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Maintenance staff, bus drivers and a former teacher press Lee County School Board on pay, routing and curriculum limits
Summary
During public comment at the Jan. 7 Lee County School Board meeting, a maintenance worker and a bus driver raised concerns about pay cuts, payroll and routing software; a former teacher warned against narrowing curriculum amid state pressures.
At the Jan. 7 Lee County School Board meeting, three public commenters used the public comment period to raise concerns about employee pay and benefits, problems with transportation routing and payroll systems, and curriculum restrictions.
Robert Riks, a maintenance worker who identified himself as a district employee, said starting pay for maintenance was cut from "2204 to start" to "2199," which he described as a pay cut. He said recent raises left many staff behind inflation and criticized the local union representation. "By cutting the 5¢ off, probably a good portion of people only got their 5, 6 percent raise," Riks said, adding that he believes union recognition levels are low. He urged the board to address pay and staffing concerns for long-serving maintenance employees.
Anthony Call, who identified himself as a bus driver, said the district's routing and timekeeping systems do not reflect real road and traffic conditions and create payroll disputes. "The computer system that these poor routing people have is garbage," Call said, adding that the system sometimes schedules routes that take "an hour and a 125 minutes to do" and that drivers must clock in multiple times on separate devices. "When those systems don't integrate to our payroll ... I have to fight for my payroll," he said, urging the board to examine routing and payroll integration.
Former teacher Mike Andesha spoke about curriculum and the district's role in preparing students for a globalized world. He reviewed the historical expansion of public education and said current pressures in Florida are pushing to narrow classroom content. "If we want to have a world-class education system, we need to find ways of expanding the curriculum," Andesha said.
Attorney Brie Bruno and the board reminded speakers of public comment rules, including time limits and decorum; the record shows the board's public comment policy and time limits (board policy 0169.1 and 01 69.1) were read to the audience before comments began.
Board members acknowledged the concerns during "good of the order," with members saying staff will continue to review transportation and maintenance operations.
The public comment period continued with other speakers on special education and community initiatives.
