How would you feel about working a job for 10 -15 years and a new employee without comparable experience is hired to work the same job at your current salary? Florida’s experienced teachers find themselves in just that predicament.

HB 641, also known as the Teacher Salary Allocation — or TSA — was passed by the Florida Legislature in 2020. The law was purportedly established to recruit and retain newly hired teachers by providing $500 million for local school districts to increase the starting salary of new teachers — some of which were as low as $38,000 — to $47,500. The TSA designated 20% of the funds to be used to provide a raise for experienced teachers, who compose the larger share of instructional staff. But the effort to distribute the funds has generated confusion and frustration from teachers who say the state’s pay plan creates huge inequities, leaving some teachers feeling undervalued.

The Governor has repeated his desire to continue funding the TSA, but at what level?

Listen to local educators from three Florida school districts as they share the pros and cons of the TSA and the actions they think state legislators need to take to make all teachers whole.