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Clay school board narrows 2025-26 legislative asks around teacher pay, CTE pay and special‑education support
Summary
Board members agreed to prioritize an 'increase' to teacher salary allocations, a targeted ask for industry‑certified CTE instructors and clearer, county‑specific requests for ESE funding; staff will attach numbers and a one‑page pamphlet for legislators.
The Clay County School Board discussed and refined its 2025–26 legislative priorities on funding, with members agreeing to elevate teacher pay as the top request and to prepare a focused packet for legislators.
Superintendent Dean told the board the district faced a series of fiscal pressures this year, including a midyear state shortfall and other statewide funding shifts: “In June 2025, the state actually shorted each district their financial disbursement… The total of that payment is $47,000,000,” he said, and he cited increased private‑school vouchers “roughly $30,000,000” as another pressure on the district’s budget.
Board members debated wording and order for the priority list. One member said the phrase “maintain and increase” understates the board’s intent and urged putting “increase” first. After discussion, board members asked staff to move a bullet on teacher pay to the top, change the wording to emphasize “increase,” attach a district cost estimate and rationale, and prepare a short, distributable pamphlet highlighting the local case for the ask.
The board also refined two other top priorities: provide “adequate funding to compensate industry‑certified CTE instructors” (to help recruit and retain instructors who can command higher industry wages) and targeted increases for educators who work with students with disabilities (ESE). Members asked staff to quantify local needs—one presenter suggested including Clay County data such as the district’s ESE share (about 21% of students, as discussed at the meeting) to show why the county’s request differs from other districts.
Board members discussed strategy for state advocacy. The group favored a two‑part approach: maintain a longer legislative priorities list (the full packet) while producing a shorter handout that zeros in on two or three top, fundable items. They asked staff to schedule a group meeting or financial workshop with the district’s Tallahassee delegation and to have the district chief financial officer present local figures when the board meets with lawmakers.
No formal vote was taken during the discussion; the board directed staff to revise the draft priorities, produce the cost attachments and pamphlet, and pursue coordinated outreach to local legislators before committee meetings begin.
Why it matters: School funding determines staff pay, class sizes and program capacity. Board members framed the narrower, numbered asks as a strategy to make a more compelling, evidence‑based case to the legislature and to distinguish Clay County’s needs from statewide requests.
