The school year is almost over but before the next begins, the Hillsborough County teachers union is asking for a raise. Negotiations began Monday as a recent report ranked Florida among the lowest in teacher pay nationwide. The union is asking for about a 6% increase across the board, according to Hillsborough Classroom Teachers Association President Rob Kriete. Kriete believes more pay is one way to show what teachers and staff do matters, especially when a number of teaching vacancies exist. "This job has been monumentally more difficult ever since the pandemic, and they're showing up and they're doing everything they can for these kids, so they deserve that," Kriete said. The average salary of Florida teachers ranked 50th in the nation, according to a National Education Association report. It showed Florida’s average public school teacher pay at $53,098, with a minimum living wage of $58,970. However, its average starting salary ranked Florida at 16th. Local teachers like Katie Sparks Jones said every penny counts especially at a time when inflation is affecting her bills. MORE: https://www.wtsp.com/article/news/local/hillsboroughcounty/hillsborough-county-public-schools-teacher-union-salary/67-219c5450-56a6-4555-bbe1-3acc8cd17399 ►Subscribe: https://on.wtsp.com/youtube ►Website: https://www.wtsp.com/ ►Facebook: https://facebook.com/10TampaBay ►X: https://twitter.com/10TampaBay