Red for Ed Wednesdays Return
(August 1, 2023) INVERNESS, FL -- Citrus County Education Association is calling for all public education advocates to recommit to the Wear Red for Ed campaign through the 2023-2024 school year. Red for Ed is both a statewide and national effort to draw much needed attention to the funding crisis which is impacting classrooms across the country. Wearing red on Wednesdays throughout the year is a show of solidarity and a visible reminder of the ongoing struggle to appropriately fund public education.
In designating Wednesdays as our Wear Red for Ed day each week, CCEA is joining millions of voices in fighting for our nation's public schools and the students they serve. Here in Florida, the facts are alarming:
- Currently ranked 48th in the nation in average teacher pay
- Nearly 50,000 education support professionals earning wages below the national poverty level
- Ranked 43rd in the nation in per student spending (2022)
- The 2022-23 school year began in Florida with more than 10,000 teacher vacancies
Public education advocates are banding together to remind our communities and our elected officials that the future is in our classrooms today. The time to invest in our neighborhood public schools is now. It's time to fund our future.