by Kathy Foster
“We are here today to stand for a common cause – to fund public education.”
Above is the message that Washington County educators were putting forth Wednesday morning as they gathered at the flagpole at Roulhac Middle School in Chipley to draw attention to the need for additional funding for Florida’s schools.
Organizers said schools all across the state were participating Wednesday morning in walk-ins like theirs to bring the focus on Florida’s public schools, students, and educators.
“In terms of education, we are at a crisis point in Florida and too many of our children – Florida’s future – are not receiving the educational opportunities promised to them,” said Linda Mincey of the Washington County Education Association.
Mincey added, “Even though costs and demands have risen, our state invests less per student now than before the recession over a decade ago. This is embarrassingly low, and the state is failing our students.”
According to the Education Association the following is a sample of what a lack of funding has brought:
- Florida ranks 42nd in total education spending per pupil and 51st in public school revenue for every $1,000 of in-state personal income. In other words, no other state collects less to support public schools than Florida, even though Florida has the 7th largest economy in the U.S.
- Florida’s average teacher salary is over $10,000 less than the national average. Average salaries are $8,000 higher in Georgia and $3,000 higher in Alabama.
- Florida started this school year with more than 4,000 teacher vacancies statewide … and the State projects over 10,000 teacher vacancies at the end of this school year.
The Teacher’s Union says these trends have to be reversed and the dismantling of our public schools has to end.
The teachers said, “That’s why we are standing here – united – to ask our legislators and Governor DeSantis to invest in our traditional public schools by advocating for a 10% increase in per-student funding which equals $743. Doing so would be taking a critical first step to help over 90% of Florida’s children who still attend public schools.”
The educators also made it clear they would continue to provide students with a high-quality education despite the challenges and unfunded mandates facing them daily.
They added, “There is a duty to provide great public schools for all children, and together we will continue to hold our legislators accountable for Florida’s children.”