Drivers Education classes, known to high school students for decades as “Driver’s Ed”, will only be available as an in-person class during the summer after this school year, Osceola County School District officials said.
The class will still be available to students during the school year through Osceola Virtual School. But some of those certified to teach the class at the five high schools where it is offered aren’t as positive about the change.
In order to provide a meaningful raise in teacher salaries for upcoming school year, the district is taking a hard look at its finances, and keeping programs that run lean, and possibly cut those that don’t provide a return on investment for students. One of those is the driver education program, which is partially state-funded through the Dori Slosberg Foundation, a non-profit public service group dedicated to traffic safety.
School Superintendent Dr. Debra Pace said that funding did not cover all the costs, and the district had to cover about $303,000 last year and $436,000 this year.
She said that across the five schools (Harmony, Osceola, Poinciana, St. Cloud, Tohopekaliga), enrollment in the second semester of this year ranged from 40-90 students per school, but noted it was higher in the first semester.
“We’re trying to prioritize dollars to increase teacher salaries, so we’re looking at every program very closely,” Pace said. “That’s what it’s going to take to really make a difference in salaries, in order to pay to keep talent and recruit new employees.”
Two teachers who have taught the class for over 50 years combined in Osceola County say the class is important to the safety of all drivers on the roads, not just the students.
“To me it’s one of the most important classes on campus,” said Osceola High’s Doug Nichols, who along with Victor Lorenzano (currently at Harmony High after teaching at a number of county schools) have taught the class since the mid 1990s.
Nichols said moving the class to the summer provides just 40 hours of instruction, and he was told the summer class at each school would only have 10 students.
“I had 25 kids come and talk to me about it (last Monday, when word came down),” he said. “I figure we teach 200 kids a year (at Osceola), so that’s 1,000 kids a year at the five schools.
Pace noted that instructors who teach the class through virtual school can each teach 250 students per year.
Lorenzano said teenagers need driver education now more than ever, and that the decision is in the best interest of students who are young, inexperienced drivers.
“Parents today simply are unable or choose not to take their children out to learn even the basic operation of a motor vehicle,” he said. “I can tell that many students will get into the car with me and not be even remotely aware of how to use a gas pedal, a brake, turn signals, windshield wipers, headlights, and most importantly, how to manipulate a steering wheel properly.”
