Members of the American Federation of State, County, and Municipal Employees (AFSCME) have ratified an agreement with the School District of Manatee County for base salary increases for the 2021-2022 school year.

The salary improvements for AFSCME employees will be retroactive to July 1, 2021. AFSCME includes transportation, food service, custodial, maintenance and other employee groups within the district’s operations division. The Manatee County school board is scheduled to vote on approval of the ratified agreement at its meeting on Tuesday, Feb. 8.

All qualified employees will receive advancement on the salary scale as specified in the current AFSCME Contract and $1,000 (gross amount) employee retention bonus for those who have worked for the district since January 1, 2021, and who are still employed. The total cost estimate of the AFSCME package is $2,211,728 from three different funding sources.