JACKSONVILLE, Fla. – As Florida’s Legislative session gets underway, teachers are urging state lawmakers to make public education a priority, with recent data from the Florida Education Association showing an increase in teacher vacancies halfway through the school year.
Andrew Spar, president of the Florida Education Association, says the group has several priorities for lawmakers, with the overall theme being a call for investment in public schools.
“Florida faces the worst teacher and staff shortage we’ve ever seen,” Spar said. “Even at a time with declining enrollment in our public schools, we still have thousands of vacancies across Florida’s public schools.”
Spar cites overbearing interference from state government and “really low pay” as primary factors for the large number of teaching vacancies.
News4JAX looked at teacher vacancy data from this school year for the local area. In five months, vacancies increased by more than 100 statewide.
Locally, vacancies rose by 30 in Clay County and by 5 in Nassau County.
Tammie Brooks-Evans, president of Duval Teachers United, wants lawmakers to focus on building a public education system that supports both teachers and students.
“I think teachers’ salaries have to be top of that list,” Brooks-Evans said when discussing what she hopes legislators will prioritize. “Health care that employees can afford, [and] retirement benefits that we are setting our educators up for...to retire with dignity.”
Both Spar and Brooks-Evans encourage the public to support public education during the legislative session, with Spar urging parents to get as involved as they can.
Brooks-Evans added, “We all have to stand up and fight. What we have is the people’s power. We don’t have the money of billionaires, but we do have the people.”
" I think this legislative session is going to come down to this. Do lawmakers care about the people in the state of Florida? Or do they care about corporate interests? And that’s what we should be watching for," Spar said.
To learn more about the education legislation the organization is monitoring during the legislative session, visit FEA’s website.