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Hernando Today

'Closing the gap' with surrounding districts

Staying competitive, relevant in region's teaching market.

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By LINNEA BROWN

Published: January 1, 2008

BROOKSVILLE - BROOKSVILLE - Hernando County's teachers are slowly moving up on the pay scale, with beginning teachers set to make $6,000 more than they would have in the 2003-04 school year.
But where is the money coming from, and why is it so difficult for Hernando to remain competitive with surrounding districts?
Following the 3-2 ratification of a new contract Dec. 18 by the Hernando County School Board, local teachers are set to receive an average 6.04 percent raise, plus coverage of a 1 percent increase in health-care premiums.
The board committed to a total budget of $75,981,205, or estimated salary expenditures for 1,837 teachers. With that figure, the average teacher is expected to make $41,362 per year.
But offering more money isn't as easy as it may seem. The district obtains funding from the state using a complex formula that takes into account factors such as the estimated cost of living in the county.
By this formula, the "district cost differential," or price of living and working in the district, is lower than that of neighboring Pasco County. Therefore, Pasco generates more money from the state, explained school board finance director Deborah Bruggink.
These figures originate each year in the Florida Price Level Index, prepared annually by state finance officials to distribute state funds equitably to local school districts. The index is computed from three-year average sample prices in five categories: food, housing, apparel, transportation and a composite category of health, recreation and personal services.
While school districts have long argued that people do not necessarily shop in their counties of residence — meaning that cost differences do not reflect where people buy things — the formula remains the same.
Of 75 Florida counties, Hernando is ranked 62nd in amount given per full-time student.
In recent revised figures of state and local funding per student, Hernando received a reported $6,905.91, as compared with Sumter's $6,984.83, Citrus's $7,059.87 and Pasco's $7,180.61.
If Hernando's students were funded at the same rate as Pasco's, the district would receive an estimated $6,394,538 more in funding.
"There are some inequities to it," Bruggink said. "The current formula has been in existence since the '70s, and sometimes the tweaking comes from lobbyists."
Teachers turned out in record numbers two weeks ago to vote on the new contract, which focuses on making average salaries for teachers in Hernando County more competitive with that of teachers in Citrus, Pasco, Pinellas and Hillsborough counties, where salaries are higher.
With the 6.04 percent agreement, a beginning teacher in Hernando County will make $34,000, up from last year's starting salary of $32,000. The most senior-level teacher — or a teacher with a doctorate degree and 26 years of experience — will make $56,675.
That compares with new starting salaries of $33,858 in Citrus, $36,420 in Pasco, $36,232 in Sumter, $37,300 in Pinellas and $37,014 in Pasco.
That stands in sharp contrast to the 2003-04 school year, when teachers in Hernando started at $28,000. That year, the average teacher made $35,281, with the most senior level teacher making $48,700.
And longevity counts now more than ever, with the new contract set up to reward teachers who remain in the district by their number of consecutive years of employment. For example, a 25-year Hernando teacher who received a base salary of $48,760 last year will receive 7 percent salary raise to $52,175, with a 2.5 percent longevity bonus of $850.
This year's 6.04 percent raise for Hernando compares with 4.50 percent in Citrus, 4.07 percent in Pasco, 4.85 percent in Pinellas and 4.37 percent in Sumter.
In Pasco County, a teacher at the top of the salary schedule will receive $2,120, compared with Hernando County, where a starting teacher will receive a raise of $2,000 and a teacher with one year of experience, $2,180.
This year, offering more money was even more difficult than in previous years. The state's most recent budget amendment, which passed through the school board Nov. 6, cut $3.5 million from the district's revenue.
The average Hernando County teachers' salary in 2006-07 was $39,055, or 62nd out of 67 Florida counties, according to state data. Officials will not know until February how the district compares statewide because other districts are still settling.
The Hernando United School Workers union is still negotiating with the district on a contract for nonteaching staff.

Reporter Linnea Brown can be reached at 352-544-5289 or lbrown@hernandotoday.com.

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