Teachers, union raise alarms about class sizes, staffing cuts and rising workload in Alachua County

Teachers, paraprofessionals and the local union told the Alachua County School Board on Oct. 7 that rising class sizes, cuts to support staff and the rapid introduction of new programs have created operational strain and are harming student instruction.

Kristen Maine, a social studies teacher at Lofton High School, told the board she started the school year "with 38 freshmen in a classroom with 28 desks for two weeks." "When class sizes exceed reasonable limits because staffing decisions are delayed or restricted, students are the ones that ultimately pay the price," Maine said, and she urged the board to release needed sections earlier and to begin a transparent superintendent search so policy changes are not implemented without long-term leadership.

Union president Carmen Ward said the Alachua County Education Association and bargaining teams have reached a tentative agreement on some pay and contract language but remain concerned about working conditions and the risk of losing "highly effective teachers". Ward said the union will press for contract enforcement and warned that inadequate respect for both pay and working conditions will drive experienced staff to leave.

Teachers and speakers described a heavy pile of new requirements this year: new curricula and platforms (including references to "Magna Math," an updated ISIP/iStation platform, new assessment procedures and "focus boards") and more mandated meetings, all of which speakers said have been added without adequate training or planning. Kara Ryan, a third-grade teacher at Wiles Elementary, said the start of the year has been "the most chaotic and unorganized" in her 10 years of teaching and that teachers are doing unpaid overtime to keep up.

Leanne Rhone, a teacher of the deaf, said personal cell phones often do not receive service inside school buildings and that some teachers cannot receive timely safety alerts at their own schools because of mobile coverage gaps. "We have to think outside the box when it comes to connecting people at schools with those alerts," she said.

Jana Evans highlighted cuts to paraprofessional positions and cited a specific case in which a media aide who also proctored tests and covered lunchroom duty had her position cut; she said the salary saved by that cut "would be equal to our superintendent's total one-month salary." Evans warned that mandated IEP goals for special education students are not being met in some cases because of missing staff.

Several speakers urged the board to address long-term substitute pay. Board member remarks later in the meeting echoed that concern: a board member asked staff to consider options to raise long-term-substitute pay to reflect the full responsibilities those teachers assume.

Board members acknowledged receipt of a widely circulated teacher email describing workload and implementation problems and said they wanted staff to consider practical steps to reduce teacher burdens while sustaining district priorities. The superintendent and staff said they would work with the board on next steps; no immediate staffing or pay changes were approved at the Oct. 7 meeting.

Speakers asked the board also to begin a transparent search for a permanent superintendent; several said the district is "drifting" without a permanent leader while important policy changes are implemented. The board did not start a formal search during the meeting, though members discussed placing it on a future agenda.