Florida's largest teachers union is calling the reopening of schools "unstable and chaotic."

In a press conference Friday morning, the Florida Education Association (FEA) said it's sending a letter to Gov. Ron DeSantis, asking him to keep school districts' funding in tact, despite many of them experiencing drops in enrollment.

"Things are very difficult," FEA President Andrew Spar said. "With these challenging times that we have, we need to have additional supports and assurances."

The union is asking the state to guarantee the state's education budget will not be cut this fiscal year.

Spar said they also want the state to continue funding protections put in place by the state's Emergency Reopening Order where money is based on enrollment estimates rather than current enrollment, which for many districts is down.

"We all know the current economic status in Florida is horrible, and the financial future of our already under-funded schools is in doubt," Spar asserted. "This is why some districts have implemented hiring freezes and increased class sizes while many other districts have implemented simultaneous teaching."

Stephanie Yocum, president of the Polk Education Association, said the state hasn't provided local districts with enough help for students who want to attend school remotely.

She said teachers are working everyday to try to make things work under, what she calls, "difficult conditions."​

"The forced reopening from the state down to our districts put everybody in a bind, and it's been chaos," said Yocum. "We need to know that our education budget is OK because we need to know that we can have the staff there to serve our students."

Amy Volpe has a daughter in the sixth grade who attends classes in person in Seminole County.

"This year I can see there's something different. Her anxiety is heightened. She's struggling in school, she's struggling to get help in school," Volpe said.

Spar also said the FEA is concerned about teachers resigning or taking leaves of absence.

He said some districts are facing teachers her shortages while at the same time being concerned about filling jobs because they fear budget cuts.

"Our public schools were not receiving the support they needed before, and these shortsighted and reactive mandates have only exasperated the situation," Spar said. "Districts are extremely concerned about possible cuts to this year's budget and are holding back spending in preparation."

The FEA filed a lawsuit against the state, claiming the emergency order to reopen brick-and-mortar schools was unconstitutional.

A judge ruled in favor of the FEA, but the lawsuit is currently going through the appeals process.

The governor's office issued a response to the FEA's letter that said:

"We welcome the FEA's acknowledgment that flexibility and financial stability, as outlined in the Emergency Order, are important. With this request, the FEA will hopefully end their lawsuit and other expensive, non-educational endeavors."

However, the FEA did not mention that it had any intention of dropping the lawsuit.

"Things are not working the way we think they should work and we will continue to speak out," said Spar.

A spokesperson at the Florida Department of education said education funding is not in danger.

"Governor DeSantis and Commissioner Corcoran will continue to be a champion of education in Florida and do what they know is in the best interest of our students parents and educators," department spokesperson Cheryl Etters said.