Parents and teachers packed the Martin County School Board meeting to push board members to support a property tax hike on this fall's ballot and commit a portion of that money to teacher raises.
The school board says they can't make that promise and the group should be focusing their efforts in Tallahassee, where the biggest school funding decisions are made.
On average, Martin County teachers make around $39,000, but some are leaving for higher-paying jobs in other counties.
"When we lose these teachers, not only are we doing a huge disservice to our community, our children but our school grades are going to go down," said a parent.
Parents and teachers told WPTV they plan to bring their fight to county commissioners next Tuesday.
