Miami’s teachers union gets new contract. Modest raises depend on referendum

Education admin October 21, 2026 0 Comments

Miami’s teachers union gets new contract. Modest raises depend on referendum

The union representing public school teachers in Miami-Dade has agreed to a new contract with the school district, including modest raises.

The new contract was finalized earlier this month between leaders of the United Teachers of Dade and the administration of new Miami-Dade Superintendent Rafael Villalobos.

Teachers with 10 years or more of experience in the classroom will get $2,000 raises. Teachers with fewer than 10 years on the job get $1,662 in raises. Most of the money for the raises will come from a voter-approved property tax referendum that is on the ballot for renewal this year.

Though the referendum funds are locked in for this year, some teachers are bracing for pay cuts if November’s referendum effort fails. One 47-year-old teacher told the Herald she would likely lose her home if that came to pass.

Some teachers have expressed displeasure online at the relatively low raises in the contract, especially given Miami’s rising cost of living. According to UTD President Antonio White, the district was constrained in how they could address the topic of raises for its more than 15,000 teachers.

The state only provided pay bumps of $1,142 for teachers with 10 or more years of experience, which White said “wasn’t going to satisfy anybody’s pocket.”

So those teachers got a slice of the referendum funding to bump their raises up to $2,000. For less-experienced teachers, their more modest raises came completely from referendum funding.

But base starting pay remained the same, $51,150, which is determined by the state and has been a constant sticking point for the union.

“There was nothing to change [base pay] with. Base pay is a function of the state primarily. We use add-ons for the referendum, but they didn’t provide any funding for base pay. They’re not really interested in that… Now, it’s a matter of continuing to pit one group against the other. I mean, it’s just shameful when they have so much surplus in the state of Florida, but they commit none to traditional public education,” White said.

Before adding referendum funds, the base pay for teachers working 10 months out of the year — as most teachers do — can range from $50,150 to $85,303. With referendum funds added, salaries can go up as much as an extra $20,000.

In 2026, Florida ranked second-lowest among all U.S. states in average teacher salary at $56,663, according to a National Education Association study. The state’s average starting teacher pay of $49,435 ranked much more competitively at 19th among all states. The referendum pay differential is necessary to keep Miami-Dade teacher salaries more competitive given South Florida’s high cost of living, according to the superintendent.

One item that the union highlighted as a win was that there was no increase in healthcare costs in the new contract.

“The beauty of this contract was in the healthcare,” White said. “When you compare that across the state, we were in a much better position than everybody else for that. We had no structural changes, only improvements to the healthcare this go-around.”

In order to fully kick into effect, the contract must be ratified in an in-person paper ballot vote by school employees covered by the union. That election will take place next Wednesday, Oct. 28.

Shrinking district

The school district was negotiating with the teachers’ union amid enormous budget concerns.

With enrollment declines — this year even worse than projected — funding from the state’s per pupil formula is projected to flatline, putting pressure on districts across the state. Miami-Dade’s recently passed budget for this year reflects that drop.

This year is the first on record where the state is set to send more money to private school vouchers than to public schools through its education funding formula.

Miami-Dade’s overall enrollment this year fell below what the district initially forecast. Last year, officials had to make budget cuts in the middle of the school year to address the problem.

The district already closed or consolidated nine different public schools in response to the financial squeeze. The school board recently OK’d limited layoffs, including of classroom teachers, in response to charter school organization Success Academy’s entry into Miami.