Lee County teachers reach tentative contract agreement with salary increases

FORT MYERS, Fla. — The School District of Lee County and the Teachers Association of Lee County (TALC) have reached a tentative contract agreement that includes salary increases, expanded parental leave benefits, and additional planning time for educators.

The agreement was finalized during the September 22 bargaining session, marking the end of negotiations for the 2025-26 school year. Teachers will see salary increases ranging from 3% to 5% through what union officials are calling a "compression adjustment" designed to ensure fair pay progression based on years of experience.

Kevin Daly, president of the TALC said the deal addresses longstanding concerns about salary compression that began when the state mandated higher starting pay several years ago.

"We've been fighting our way out from underneath that," Daly said. "When that first passed, it kind of made year zero to year 11 the same starting pace. So we've been working to kind of separate those again, so that there's significant differences, or some differences, between kind of years experience that you bring in with you."

The tentative contract includes several key improvements for teachers. The lunch period will expand from 25 minutes to 30 minutes, and teachers will receive an additional nine minutes of compensated planning time daily, extending their workday by nine minutes but providing approximately a 2% increase in compensation.

The agreement also establishes what Daly described as potentially the state's best parental leave policy, offering 20 days for both maternal and paternal leave. Bereavement leave was expanded to three days per occurrence.

"We ratified what I think is the state best paternal and maternal leave with 20 days," Daly said.

Teachers will receive personalized letters from the school district detailing their individual salary increases under the new contract terms. The union plans to provide educational materials about the non-compensation benefits, including how to access the new parental and bereavement leave policies.

A ratification vote is scheduled for the last week of October, followed by School Board approval in November. If approved, the new salary and benefits will be retroactive to July 1, 2025, with teachers potentially seeing the increases in their paychecks before the holidays.

Daly acknowledged mixed reactions from union members about the tentative agreement.

"I think what's important is that there's a deal in place to put in front of people so they can voice their opinion," Daly said. "I think I have people that are happy and I have people that are upset, and I have people in the middle."

The union president emphasized that the bargaining team negotiated the best deal possible and will now present it to the approximately 6,000 members of the bargaining unit for their decision.

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