TALLAHASSEE, Fla. (WPEC) — As the new school year begins, nearly all school districts in Florida are struggling to fill elementary education, special education and speech therapy positions, according to the Florida Education Association.

“When Governor DeSantis and Secretary of Education Manny Diaz Jr. pat themselves on the back for funding corporate-run schools and microschools in shopping malls, they are doing so at the expense of Florida public school students by literally draining public schools of billions each year. Make no mistake – this is intentional,” said FEA President Andrew Spar.

Spar stressed that nearly 5,000 classrooms in Florida lack professionally trained teachers, affecting over 100,000 students. He also mentioned that teachers face challenges with overcrowded classrooms.

The data shows that 5,007 teaching positions are vacant, while there is no positive trend in teaching staff positions. The study reports that the shortage extends to various roles, including teaching assistants, bus drivers and substitute teachers.

“The teachers at my high school teach close to 200 students or more. For most of my career, 150 students seemed like a lot. Now I have over 180. In a school with over 3,000 students, we have fewer than four English teachers for the graduating class. That’s not the school’s fault. We’re just not adequately funded – we’re being set up to fail,” said David Finkle, an English teacher at DeLand High School.

The FEA called on lawmakers to increase funding by $2.5 billion annually over the next seven years to improve teacher pay, hire more mental health specialists and meet students’ academic needs.