Sixteen months ago, during the first half of a normal workday, education professionals and students were excited about Friday the 13th because it marked the day before Spring Break would begin in 2020.  A whole week to fill with activities with family, friends, traveling, youth livestock shows, and some well-deserved rest and relaxation.  However, the second half of the last day before the much anticipated break brought forward a looming cloud of uncertainty—COVID-19.

COVID-19, is a virus that in its infancy was compared to a common cold, however as we turned on the news to gather more information it would appear that this virus was soon causing so much alarm that we began to see reports of professional sports seasons being postponed or completely canceled.  Like dominoes lined up and falling one after another, we began to see other businesses and venues for large crowds close their doors, including Walt Disney World.

While we wondered where the list of closings would end, we experienced the one we were not prepared for, the possible closing of schools.  Our institutions of learning were threatened by COVID-19, especially since it had recently been declared a pandemic.  So what happened to our schools and the education of our children?  Who or what could continue against such odds and huge potential risks, some even life threatening?  The answer, your education professionals.

We say education professionals because it takes a village to teach a child, and in Okeechobee we have a lot of children that depend on our public school system as a means for a brighter future.  Without any real training our district asked our education professionals if they could rise to the occasion and continue to provide an education to our students amid the pandemic.  As one of those teachers I envisioned it like being lined up in front of your leader and they say, “…there will be many risks, and I won’t ask you to come if you’re afraid, but if you are able and moved, step forward!” And we all stepped forward, not for us, but for the students of our community, our home.

At the drop of a dime we learned how to use computer programs like ZOOM to host classes and connect with kids at home.  While platforms like Google Classroom and Schoology were being used by a handful of teachers across the county in different schools, it soon became vital technology that our teachers became better at.  There was a lot of collaboration between new and veteran teachers, with veteran teachers taking a heavy lead guiding the new teachers so that they would not feel discouraged or overwhelmed.    

Against surmounting odds, the public schools of Okeechobee made the education of our children a priority.  Bus drivers, cafeteria workers, and other non-instructional educational staff were used to help deliver or distribute meals to our students at various locations throughout town, five days a week, for the entire summer.  Buses were set up with hotspots to assist communities of our students with no internet access.  As I said earlier, it takes a village and our education professionals answered the call.

OCEA President Jorje Botello

As president of the Okeechobee County Education Association (OCEA) I feel that it is important that our community remember and acknowledge the amount of work that all of our education professionals poured into their jobs to ensure continuity of education for our children.  The health and safety of our staff and students were paramount in the 2020-2021 negotiations as we faced this pandemic with an Executive Order from Governor DeSantis to reopen all “Brick and Mortar” schools.  OCEA and the district worked hard to create the safest possible environment for all, which included three options to keep your child in public education;  Option 1—face to face in the classroom with a teacher, Option 2—allowed students to participate via Zoom, and Option 3—Okeechobee Virtual School.

The 2020-2021, school year began and ended much different to any other regular school year, and we couldn’t help but ask if this was the new normal?  Even if it were, one thing proved true, our public education professionals value the education and safety of your children.  

The year 2020, was declared by Governor DeSantis as the “Year of the Teacher” yet recently he awarded money in the form of Disaster Relief, only to teachers and principals.  The Florida Education Association (FEA) one of our Union affiliates, had advised him that this would create discord and divide our school professionals, including many who had done their part to keep our schools open and running, were not awarded this bonus money.  When OCEA asked the district about those who did not receive the bonus, the district immediately recognized their opportunity to right this wrong, done from Tallahassee.  

It is Tallahassee that brings me to my final point, last year Governor DeSantis passed legislation that would raise the minimum base salary for a first-year teacher to $47,500 in all 67 counties in Florida.  This would move Florida’s position in pay nationally, however would only happen if ALL counties could go that high, but only a handful were able to meet the new base pay or at least come close.  At the end of OCEA and the district’s negotiations in 2020-2021, the base pay salary was moved from $41,000 to $45,125, however it created a move that made teachers from 0-8 years of experience to be paid the same as a first-year teacher; a slight if ever there was one.  Veteran teachers with 10 or more years of experience only received $2,175, while newer teachers received double that amount or a little more.  

The decision to make those increases came from the state and took the wind out of the sails of many of our veteran teachers, who have taught generations of students in our beloved city.  This year’s language from the Florida House of Representatives, House Bill 5101 (HB 5101), has placed an even tighter grip on money that could be given to veteran teachers and staff, which even the district said something along the lines of, “…that’s Tallahassee, that’s not Okeechobee”.   

So I’m asking you, the members of the community, to follow and support OCEA as they go into their second and third round of negotiations.  Your presence at negotiations may help our district use some of the excess of their Reserve Fund Balance, which should only be 3%, to give our veteran teachers the proper raise they deserve for their experience, which is being held captive by language from Tallahassee.

The district cannot do anything about what Tallahassee has done with the money that we have to negotiate, but the district can and is able to take care of their own, like they said at the negotiation table earlier in September…that’s Tallahassee, that’s not Okeechobee.  As we enter our negotiations with the district again this year, as president of OCEA I would like to encourage you to support the education professionals that didn’t give up when all was lost.  Help us by taking action. Call your school board members, ask them to give their support and counsel the district to properly reward the staff that didn’t give up when all seemed lost, especially the veteran teachers.  Our third round of negotiations will be Oct. 7 at 5pm at the District Office. We also have future negotiations set for Oct 21 and 26.  We hope to see you there, to support those that support your children’s future.  Thank you for your time.