Teachers with a decade or more of experience at Wiregrass Ranch, Wesley Chapel and Cypress Creek high schools will see bigger paychecks this fall. Pasco County Schools and the United School Employees of Pasco struck a deal Thursday, July 30, to distribute state-allocated raises to educators with 10 or more years of Florida classroom experience.

The agreement, reached one day before a state-imposed July 31 deadline, covers how the district will spend money from the Teacher Salary Increase Allocation, a fund Florida lawmakers earmarked specifically for experienced teachers. Both the school board and the union ratified the memorandum of understanding the same day, according to district bargaining records.

The deal lands just two weeks before Pasco's first day of school on Thursday, Aug. 13.

The district has not publicly disclosed how much individual teachers will receive or how many Pasco educators qualify. In Bay County, hundreds of teachers met the 10-year threshold, according to WJHG. The district has not released a comparable figure for Pasco.

It's also unclear how the new raise interacts with the district's existing referendum-funded salary supplement. The bargaining document references an "Impact to the 2026-2027 Referendum Salary Supplement Increases," but no public explanation has followed.

Teacher Raises Come as District Cuts Jobs, Raises Taxes

The pay boost arrives against a difficult backdrop. The same district is cutting 476 full-time-equivalent positions for the 2026-2027 school year, and the school board adopted a tentative tax levy of $436.6 million on July 28, a $17 million increase over the prior year. As we reported July 29, Wesley Chapel-area homeowners will feel that hike on their tax bills.

Meanwhile, Wesley Chapel High and Wiregrass Ranch High remain over capacity by more than 1,200 students combined. Cypress Creek High, which opened in 2017 to relieve crowding, already sits at roughly 96% capacity.

USEP President Jeff Larsen Led Union's Bargaining Team

USEP, led by President Jeff Larsen, represented teachers at the July 30 bargaining session, held at 12:15 p.m. at the USEP office. The Tampa Bay Times reported that districts across Tampa Bay reached similar agreements ahead of the same deadline.

The final district budget vote is scheduled for Tuesday, Sept. 8. Secondary students meet their teachers Friday, Aug. 7.