TALLAHASSEE, Fla. (WPEC) — As the new school year begins, almost every district in Florida is struggling to fill positions in elementary education, exceptional student education, and speech-language pathology, according to the Florida Education Association.
“When Governor DeSantis and Education Commissioner Manny Diaz Jr. pat themselves on the back because they have funded corporate-run schools and micro schools in strip malls, they are doing so at the expense of students in Florida's public schools by literally siphoning billions each year away from public schools. Make no mistake — this is on purpose,” said FEA President Andrew Spar.
Spar highlighted that nearly 5,000 classrooms in Florida are without professionally trained teachers, affecting over 100,000 students. He also mentioned that teachers are facing challenges with overcrowded classrooms.
The data reveals 5,007 instructional vacancies, with no positive movement in education support staff vacancies. The study reports that the shortage extends to various roles, including teacher aides, bus drivers, and substitute teachers.
"Teachers at my high school have close to and upwards of 200 students. For most of my career 150 students seemed like a lot. Now I have over 180. In a school of over 3,000 students, we have less than four English teachers for seniors. It is not the school's fault. We simply aren't being funded well enough — we are being set up to fail,” said David Finkle, a high school English teacher at DeLand High School.
FEA has called on lawmakers to increase funding by $2.5 billion annually for the next seven years to improve teacher salaries, hire more mental health specialists, and meet students' academic needs.
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