Parents, students and local leaders urge Hendry County School Board to save LaBelle fire academy and CTE classes

Dozens of students, parents and local officials pressed the Hendry County School Board to preserve the LaBelle High School Fire Academy and related career-technical education (CTE) classes, saying the programs build discipline, character and job skills that are not captured by traditional classroom measures.

Parents and students spoke during the board’s public-comment period, urging the board not to cut the honor guard, fire academy instructor Captain Snell’s position or the construction/trades classes. “It’s taught character. It’s taught me I can do things that I didn’t originally think I could do,” student Jacob Bishal said. Parent Rebecca Perkins said the instructor “stepped up when no one else did” for her child and other students.

The testimony included several specific appeals. Jackie Radica, who identified herself as a city commissioner from Lubbock, Florida, told the board the program had “shown him tremendous discipline” and that some students use the CTE classes as an alternative to college paths. Parent Apollo Hesser, a veteran, said cutting the program would “rob our children of their futures.” Board member Paul Samuels described his son’s four years in the fire academy and said the experience produced “character development changes.”

Superintendent Swindle told the board that district leaders value CTE but that the fire academy’s enrollment has fallen “below the break even point” for state funding and day-to-day sustainability. “We look at what’s known as the student load that a program or any class has,” Swindle said. “And classes have to maintain a minimum student load … to sustain the break even point for that said classroom teacher and the expenses that go along with it.”

The board did not vote to reinstate or fund the program at the meeting. Instead, trustees directed the superintendent and staff to calculate the exact annual cost to sustain the fire academy over multiple years and to meet with community partners who offered help, including the city of LaBelle and other local supporters. Swindle said administration would provide the dollar figure and options and return the information by the May 20 board meeting so the board could consider next steps.

Several speakers urged quick action. A parent told the board that the program had helped students with attendance, grades and behavior, and multiple speakers asked the board to seek community funding or in-kind support if the district cannot cover the cost. Superintendent Swindle said the district could provide the facility and students if a partner could supply funding or instructor support.

What was discussed: community testimony about student outcomes, discipline and post‑high‑school pathways; district explanation that the program is currently financially unsustainable at present enrollment; and a board direction to staff to calculate costs and explore community partnerships.

What was decided: no formal funding decision was made; the board asked the superintendent to return with exact sustainability figures and to work with community partners with a target report-back on the May 20 agenda.