As the new school year approaches, Governor Ron DeSantis and Florida Education Commissioner Anastasios Kamoutsas are traveling across Florida on what has been called the “Blame Educators Tour.” The tour comes amid ongoing debates over teacher pay, school funding, and education policy in the state.
The Florida Education Association (FEA) has criticized the Governor’s approach to education issues. According to a statement from the FEA: “We’ve seen this before. Governor Ron DeSantis is going back to using fuzzy math to blame educators for the polices that hurt our public schools instead of focusing on real solutions for Florida’s students, families, and educators. The Governor and Florida Education Commissioner have decided to focus on the real villains: our children’s teachers, paraprofessionals, bus drivers, lunch staff, maintenance workers, and every other educator who helps make our communities and neighborhood public schools strong.”
The FEA emphasized that educators are not responsible for delays in salary increases. “Let us be clear: Educators are not to blame for the slow rollout of raises. They are the victims of it. Every educator in the state has one goal: To ensure that every child in Florida has access to a world class public education where they can thrive. It’s an uphill battle when public schools have to also grapple with underfunded districts, confusing state mandates, and last-minute changes from the state,” said the association.
Florida continues to rank last in average teacher pay among all states for two consecutive years. The FEA pointed out ongoing challenges such as rising healthcare costs for educators and financial difficulties faced by retirees.
“Educators are constantly being burdened by the state’s continual underinvestment in public schools. Florida ranks 50th in average teacher pay and has for two years running. Veteran educators are not being heard, healthcare costs are rising, and retirees are struggling, yet the Governor and Commissioner blame teachers and unions instead of owning the consequences of underfunding and poor policy,” stated FEA representatives.
Recent reports indicate that student performance on national assessments is declining, with SAT scores dropping along with lower results in math and reading tests.
The FEA also challenged claims about increased funding for teacher salaries. “Meanwhile, the Governor’s so-called ‘historic’ funding is just more fuzzy math. He keeps repeating that $5.6 billion has gone toward teacher pay. According to the Florida Department of Education’s records, the real cumulative figure is closer to $1.3 billion, which is a $4 billion exaggeration. This year’s allocation amounts to just $101 million statewide, which represents less than a 1% increase from the year prior. That works out to roughly $20 more per paycheck per teacher, which is a far cry from historic,” according to their statement.
The association concluded its remarks by calling for increased investment in public education: “Our students deserve better. They deserve bold, sustained funding for our public schools. Educators are not political pawns or enemies; they are professionals. And they deserve policies that reflect that, not weak excuses or blame.”
