Teachers and support staff press board to use referendum and reserves for raises; union bargaining set to resume

Dozens of teachers, paraprofessionals and union leaders used the board’s public‑comment and employee‑input sections on July 29 to press the district to prioritize cash for compensation as bargaining resumed.

Speakers representing the Hillsborough Classroom Teachers Association and the Hillsborough Classroom Teachers Association’s bargaining team highlighted contract uncertainty and low pay. "We cannot attract and retain high quality teachers if we continue to undervalue them," Sonia Martinez, public‑school liaison for Magnified Voices, told the board during public comment. HCTA leaders asked the board to accept the union’s bargaining proposals and to reinvest unspent salary budget lines into pay during the district’s negotiations.

HCTA executive director Britney Wegman told the board that the tentative budget includes $123 million more in instructional salary lines than the district reported spending last year; she urged the board to use available funds to reach an agreement in bargaining. Multiple employees described personal hardship: one teacher said she qualifies for public assistance and is facing foreclosure; others said many ESPs work two or three jobs. HCTA negotiators argued a prior one‑time payment materially helped morale and asked the district to repeat a similar gesture. "Invest in our educators. We invest in our students," HCTA vice president Regina Gambrell said.

District leaders said they understand the urgency. Jamie Lewis, the CFO, and superintendent David Ayers (introduced at the meeting as Superintendent Ayers) defended a roughly 10 percent projected fund balance after one‑time transfers to support self‑insurance, saying a reserve gives the district time to respond to budget shocks such as hurricanes or potential state or federal funding changes. Lewis said staff would continue to update numbers and emphasized the tentative nature of the figures presented at the first public hearing.

Why it matters: teacher and ESP pay is the primary operational cost for the district. The bargaining outcome will determine whether referendum and other funds are used to raise recurring salary schedules or to shore up reserves. Union leaders said prior unspent salary budget lines created an expectation that more money is available to pay employees now rather than accumulate in reserves.

Next steps: Board members reiterated support for teachers and said negotiations would continue; HCTA said bargaining would resume the following day. The budget will return for final adoption at the Sept. 9 hearing; any board direction to reallocate funds would need to be adopted through the budget amendment and negotiation process.