Teachers push for higher wages in Collier County

The Collier County School District says their goal for the 2024 academic year is to build on their current success.

But some teachers tell WINK News that won’t happen unless they’re paid more money.

“When you get paid, and you pay your rent, you have $17 left, you know, that’s not going to last you for two weeks,” said Aishia Buford.

Buford says she can’t afford to survive on her salary as an educator, so she’s supporting the teacher’s union as they fight for higher wages.

Buford moved to Naples to be a teacher, but her passion for teaching the young minds of Collier County comes at a cost.

“I’m tired every day. But I have no other choice,” At the end of each school day, she heads to her next assignment. “If I didn’t work a second job, I would not be able to live in Naples,” said Buford.

A second job at the UPS customer center.

Although the elementary school resource teacher has almost a decade of teaching experience, she still doubles down on jobs to keep her and her classroom afloat.

“So I have to work at UPS, it supplements my income because I had to pay for everything else. Gas, power, everything, groceries,” Buford said.

Making ends meet on a teacher’s salary is a familiar struggle many other educators in the school district face.

Pam Baldwin, the Vice President of the Collier County Education Association says, “It’s frustrating. It’s aggravating. Our kids deserve better. And we’ve got teachers that are saying, I love it here. I love the kids. This is where my heart is, but I can’t afford to live here.”

It’s the reason why the CCEA is trying to negotiate teacher salaries with the school district.

But after Monday’s latest meeting, Baldwin said bargaining seems to be at a stalemate.

“Negotiations is about give and take, like we have come down from our initial proposal, we have come down at every meeting.,” she said. “They have not come up at all. So that’s not good faith bargaining. They’re not negotiating with us.”

Even with tight funds, when it comes to her students, Buford said no expense is spared to give them a quality education. She just wishes her paycheck reflected the effort she puts into the kids she teaches.

Buford said, “I would really like to be compensated for you know the love that we give to the kids and I know that you can’t put a price tag on that. But I feel like teachers should be able to live comfortably.”

Buford and the teacher’s association said that anyone who’s looking to support their cause should show up at Wednesday’s School Board meeting.

The meeting will take place at the Dr. Martin Luther King, Jr. Administrative Center and begin at 4:30 p.m.