ST. JOHNS COUNTY, Fla. — The St. Johns Education Association, the teachers’ union for the St. Johns County School District, tells Action News Jax it’s working toward hopefully lowering how much more teachers could pay for their health insurance this year.
The union’s president fears that, if the proposed insurance increases are passed as they are set right now, some teachers will have insurance costs that are higher than this year’s state-funded pay raises.
“It’s very frustrating to be fighting for, truly, pennies,” said Kate Dowdie, president of the St. Johns Education Association.
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Action News Jax received estimates from the St. Johns County School District of how much teachers will get for their pay raise, based on the $1.7 million the district says it received from the state this year to fund the pay raises. We found the raises on the table right now are considerably lower than last year.
These are the raises the St. Johns County School District said were approved for the 2024-2025 school year:
- 1-5 years with the district: $578
- 6-10 years with the district: $901
- 11-15 years with the district: $1,105
- 16+ years with the district: $1,700
These are the raises the St. Johns County School District and St. Johns Education Association say are on the table for this year:
- 1-5 years with the district: Between $102 - $632
- 6-10 years with the district: $689
- 11-15 years with the district: $725
- 16+ years with the district: $830
The school district tells Action News Jax that health insurance premiums for teachers could go up anywhere from $52 - $720. Dowdie worries some teachers will lose money between the higher insurance costs and pay raises.
“If their insurance increase is greater than the raises they receive, we are not taking care of them,” Dowdie said.
It’s worth mentioning that St. Johns County teachers already are seeing higher pay from salary supplements through higher property taxes approved by voters last year. The school district said those increases range between $4,500 - $8,275, depending on a teacher’s experience.
The St. Johns Education Association has another meeting with the St. Johns County School District to negotiate insurance premiums and pay raises next Tuesday, September 9th, starting at 5:30 p.m. inside the Fullerwood Auditorium in St. Augustine.
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