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Teachers, union urge board to restore Renaissance stipend for high-need schools; district cites funding limits
Summary
Teachers and the district's classroom‑teachers union urged the Hillsborough County School Board on Aug. 22 to restore a Renaissance stipend that provided extra pay at high‑need schools; district staff said federal Title I rules and recent funding changes limit options and that restoring the stipend would require general‑fund resources.
Several teachers and union representatives used the employee-comment portion of the Aug. 22 meeting to urge the Hillsborough County School Board to restore the Renaissance supplement that provided additional pay to staff at high‑need schools.
Rob Crete of the Hillsborough Classroom Teachers Association and several staff who work at Renaissance‑designated schools told the board the stipend supported teacher retention, reduced vacancies at challenged sites and funded extra work that helps students with greater needs. "The Renaissance stipend is not just financial compensation. It is a recognition," said Liz Baker, a behavior-resource teacher at Tampa Bay Boulevard, a Renaissance school. She and other speakers described high vacancy rates and heavy out‑of‑pocket time and expense for teachers who work in those schools.
Music teacher Eric Hagen said the supplement had allowed the district to place consistent, experienced teachers in schools with greater needs and warned that removing it could worsen turnover and academic outcomes: "Without this supplement, these opportunities will become significantly harder to come by as teachers are forced to make that tough decision," he said.
District staff explained that the stipend historically had been paid with Title I and other funds, and that recent funding and accounting constraints limit the district's options. Staff noted ESSER funds were used for the supplement in prior years but that federal Title I rules do not permit a recruitment incentive based solely on poverty index; restoring the supplement permanently would require general‑fund appropriation or use of fund balance. The district also explained the board's ability to continue or restore the stipend is constrained by state and federal funding changes and by budgeting priorities.
Board members and staff responded to questions about alternatives and asked for further analysis of school‑level metrics. Speakers at the employee‑input portion requested that the board reconsider or identify alternative funding streams to preserve the additional compensation for educators in the district's most challenged schools.
Speakers quoted in this article are identified in the public meeting record and include their roles and first on‑record appearance.
