People set to protest School District of Lee County budget cuts

LEE COUNTY, Fla. —

The Lee County School District says the cuts are part of a realignment process to match the state’s funding model, where every dollar is tied to a student. Rob Spicker, spokesperson for the district, explained the reasoning behind the changes.

"We have to realign our budgets so that what we spend equals what the students bring in for each school. It's a yearly process," Spicker said.

District leaders have already cut nearly $16 million from their own offices, and the majority of the money went back into student support and last year's 7.7% teacher salary raise. Now they are asking schools to submit new budget plans focused on student achievement.

"For the realignment is designed to strengthen the classroom. A lot of what we're seeing is principals have turned in their preliminary budgets is that they have taken coaching positions and they have taken administrative positions and returned those people to the classroom to strengthen instruction. That's where the focus is, is to make sure that our students are still getting the best chance for the best education possible," Spicker said.

The process is ongoing, with school budgets being reviewed line by line and additional funding requests under consideration. The district reassures that student development will not be negatively impacted and arts programs will not be cut.

Kevin Daly, president of the Teachers Association of Lee County, expressed concerns about the effects of the cuts on education quality.

"How can services remain the same? At some point, we have to have the realization that the level of service is directly related to the people providing the services," Daly said.

The district says the budget gap stems from a loss of students, inflation, interest rates and rising costs, adding that districts statewide are facing similar challenges. Officials say they are working to fill the gap.

Protests are expected to begin at the school district building at 5:30 p.m. Wednesday.

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