Orange Schools agrees to 4% raises for teachers this year

Orange County Public Schools and the district’s teachers union have reached a tentative agreement for 4% raises, the district announced late Friday.

The agreement comes as OCPS shifted more than 100 teachers because of a sharp enrollment decline driven by an increase in private school voucher use. The raises, which surpass the previous year’s 2.25% increase, go to teachers who are rated “highly effective” — a rating about 90% of the district’s teachers achieve.

OCPS employs about 13,300 teachers and is among the county’s largest employers.

Clinton McCracken, president of the Orange County Classroom Teachers Association, wrote in a statement that the agreement reflected “meaningful progress in a difficult funding year.”

Because of enrollment loss, OCPS faces an almost $50 million budg