- April 25, 2024
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They sounded like they were describing two different school districts: From behind the dais, Flagler Schools' leadership opened a School Board meeting Aug. 25 with talk of a "fantastic" first day of school and a hope for a wonderful year.
"There's a difference between policy and what we say we're doing, and what actually happens in the school."
— JILL WOOLBRIGHT
But on the other side of the dais, or speaking through comments submitted online, district teachers and support staff spoke of inadequate protective equipment and cleaning supplies, classrooms too full to allow social distancing, students who went maskless on campus, and instructors stressed by the demands of teaching in-classroom students simultaneously with remote-learning students who were watching over a webcam.
Two subjects of discontent among district staff — over the School Board's refusal to grant support staff a requested raise, and over the district's handling of logistical mundanities that had suddenly become important safety matters, like the distribution of soap and hand sanitizer — had converged into a swell of frustration that faced the board at its Aug. 25 meeting as comment after comment referred to the district's actions as a "slap in the face" and accused the board of failing its employees.
The dichotomy between the staff's and the district administration's take on the reopening process caught the attention of Jill Woolbright, a Flagler Schools teacher who retired this year and will in November be seated on the School Board.
"There is a definite problem with morale," Woolbright said near the end of the meeting, after teachers had complained of cleaning supply shortages and large class sizes. "...The people face-to-face every day with the children — the bus drivers, the cafeteria people, the custodians, the teachers, the non-instructs, the bookkeepers — they're the ones in the trenches, and they don't think that you really care ... and they really don't think you hear them."
She added, "There's a huge disconnect between what you're hearing and seeing and what's in black-and-white policy, and what goes on in the buildings. ... When I sit and listen to this PPE stuff ... they’re not in the schools. I don’t know where they are. You heard what they get: They get a bottle of hand sanitizer and a mask. ... We need to work on morale, and the boots on the ground need to believe that you care."
"We have so many individuals who have spent a lifetime giving of themselves to education and to students, who have had to step away."
— COLLEEN CONKLIN, School Board member
Woolbright and Cheryl Massaro — who was also elected to a board position but is yet to be seated — urged the district to grant an additional 1% for a raise for support staff, saying it would be a way to show staff that they're valued as the board asks them to work under the added stress of the pandemic. (The union had asked for 5%, but the board had offered 1%, leading to an impasse.)
An exchange during the first public comment of the meeting outlined some of the tensions between staff and leadership.
Mella Baxter, a teacher, had approached the podium to speak. Baxter wore a mask.
School Board Chairwoman Janet McDonald suggested that Baxter lower it so that she could be heard more clearly over the microphone. McDonald has drawn some community members' anger for downplaying the seriousness of COVID-19 and appearing on school campuses outside without a mask on. (The district is not requiring masks on campus when people are more than 6 feet apart.)
"I want to make a request," McDonald had said to Baxter. "For our recording, it's very challenging to hear clearly through a mask, so if you — while you're alone, if you feel comfortable — please, so that we can understand you clearly, please just lower your mask —"
"I'm not going to lower my mask," Baxter interjected. "My whole point with this is protecting my parents, so I'm not going to be taking my mask off."
Baxter said she was speaking to oppose the district's decision not to offer remote instruction options for teachers who are more susceptible to COVID-19 or who are caretakers for people who are at risk. Baxter, concerned about conditions on campus, is taking leave for the first quarter of the year, at reduced pay.
"I would like to say that I’m here tonight to thank you for making my life easier, but I’m not, because you didn’t," she told the board. "I begged you to give teachers a completely virtual version of teaching, like the students have for learning, to protect our teachers who are immune-compromised, to protect my parents who are immune compromised who I have to take care of. But you didn't. You failed me. The district failed me. You failed a lot of us."
Katie Hansen, a teacher at Indian Trails Middle School and head of the Flagler County Educators Association, said teachers were feeling with "an overwhelming lack of support" from the district.
"It is just day two. I ask for patience. Every school year, the first 10 days of school is a balancing act for all of us."
CATHY MITTELSTADT, Flagler Schools superintendent
"Our classes are oversized, with kindergarten classes reaching 24, middle school classes reaching 33, with little-to-no hope of actually distancing desks 4, let alone 6 feet," Hansen said. "Thank you to teachers for creating an atmosphere that is inviting, despite the overwhelming lack of cleaning supplies that were promised to teachers to ensure a clean and safe learning environment for our children. I got one single bottle of hand sanitizer and one mask."
Four classes of students come through Hansen's classroom each day using the same desks, which aren't cleaned in between classes, she said. The lack of PPE and sanitation materials in the classrooms has prompted teachers and supporters to organize a donation drive to stock them. (Unopened, unscented disinfectant wipes and hand sanitizer are being collected at Sally's Ice Cream on State Road A1A in Flagler Beach, The Realty Shop at the U-Haul location at 5845 E. State Road 100, and Good Vibes Nutrition in St. Joe Plaza, according to a flyer. For details, email [email protected].)
District superintendent Cathy Mittelstadt appealed to staff members and community members to give the district a chance to work things out and balance out class sizes over the next 10 days.
"I implore our parents to continue to show us grace," she said. "... It is just day two. I ask for patience. Every school year, the first 10 days of school is a balancing act for all of us. ... And this year COVID-19 has a different routine, but we are standing up to that challenge and moving forward."
Board member Colleen Conklin said it's important that the district take the time to get staffing formulas worked out and let things settle down, but also acknowledge staff members' frustrations and aggressively address their concerns.
"In education right now, we have so many individuals who have spent a lifetime giving of themselves to education and to students, who have had to step away," Conklin said. "And there’s just something heartbreaking about that. That's not the way you want someone to go out in their career. So I just want them to know, from the bottom of my heart, how much I appreciate their service and their dedication."
The district is looking into the complaints about a lack of PPE and cleaning supplies, she said.
She noted that kids will pick up on adults' energy at school — a good reason to make things "as positive as possible, while not putting our heads in the sand," she said.
"Give leadership some time and an opportunity to address those things," she said. "It’s going to be an interesting school year, but it can be a great school year. ... So while folks are frustrated, please know that it’s not for a lack of trying, and people are working tirelessly behind the scenes. We're dealing with a situation we've never dealt with before. So: compassion and grace, and let's have a great school year."
