Alachua County Public School teachers pleaded to the school board on Tuesday for livable wages amid an ongoing negotiation for salary increases.
Gina Rivera, a teacher at William S. Talbot Elementary School, spoke at the meeting about the reality of teachers’ pay. Factoring in the extra hours spent planning lessons, both during the week and on the weekends, Rivera estimated that she is owed an extra 25% of what she is paid.
“In short, we are overworked and underpaid,” Rivera said. “Something has to change.”
The beginning of the year brought new negotiations, yet unsatisfactory conclusions. The Alachua County Education Association rejected an offer from the Alachua County Public Schools of a 1.6% salary raise on Jan. 16.
A bargaining meeting followed on Jan. 28 between the union and ACPS. According to Chloe Winant, a science teacher at Howard Bishop Middle School, the ACPS did not have a revised offer to share. Winant said the district claimed there was not enough time to prepare a new offer before the meeting.
“The way we enact our values is how we spend our time,” Winant said. “So, I hope time is being spent to put a really amazing offer on the table.”
Carmen Ward, ACEA president, confirmed that the district did not deliver a new salary proposal, although the union had prepared their own. Ward also said that despite being invited, the chief financial officer for the district did not attend the meeting.
“The message that it sends when you show up to a negotiation and you don’t even have a proposal is that we’re not going to negotiate,” said Joseph Waddell, a teacher and department chair at Gainesville High School.
Ten teachers and citizens voiced their concerns during the first citizen input session. The agenda moved on to discuss Master Board training for the school board members, a relationship-building leadership program. The consensus from the board to attend the training was met with discord from the audience.
Pam Little, a behavior resource teacher at Glen Springs Elementary School, asked the board for transparency regarding the cost of this training. Board Chair Sarah Rockwell said it would cost under $5,000.
“If you are already working together, is there a need for you to go to a service or practice to learn how to work better with each other?” Little asked. “Especially when we’re at a time when we’re talking about teachers not getting a salary.”

The unresolved salary discussion infused itself into other aspects of the meeting as well.
In a motion to terminate phone call citizen input for board meetings, District 4 board member Leanetta McNealy said that she would be in favor of terminating the program if it meant the estimated $7,000 spent annually to keep it running could be reallocated to meet other needs.
The program will be no longer available starting July 1, as amended by District 2 board member Thomas Vu.
The board did establish plans to discuss financial priorities and a budget during a scheduled workshop on March 12. District 1 board member and Vice Chair Tina Certain said she had been waiting 18 months to have a serious budget conversation.
However, not all issues were discussed. Ward said during the last board meeting there were promises that an internal audit would be done and a report regarding the budget would be presented on Tuesday evening. The report was not shared, despite Rivera mentioning it during her address to the board.
“If you claim that the money is simply not there,” Rivera said, “I’m still waiting on that presentation we were promised with lots of visuals that would explain where the money goes.”