola.
Eric Gilmore will talk about Severe Weather Awareness Week.
From yesterday:
