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Okeechobee schools, college and foundations press delegation for operations, safety and facility funds
Summary
Superintendent Dylan Tedders, Indian River State College and local education foundations urged Okeechobee's legislative delegation to support base student allocation increases, bus-funding, school safety grants, career-technical education funding and PECO and construction funding for Okeechobee High School and college projects.
Dylan Tedders, superintendent of Okeechobee County Schools, told the Okeechobee County Legislative Delegation on Wednesday that the district needs ongoing state help to cover rising costs, fully fund bus transportation and continue safety and career-technical investments as federal COVID funds expire.
The funding matters because the district is carrying a large facility project and cited operational pressures — teacher salary, insurance and retirement costs — that the district said state funding offsets would help address.
Superintendent Dylan Tedders said the district supports increasing the base student allocation and asked the delegation to back full funding for bus transportation and safety programs. "Our current system now in Okeechobee is our high school begins at 7, elementary begins at 8, and middle school begins at 9. That system works for us," Tedders said, arguing that shifting start times could disrupt bus tiers and student activities. He also thanked the delegation for support of the Okeechobee High School project, currently in phase two of a $107,000,000 plan.
Andrew Treadwell, speaking for Indian River State College, asked for operational funding increases after two years without an increase and outlined three PECO requests: a $7,400,000 Science Center renovation (previously funded), a $6,200,000 deferred-maintenance request and a $733,000 radio-tower replacement in Okeechobee. Treadwell also said the college is completing a state group insurance transition for employees and asked the delegation to help finalize back-of-the-bill fixes.
Elena Baron of the Education Foundation of Okeechobee described local programs funded through the School District Education Foundation Matching Grant Program and a one-time Hope Ambassadors grant that supported a fire CTE academy, a public safety cadet program and a resiliency coach at Okeechobee High School. Baron asked the delegation to support increasing recurring statewide matching grant funds to $10,000,000 to sustain and expand locally driven projects.
The delegation did not take formal votes at the meeting. Staff members asked education presenters to submit cost spreadsheets, timelines and matching-fund commitments to help prioritize items during the session.
Presenters noted several technical bills and administrative details they want monitored, including House Bill 1473 on school safety language (door-locking and monitoring) and continued work on deregulation items that affect district implementation timelines.
