SELL BLOOD PLASMA? Lee County school employees find ways to make ends meet

LEE COUNTY, Fla. — The Lee County Support Staff Association, SPALC, met at the Lee County School District headquarters. Their bargaining meeting did not result in a decision on what its workers’ wages should be.

The negotiations specifically affect people who work in schools in support staff roles. This includes jobs like custodians and cafeteria workers.

These people imagined working for Lee County Schools. Many of them say they sell blood plasma and find other odd jobs to make ends meet.

Patrice Coats works for Lee County Schools.

“It’s hard to see and hear some of the stories from my colleagues, sleeping in their cars, having to go home… It’s heartbreaking,” she said.

Judy Headlee is an accountant at a primary school.

“My base salary for a paycheck…I make about $1,200 and I take home $943,” she said.

The lowest wage for these workers is around $16 per hour and the highest is around $30 per hour.

SPALC’s request to the school district is to use a $10.3 million budget to give support staff workers a raise and reimburse them through July 1. These negotiations have been underway since April.

See Dominga Murray’s full report below:

SELL BLOOD PLASMA? Lee County school employees find ways to make ends meet

The district did not agree to this amount. According to Arlease Williams, president of SPALC, the district responded with a budget of $7.2 million.

Karen Dimock is another Lee County worker.

“I have a second job, like most of us. I also worked for a year and a half on just my salary until I qualified for a Social Security check, and it was very , very difficult,” Dimock said.

Lee County Schools said during the meeting that it wasn’t fair to other district members to ask the school board for more negotiating funds.

No settlement has yet been reached. This conversation has been going on since April.

“We haven’t seen an increase in our wages that can keep up with inflation, and that’s really not fair,” Headlee said.