Wednesday evening about 100 people gathered on Colonial Boulevard in Fort Myers outside the Lee County School District offices to protest budget cuts.
To chants of "Hey hey, ho ho, budget cuts have got to go" and plenty of honking horns from cars passing by, concerned citizens waved signs.
Their complaints ranged from concern over the future of arts programs to teacher layoffs, the “cluster” model for special education, hirings of lobbyists and new administrators and a lack of transparency in the budget reduction process.
For Kristin Lother and her son Ronin, it was quite personal.
"We are here because he goes to Edison Park Creative and Expressive Art School, and we love art, right? What do you want to be when you grow up?" she asked Ronin.
"An artist," he said.
"He wants to be an artist, and we don't want to see the arts get taken away from him or any other kid in the district," Lother said.
Eileen McHenry was critical of the system’s hiring practices and was worried about the future of arts and special programs.
"I'm here to protest the lack of transparency of our school administration. It seems there's been a lot of hiring of high-level administrators. And at the same time, they're closing programs for kids, whether they're arts programs or psychological support or special needs programs," McHenry said.
School board member Debbie Jordan was in attendance to listen to people's concerns, she said.
Todd Dusenberry, a teacher at Cypress Lake High School in Fort Myers, was still reeling from a meeting held earlier in the day.
"Today at Cypress Lake High School, we had our faculty meeting and we cut 24 positions at our school and over $2 million of the budget for 18. And I want to say it again, 18 student difference from this year to next year. $2 million. Do the math."
While the system wrestles with a budget deficit in the tens of millions – exacerbated by the state Legislature’s lack of passing a budget and subsequent uncertainty about how much the system will receive– it’s no doubt the questions will continue.
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