Just as contract negotiations for Orange County school teachers are set to get underway, Channel 9's Julie Salomone uncovered a study that shows area teachers are paid less than many of their counterparts around the country.
Emma Gollan has two children who go to school in Orange County. She is also earning a degree in education.
Gollan told Salomone that it is disappointing to hear Orange County teachers are some of the lowest paid teachers in the country.
"It's not really acceptable because our teachers work really, really hard," Gollan said.
Orange County ranked 95th out of a 125 districts on a list published by the National Council on Teacher Quality.
The research organization ranked the districts by looking at lifetime earnings and the cost of living.
"So they actually took the number $1.5 million -- would be what a teacher earns in Orlando over a 30-year career," teachers union president Diana Moore said.
Moore said the starting salary for a teacher in the district is a little more than $38,000.
According to the study, it would take a teacher up to 28 years just to make a $75,000 annual salary, and that's taking into account promotions along the way.
Brevard County was the lowest Florida school district at 109 on the list.
"There is going to be a lot of transition as teachers start to chase salaries around the state," Moore said.
The union will ask the district to increase Orange County teachers' salaries by 6 percent. Bargaining between the district and the union begins next week.
Emma Gollan has two children who go to school in Orange County. She is also earning a degree in education.
Gollan told Salomone that it is disappointing to hear Orange County teachers are some of the lowest paid teachers in the country.
"It's not really acceptable because our teachers work really, really hard," Gollan said.
Orange County ranked 95th out of a 125 districts on a list published by the National Council on Teacher Quality.
The research organization ranked the districts by looking at lifetime earnings and the cost of living.
"So they actually took the number $1.5 million -- would be what a teacher earns in Orlando over a 30-year career," teachers union president Diana Moore said.
Moore said the starting salary for a teacher in the district is a little more than $38,000.
According to the study, it would take a teacher up to 28 years just to make a $75,000 annual salary, and that's taking into account promotions along the way.
Brevard County was the lowest Florida school district at 109 on the list.
"There is going to be a lot of transition as teachers start to chase salaries around the state," Moore said.
The union will ask the district to increase Orange County teachers' salaries by 6 percent. Bargaining between the district and the union begins next week.
WFTV
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