Gadsden County Schools hope bonuses will help retain teachers amid shortage

GADSDEN COUNTY, Fla. (WCTV) - The Gadsden County School District said it plans to give teachers a $2,500 bonus for the next two school years in an effort to keep staff amid the statewide educator shortage.

Superintendent Elijah Key said the goal is to provide students with the highest quality of education by retaining and recruiting proven, certified teachers.

The district reached an agreement with the Gadsden County CLassroom Teachers Association to give $2,500 to all returning teachers and $5,000 to professionally certified teachers working in their field.

Key said they are targeting low-performing schools right now. The money for these bonuses is coming from grants and federal funds. The stipend for teachers would take effect once in November, and again near spring break.

“It’s important to have in-field teachers that are professionally certified in those classrooms to help close that gap so that is what we’re targeting to make sure we can get the very best to make sure we can start shoring up the foundation to make sure our kids get the very best to have a solid future for them,” Key said.

The school board is set to review this agreement at its next meeting in July. Key said the bonus will be in place for the upcoming school year and the 2023-24 school year.

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