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Teachers and staff fill Volusia boardroom to demand higher pay, better staffing and classroom safety
Summary
More than two dozen employees, substitutes and supporters used the board's public comment period at the Oct. 14 Volusia County School Board meeting to press for higher pay, relief from large class sizes and improved responses to classroom violence. Speakers described chronic vacancies, heavy workloads and incidents of student assaults on staff.
Dozens of teachers, school employees and community members addressed the Volusia County School Board on Oct. 14, sharply criticizing district pay offers and describing working conditions they said are undermining student learning and staff retention.
Speakers pressed the board for raises larger than a proposed 1.5% increase and urged more aggressive hiring to reduce chronic vacancies and oversized classes. Multiple classroom teachers described taking on second jobs, selling plasma to pay bills and working long unpaid hours to keep up with grading and documentation.
"We are not data points for your social media post," said Robert Sabatino, a classroom teacher who described caring for a sick parent while maintaining high test scores. "We will not just do better. We will demand better." Sabatino's remarks were one of several…
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