Local education employees protest for higher wages

There is a “Sea of Red” along Metro Ave. and Colonial Blvd. that consists of local teachers, bus drivers, union members and more. They have one goal: to make their voices heard as the 2019 legislative session is set to begin.

But the low pay isn’t something new for the education field.

“Anyone who goes into education,” said Kevin Daly, President of the Teacher Association of Lee County, “understands they aren’t going to get rich doing the craft they love.”

Daly’s passion for education led him to a 22-year career teaching special needs students in Lee County. But with a starting salary of $40,000, making ends meet is an everyday struggle.

“When you look at the rate of pay for teachers and support staff in Florida, it’s 45th in the nation in teacher pay and 47th in educational support pay,” Daly said. “Certainly, a move toward the national average would be helpful.”

The entry pay for teachers in Port Charlotte, for instance, is slightly higher than Charlotte as teachers can being compensated somewhat over $41,000.

It is a different story for bus drivers and other support staff.

“Our bus drivers are going to go to $16 an hour,” said Jamie Michael, president of Support Personnel of Lee County. “The bus drivers in Collier County are trying to come here because they are only guaranteed 5 hours at just over $14 an hour.”

Daly hopes this legislative session can bring change to allow teachers not to have financial problems by devoting more time to their jobs.

“A lot of teachers have second jobs,” Daly said. “At some point that also causes them to not be the best employee they can be because they were out late working.”