Alachua County School Board ratifies instructional contract, restores weekly early-release Wednesdays starting May 7

The Alachua County School Board on April 24 unanimously approved the school district’s negotiated amendments to the 2024–2027 collective bargaining agreement for instructional personnel and ratified the 2024–25 compensation package, clearing the way for raises and the reinstatement of weekly early-release Wednesdays beginning May 7, 2025.

The ratification matters because it finalizes pay and schedule changes that affect the district’s instructional staff and starts district payroll processes to deliver retroactive raises. The board’s vote followed a union ratification held April 23, when the bargaining unit approved the agreement 1,153 to 158, an 88% approval rate.

District negotiator Mr. Shelnut told the board that the Alachua County Education Association and the district bargaining teams had been negotiating for more than a year and reached a tentative…