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School Leaders Beg For Relief

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By ADAM EMERSON | The Tampa Tribune

Published: October 22, 2008

Public school and community college leaders implored members of the state Board of Education on Tuesday to support their classrooms as Florida's economy sours.

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.

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

Florida's 28 community colleges have taken on nearly 70,000 new students this year, and 110,000 during the last two years, said Edwin Massey, chairman of Florida's Council of Community College Presidents.

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