TAMPA. Fla. — Hillsborough County teachers returned to the classroom this week to start preparing for the school year, but it's still unclear exactly what their salary will be.

Administrators and teachers reached an impasse last week and plan to return to the bargaining table during a scheduled meeting on Thursday. The two sides attempted to reach an agreement before the school year began.

The district is proposing a one-year supplement as opposed to a step on the pay scale.

In the 2021-2022 school year, teachers agreed to the one-year supplement instead of a permanent raise and advance on the salary schedule. By doing that, Hillsborough County Public Schools could use federal COVID-19 relief money for the increases.

Teachers Nicole Teagarten and Emily Griest feel it is time for the traditional pay increase they agreed upon when they were first hired into the district.

"It's hard to stay in the field when your money isn't keeping up with inflation and what you were expected and hired under," Teagarten said.

"It's very hard to keep good teachers if you aren't honoring what you promised at onboarding. It's hard to keep good teachers if you don't have competitive pay," Griest added.

The district is still short more than 600 teachers and working to hire quickly before students return to classrooms on Aug. 10.

Last year, the state threatened a financial takeover if the district didn't start chipping away at its deficits. Now, the needle is moving in the right direction, but during bargaining the school district stated they don't have the money for permanent raises at this time and instead offered the same increase, but in the form of a supplement.

A spokesperson for the school district declined to comment stating they cannot comment on ongoing negotiations. ​