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What does that look like?
It looks like schools filled with highly credentialed educational professionals who can help ensure every child not only succeeds at school but succeeds in life. In order to accomplish this so that students may feel inspired to learn, communities require schools that invest in paraprofessionals, bus drivers, maintenance workers, teachers, counselors, administrators, ESOL professionals, media specialists, mental health experts and so many others so that a child can succeed in the best environment for them.
But when lawmakers don’t invest in an educator’s teaching environment, they aren’t investing in a child’s learning environment.
For years, lawmakers have touted investments in public education and in educators.
The fact is, for the second year in a row, Florida ranks 50th in average teacher salary and too many education staff professionals still feel the burden of a rising cost of living and wages that don’t keep up with inflation. Additionally, nationally those in higher education are still contending with a significant gender pay gap, which disproportionately impacts faculty at HBCUs.
For the past year, we have asked educators to share with us how it impacts them to live and work in a state where teachers are ranked #50 in average teacher salary.
Here are their stories.
One veteran educator shares their story about salary compression- and how a lack of investment year over year has changed the landscape of public education in communities across Florida. Click the image above to read more.
- Read More Educator Stories
- 4th Grade Educator: "It breaks my heart."
- Union Leader: “It is a constant strain."
What does the data say?
From 2014-15 to 2023-24, the average teacher salary in Florida fell 12.9% in inflation-adjusted dollars.
The Economic Policy Institute provides two measures to add context to salary averages:
- In Florida, teachers earn $0.78 cents for every dollar earned by professionals with similar education levels.
- A family of one adult and one child would need an annual salary of at least $61,002 to have a modest but adequate standard of living in Florida’s most affordable metro area.
