FEA Leadership Change Puts Former Volusia Teacher At The Helm

Tallahassee, FL -After serving two years at the helm of Florida’s teacher union, Fredrick Ingram is stepping down to take on a national role while Andrew Spar, a former Volusia teacher, becomes the new president of the union. As of Tuesday (September 1st), Ingram stepped away from his position as president of the Florida Education Association (FEA) to become secretary-treasurer of the 1.7 million member American Federation of Teachers (AFT). “This is a bittersweet moment for me. It’s hard to leave my leadership role in FEA and the state I love,” Ingram said. “But I leave Florida’s educators and students in good hands, and I’m excited about my new role." "In every forum I will always be proud to say I am a Florida educator and member of the Florida Education Association.” Spar, who was vice president of FEA, will assume the role of president as secretary-treasure Carole Gauronskas steps in to take over Spar’s former role. Spar will serve as president until the next FEA election, which is slated for 2021. In the interim, a new secretary-treasurer will be selected. FEA’s new president is also no stranger to the Volusia County area. Spar moved to Daytona Beach in 1994 to teach at Turie T. Small Elementary School. During his time at Turie T., Spar served as school-improvement chair and as a union steward. From there, he became president of the Volusia United Educators in 2003 and led the union until 2018, which is when he, Ingram and Gauronskas ran for office as a team, which led to them securing their FEA leadership roles. Ingram also has a local connection to the area as a graduate of Bethune-Cookman University. There he earned his post-secondary degree in music education before becoming a music teacher in Miami-Dade.