Tallahassee—The Reverend Al Sharpton will join leading educators from across the nation to rally for public schools at the Florida Capitol January 13, 2020. Sharpton, a renowned civil rights advocate, MSNBC commentator and President of the National Action Network will keynote the event according to Florida Education Association President Fedrick Ingram. “We are pleased to announce Reverend Sharpton’s participation in our fight. When you go to battle you need warriors. He joins other educators who know this effort is important to the future of this great state,” according to Ingram.
Florida has a severe and ongoing shortage of teachers, and as many as 300,000 students started school in August 2019 without a full-time, permanent teacher. Every student in Florida deserves to attend a fully staffed, fully funded school. Ingram has conducted a series of town halls and a bus tour to hear public concerns, garner support and received positive feedback.
“We want Florida lawmakers to know that we are serious about providing a quality education to our children in public schools. To do anything less would be to surrender them to failure. That’s not an option” Ingram said.
The Republican-controlled Legislature has drained 1.3 billion tax dollars from public schools and funneled the revenue into a host of voucher programs and private schools.
Thousands of supporters are expected to attend the march that begins at the Leon County Civic Center at 1:00 pm and proceeds to the rally on the steps of the Old Capitol at 1:30 pm. For more information go to FEAWeb.org/jan13.
