BROOKSVILLE — The Hernando County School Board on Oct. 6 approved a $2,000 raise for veteran teachers, but staff members told the board the state-set increase leaves too many employees out and does too little for those who get it.
The raise goes only to full-time certified classroom and prekindergarten teachers with at least 10 years of full-time teaching experience in a Florida public school, according to a district memo.
Employees who qualify and those who don’t spoke against it. They said the money shrinks once taxes are taken out and is offset by rising health insurance costs. Employees also face higher deductibles and out-of-pocket expenses under changes meant to hold down premium increases.
The board approved the raise 5-0 as part of its consent agenda, with members saying their hands were tied.
“This is the state that has set that criteria and the amount, and we have no discretion over that,” board member Shannon Rodriguez said. “It’s for teachers over 10 years and if a teacher is under 10 and non-instructional, the state did not put them in that classification. That has no bearing on us as a district or as a board. That is set completely by the state.”
Rodriguez said board members lobbied in Tallahassee, but the decision rested with the state. “We did not make that decision whatsoever,” she said.
The board’s attorney said the item had to be accepted as written and could not be amended.
Board members Susan Duval and Michelle Bonczek agreed the criteria were unfair.
In her closing comments, Rodriguez told employees they deserve to be paid more and that she wants that for them. But she said she must keep the district financially stable. A district cannot spend money it doesn’t have, she said, and one that does risks more state involvement, eventually including state approval of its budget. She said she doesn’t want decisions about Hernando County’s school budget made elsewhere.
The challenge is not only paying for the raise this year, Rodriguez said, but sustaining it in the years ahead.
Research agreement rejected
The board unanimously rejected a three-year, no-cost memorandum of understanding with the American Institutes for Research after the item was pulled from the consent agenda.
Duval said that after researching the agreement, she was concerned about student information being sent out of the country.
“I cannot support the request. The time on task is low, the data does not seem sufficiently defined and I have reservations about data being held outside the country,” she said.
The board voted without further discussion.
In other action
The board recognized Central High School science teacher Rachel Kingdom as the 2026 Tampa Bay Times Newspaper in Education Educator of the Year grand prize winner.
Students from D.S. Parrott Middle School led the Pledge of Allegiance, and the school’s principal told the board about its accomplishments. Parrott staff members were recognized for their years of service.
On the consent agenda, the board approved two overnight field trips for Weeki Wachee High School: color guard students will attend the WGI World Championships April 6-11 in Dayton, Ohio, and the class of 2027 will take its senior trip to Washington, D.C., March 29-April 3.
The board also recognized its October community partners and approved a proclamation naming Nov. 9-15 Bullying Prevention/Acts of Kindness Week.