Florida

https://www.orangecta.com/THE-STATE-OF-THE-SCHOOLS-FROM-OCCTA-S-PERSPECTIVE-6-20645.html?link_id=1&can_id=fa53717614d5936d328c5e0c58786411&source=email-news-and-updates-october-25-2021&email_referrer=email_1362483&email_subject=news-and-updates-november-19-2021

At last week’s OCPS State of the Schools event, Superintendent Barbara Jenkins said:

We hold our students and employees to the following values - equity, integrity, inclusion, collaboration, respect and innovation. These values also respect our culture and what we stand for.

Indeed, these values are at the core of a quality education and our students deserve nothing less. Unfortunately, these values are seldom exhibited or upheld in relationships that District leaders and administrators have with the teachers and with the Union that represents them. We must lead by example—we cannot truly hold our students and employees to these values if we do not hold District leaders and administrators to them.

The State of the Schools in Orange County, from the perspective of educators, is regrettably quite different than what was presented by OCPS. From teachers’ perspective, OCPS is in crisis. Here are just a few of the most prominent things teachers are saying about the state of our schools.

OCPS’ teacher shortage speaks to the true state of our schools. It short changes our educators, short changes our students and short changes Florida’s future.

The District has ignored teachers’ pleas to end the practices that have caused an endless stream of resignations and early retirements and the inability to recruit qualified educators. There are currently ten pages of instructional vacancies listed on the OCPS website and every week there are hundreds of unfilled substitute vacancies. Almost 700 teachers left OCPS since the beginning of the school year, and 2,099 resigned or retired last school year up about 22% from the previous school year. The public is ill-served when our teachers are not valued or provided livable wages that attract and retain qualified and dedicated educators. Our students deserve to be in a classroom with a skilled teacher, not a permanent substitute.

The teacher shortage is caused by a shortage of decent pay and benefits. A shortage of transparency and accountability. A shortage of time to complete mandated tasks. A shortage of autonomy. A shortage of deference to teacher voice. A shortage of respect. A shortage of the values that were touted by the Superintendent.
OCPS has treated teachers as disposable, replaceable labor units rather than as valued and respected professionals. Superintendent Jenkins characterized OCPS as a “premier local employer of choice.” Sadly, this has not been the case for some time as OCPS has earned a reputation as an autocratic, top-down district where teachers are not given a seat at the table. Teachers are leaving this District after their stressful and challenging employment experience at OCPS. It is telling that 92% of educators who responded to an OCCTA survey said they did not feel supported by District leaders. Recruitment and retention will remain critical until District leaders take the steps they have been urged to take, but have failed to take, for years.

The District’s decision not to budget for badly needed teacher raises is an affront to the families that keep this school system running.

District leaders acknowledge that teacher pay is too low and that there are very real and devastating inequities for veteran teachers. Yet OCPS refuses to use even one penny of District funds for a base salary increase. This is a choice.

The District consistently over-budgets leaving millions of dollars on the table, it has also consistently underestimated reserves and maintained at least 17% in its reserves fund for years when the statutory requirement is only 3%. The District is choosing to maintain a bloated piggy bank when these extra funds could be used to provide fair and competitive salaries.


***Folks, things are bad in Orange County schools. Please contact your school board member and tell them Barbara Jenkins works for them. They do NOT work for Barbara Jenkins. It’s time for this Board to stand up for teachers and after about 15 years, it’s time for Jenkins to go.