ORLANDO, Fla. — Like many in the profession, Orange County high school dean Ledara Royal feels teaching is more than just a job.

“I felt that this has been my destiny and my calling,” he said. 

But going into the new school year, he’s starting to doubt that.

“For the first time, I’m having to ask myself some serious questions,” Royal said. 

They are serious questions about the job he’s devoted his life to, because yet again, he feels like teachers in Orange County Public Schools won’t be paid what they’re worth after an extremely challenging year.

“We’re not asking for much, we’re not asking to be rich, OK?" Royal said. "But we are asking for a decent life."

On top of that, some teachers say they feel unsafe going back into the classroom.

“That’s one of the major reasons teachers say they’re going to leave, because they don’t feel protected,” said Orange County Classroom Teacher's Association president Wendy Doromal.

The school board recently voted to make masks optional in classrooms. On Wednesday, however, Superintendent Dr. Barbara Jenkins announced the masks would be mandatory for all school staff and visitors starting Aug. 6.

Masks will still only be optional for students, despite the district's own medical advisory board recommending they stay with mandatory masks in grades where kids aren’t eligible for the vaccine.

The fear is now growing among teachers as cases and hospitalizations grow in Orange County.

“Of course we’re scared, I do not want COVID, I can’t afford to get COVID,” Royal said. 

OCPS data compiled by the union shows 749 more teachers retired or resigned in the 2020-2021 school year than in the 2019-2020 school year.

And from May to July of this year, 519 teachers resigned or retired, compared to only around 409 in that same time period last year.

“We have teachers leaving the profession at an incredible rate,” Doromal said. 

Orange County officials say they offered teachers more money this year than any other district in Central Florida.

“Without our teachers, education doesn’t exist.," said Orange County School Board chair Teresa Jacobs. "There’s no more important component, there’s no more important person in education than the teacher.”  

But the union declared an impasse after teachers told them to refuse a deal that offers little to no actual salary increases.

Royal said, just as he’s doubting his calling for the first time in his life, he won’t be encouraging any of his students to go into teaching.

“I do not recommend to this generation to go to school to be a teacher or educator at all, because you won’t be able to afford life,” he  said. 

So starting on Thursday, masks are mandatory for all Orange County school staff and visitors, but masks are still optional for students.

The district's own medical advisory board has recommended masks are required in grades where students are not eligible for vaccines, which is still kids under 12.

Florida Politics is reporting that on Wednesday, the governor's office shared the state is finalizing guidelines that do not prohibit masks in schools, but will require parents to have the right to opt their children out.

The Duval County School Board that covers Jacksonville has adopted a mask mandate for students, with an opt-out option for parents.

Alachua County Schools, which covers Gainesville, is also making moves.

"The board on Tuesday, they did vote in a unanimous 4-0 decision to have two weeks of a mask mandate for the students and then we would come back on August 17th with the board and we would listen to data to determine next steps after that," said Superintendent Carlee Simon.

Simon is concerned about losing funding after Gov. Ron DeSantis' threats, but hopes he understands the board's decision during this rise in cases.

The governor has long said that parents should have the right to choose if they want their kids to mask up this school year, saying that the state did not notice different outcomes last year between districts that had mask policies and those that did not.