JACKSONVILLE, Fla. – Dozens of people filled the Duval County School Board meeting Monday night to share their concerns about the potential for cuts to the Teach for America program.
The program trains new teachers to fill vacancies in schools.
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The school board is thinking of cutting the program entirely from the budget, thereby saving $400,000. But parents, students and teachers showed up Monday night to try to convince the board that's not an option.
"What they've done is not, sort of, recommended we be in the budget," Teach for America executive director Darryl Willie said. "That would eliminate the 50-60 teachers we have here come in a month, that would be here to fill vacancies. We're about putting great teachers in front of kids every single day, and at this point there's not going to be. We have a bad feeling that there will be vacancies, and we are able to provide those teachers right now."
Willie said he's hoping to get a few more board members to agree to get the cuts taken off the table.