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Education Leaders Press State Board On Financial Support

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Published: October 21, 2008

Updated: 10/21/2008 11:14 am

TAMPA - Public school and community college leaders implored members of the state Board of Education today to keep their eyes on more money for schools and more support for classrooms as Florida's economy continues to sour.

One after one, college presidents and school superintendents barraged the board with stories of crowded classrooms, frozen wages, overtaxed teachers and administrators worried about their jobs and benefits.

For the state's community colleges, the deteriorating economy has sent more workers back to a higher education. But coupled with a university system's determination to cap enrollment, the influx of students has challenged the colleges' ability to meet demand.

Polk Community College President Eileen Holden said her school hired 95 more adjunct faculty members this year to accommodate the enlarged student body, which has grown more than 22 percent over the last few years. The county has a 7.9 percent unemployment rate, Holden said.

"We're leasing portable buildings for the first time in [the college's] history," Holden said.

All education sectors are feeling the pinch. Hillsborough schools Superintendent MaryEllen Elia, in responding to a board member's call to become more efficient, said that public schools have suffered a 12.6 percent cut to their collective budgets.

"I'm all for efficiency," Elia said. "When you begin cutting 12.6 percent, you don't get to the efficiency issue. You go much deeper than this."

Reporter Adam Emerson can be reached at (813) 259-8285.

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