BY DAN HILDEBRAN
Clay County public school teachers staged a protest before the school board’s November 6 meeting and then complained to the board about its offer to pay instructors during the session at Fleming Island High School.
They said the offer would give zero raises to 45% of teachers and leave veteran educators with increases they called insulting.
School board raise criticized
Shana Bell noted that school board members recently received a $1,457 raise.
“I’m asking each and every one of you to make the hard but honorable decision to turn down your raise of $1,457,” she told board members.
Bell also claimed that the St. Johns County school board approved raises of $4,500 to $8,888 for its teachers.
“A 20-year veteran teacher in Clay County receives only $800,” she said. “What will happen to our community when the employees of Clay County’s largest employer can no longer afford to live in the communities in which they serve? What is going to happen when those same employees can no longer support the businesses that support us? How will Clay County continue to grow and thrive? We can’t.”
Victoria Thompkins also compared teachers’ pay to the compensation of school board members.
“For school board members who are elected officials to a voluntary part-time job to be making almost the same amount as a teacher is egregious,” she said. “You have many teachers working a second or even third job just to survive.”
The union and district have reached an impasse over pay. The Clay County Education Association is asking for a $1,500 raise across the board.
Teachers want safety and security millage funds
Several speakers challenged the district’s claim that state safety and security millage funds cannot be used for teacher salaries, arguing that teachers are the first line of defense in emergencies.
“We de-escalate arguments,” said Mary Alice Howell, “notice when a student seems off and step between (fighting) students and flying furniture, all while teaching, grading, and managing the emotional climate of a classroom. We complete safety training on bloodborne pathogens, human trafficking, mental health, first aid, Life Act, bleed control kits, Narcan administration, and de-escalation strategies. We handle medical crises, emotional crises, and everything in between because our students’ safety is literally in our hands. So, when I hear that teachers shouldn’t receive salary funding from the safety and security millage because we’re not safety personnel, I have to ask, What do you think we’re doing all day?”
Superintendent: we have no money
Superintendent David Broskie presented budget data showing the state increased funding by just 0.78% this year—less than 1%—while inflation ran 2.9%. He said vouchers have cost the district $30 million.
“Florida ranks 50th in funding for teacher pay. It ranks 43rd overall for per-student funding,” he said.
He showed the district has reinvested $49 million in employees over the past six years and increased health insurance contributions by $14 million while keeping premiums flat.
“You deserve more than that. I know that,” Broskie told the crowd. “But at the same time, we are trying to increase revenue, and of course, we have to decrease expenses. There are only two ways out of it.”
The district eliminated 242 positions this year, cut budgets 20% across the board, and canceled contracts to close a budget gap.
School board member is tired of the emails
Board member Michele Hanson, who taught in Clay County for nearly 20 years, pushed back on suggestions that the board doesn’t understand teachers’ struggles.
“I taught in Clay County for nearly 20 years, 80 hours a week, teaching English to kids who can’t read,” Hanson told the crowd. “When I left the classroom in my 19th year, I made $48,300. My daughter has a master’s and lives with me at my house with my two grandkids.”
She said she’s tired of emails suggesting board members don’t understand the plight of teachers.
“This board absolutely understands. The superintendent absolutely understands,” she said. “You are close to our hearts and always in our thoughts, and we’ll work hard to fix it.”
