Collier County teachers just got a raise, but not as much as they had hoped.

It was a long time coming. Negotiations about teacher salaries for this school year began in earnest in May 2025. Teachers were paid the same amount as the previous year while the union and the administration clashed over the size of raises. Collier County Education Association wanted a base increase of $3,290, while the district proposed $1,350. The sides couldn’t agree and impasse was declared.

Over a two-day span in February, through attorneys both sides argued their cases before a special magistrate, who was to give a recommendation. He did. He sided with the administration.

Friday (May 1) , before a room packed with teachers in red shirts, the board adopted the magistrate’s recommendation and nearly all of the teachers walked out.

The increases are retroactive to July 1, 2025.

An additional $130 was added through negotiations in February to the supplement base pay, which takes effect July 1, 2026, making the actual salary increase $1,480 at that time. Teachers rated "highly effective" — which according to the school district are about 80 percent of them — will see an additional $880.

Although Collier County ranks fourth in the state for starting salary and second in average teacher salary, the union argued that since Collier is the most expensive county in which to live, the salaries are not sufficient. Although the district pays the teachers' health insurance premiums, some argued that rising health care costs, in addition to the increase in cost of living, were causing financial stress as well.