Today, the Florida Education Association released a statement following the state board of education meeting held in Winter Park.
“FEA, our members and their local unions fight every single day to make sure all who work in public schools can have a better life, a professional salary and the respect they deserve. Florida’s parents and voters have overwhelmingly voiced their support for those very reasonable demands. Despite that, Florida’s teachers are among the lowest-paid in the nation.
“In an attempt to explain this disconnect, Florida Education Commissioner Manny Diaz has once again shifted blame from himself, Gov. DeSantis and the Florida legislature. Instead, he attacks teachers as the culprit for all the ills that plague public schools. Teachers— the ultimate bad guys when it comes to salary.
“At today’s State Board of Education meeting Commissioner Diaz was clear that in his mind, Florida’s teachers are the ones responsible for being ranked 48th in the nation in average teacher pay. Not a lack of funding from the state; not the billions of dollars the state gives to private schools; not any of the laws he championed as a legislator that prevent experienced teachers from being paid fairly. With Commissioner Diaz, the blame always lies with teachers.
“Let’s be honest about what the State Board of Education really means when they imply that teachers, staff and their unions are the ones responsible for their own low pay. They really mean that teachers should sit down, be submissive and quiet, and take whatever the state and their district offer them. That they should be happy with scraps and breadcrumbs. That they should be grateful for subpar health insurance. That they should continue to be content with a system that is making it harder for them to have a say in their own professions.
“The biggest affront to Commissioner Diaz and Governor DeSantis is that teachers have the audacity to speak up. Of course, it’s easy to blame the professionals who are advocating for our students and helping to create a better future for Florida- especially when these same elected officials have a legacy of failing our students and public schools.
“Teachers and education staff are tired of being vilified, demonized and condescended to for simply doing their jobs- insults made worse when they come from a body made up of Gov. DeSantis’ rubber stamps.
“The Florida Education Association would like to remind every elected and appointed official in the state that teachers will not back down.
“We will continue to fight for students, and their ability to learn and grow and thrive.
“We will continue to fight for our communities, which benefit from a robust public school system that helps bring people together.
“We will continue to fight for teachers, education staff professionals, bus drivers, counselors, media specialists and everyone in the public school system who deserves to be able to make a fair wage, have a voice in their working environment, retire with dignity and access healthcare for themselves and their families.
“Voters are listening they don’t feel public education is headed in the right direction and across party lines, feel that teachers and staff are treated so poorly in Florida that they should have the right to strike.
“We will not back down.”
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CONTACT: FEA Press, feapress@floridaea.org, (850) 201-3223
The Florida Education Association is the state’s largest association of professional employees, with 120,000 members. FEA represents PreK-12 teachers, higher education faculty, educational staff professionals, students at our colleges and universities preparing to become teachers and retired education employees.
