Florida education commissioner slams Leon Schools’ delays in teacher pay raises

Florida Education Commissioner Anastasios “Stasi” Kamoutsas is calling on the Leon County School Board’s only Republican member and its chair, Laurie Lawson Cox, to help get local teachers’ raises doled out on time.

In a letter posted Sept. 15 on social media, Kamoutsas asked Cox to attend the state education board meeting on Sept. 24 in Fort Walton Beach to discuss a plan of action while also taking a jab at Superintendent Rocky Hanna and the Leon Classroom Teachers Association.

“I have serious concerns regarding Superintendent Rocky Hanna’s handling of teacher compensation through the Teacher Salary Increase Allocation (TSIA). Governor DeSantis championed this funding to raise teacher salaries quickly and competitively, yet Superintendent Hanna has repeatedly delayed implementation forcing teachers to needlessly wait for the raises they rightfully earned,” Kamoutsas wrote.

He posted the letter on Sept. 15 and sent it to Cox. Hanna said he never received any correspondence about the matter.

“This is just to embarrass me, and I’m over the embarrassment,” Hanna said. “If he wanted to have a conversation, he knows where to find me.”

Kamoutsas also added that the local teacher’s union is complicit in the delay as well.

On Aug. 27, the LCTA was offered a little over $1 million from the district for teacher pay raises, the same amount the state provided.

Scott Mazur, president of the LCTA, said the TSIA money that Kamoutsas and Gov. Ron DeSantis have boasted as “historical” is not “having the impact people think that it is having.”

As a result, the union advocates for additional money from the district to help with rising costs of living.

“It’s not that we don’t want to implement the TSIA money quickly, but if we go ahead and agree to it, we know the district is not going to negotiate any additional dollars, so it puts us in a very compromising position,” Mazur said.

For months Hanna has called out the state for underfunding the district, raising uproar for more money and support in traditional public schools.

Hanna mentioned previously that the strained budget would leave little room to add to teacher salaries.

But for Kamoutsas, the amount of money allocated to teachers isn’t the issue; how soon teachers get the money, is.

“Although state law directs districts to promptly implement and report teacher salary increases, Leon County has consistently lagged in complying with the law. Year after year, the district did not submit its salary distribution plan to the Department on time, which in turn left teachers waiting far longer than necessary for their raises. While many other districts moved quickly to implement the TSIA, Superintendent Hanna has failed to meet this obligation for Leon County Schools’ teachers,” Kamoutsas wrote.

Hanna said the commissioner’s letter addressed to school board member Cox was unexpected but didn’t shock him, since Kamoutsas vowed public shame for all superintendents who delayed release of the funding.

“I’m confused as to why he would reach out to the school board chair when I’m an elected official; I’m not appointed,” Hanna said. “Why wouldn’t he send me a letter if he has concerns about my lack of action? He needs to step up and be a man and reach out to me.”

Cox is out of the country and was unavailable for comment.

The district and the LCTA will meet again at 4 p.m. Sept. 24 at the Aquilina Howell building for negotiations. The LCTA is expected to reject, accept or counter the district’s million dollar offer.

Alaijah Brown covers children & families for the Tallahassee Democrat. She can be reached at ABrown1@gannett.com. Follow her on Twitter/X: @AlaijahBrown3.

This article originally appeared on Tallahassee Democrat: State blasts Leon schools for slow teacher raise rollout