LABELLE, Fla. — Keeping the lights on at schools like LaBelle High could soon cost a lot more, and the Hendry County School District says the cost could come straight out of the classroom.
Fox 4’s Hendry County Community Correspondent Austin Schargorodski works in the area daily, so the district reached out to him, concerned that Florida Power & Light’s proposed rate hikes could take money away from teachers and students.
Watch to hear how Hendry County schools say the proposed rate hike would affect the district:
FPL has proposed a four-year rate hike plan that would start in 2026. Superintendent Mike Swindle said if approved, Hendry County Schools’ power bill would jump by $211,000.
“The only way we can meet that is by cutting positions, and what that equates to is three and half teaching positions,” said Swindle.
Schargorodski previously reported on the teacher shortage Hendry County is already facing, which the district says is due to a lack of affordable housing. With the proposed hike, Swindle said it might not be possible to offer attractive salaries or give raises to help retain staff.
“This has all types of impacts that will affect the academic standings and eventually the education of our students,” Swindle said.
And the concern goes beyond Hendry County. Collier County Public Schools say they’d pay $2 million more in year one alone, which they say is enough to cover 37 teachers. Schargorodski took those concerns to FPL spokesperson Bryan Garner.
“There’s never a good time for a rate increase, and what we want our customers to know - both our school customers and residential customers - is that we’re working every single day to make sure we’re delivering reliable energy, a resilient grid, and keeping bills as low as possible,” said Garner.
Garner said the hike would fund grid upgrades and help prepare for 300,000 new customers by 2030. To help schools, he says FPL is working to reduce their energy use.
“Making sure they’re on the right rate for how they use power - how much power they use and at what times of day,” Garner said.
But Swindle said he’s taking his concerns to the Public Service Commission, the state regulator in charge of approving rate hikes.
“Ultimately what we want to see is this brought down as low as possible, so it has little impact to school districts, businesses, and residents,” Swindle said.
The PSC is expected to make a decision on the plan later this year.
