POLK COUNTY, Fla. — Just a day before the start of the 2020 Florida legislative session, thousands of Florida teachers converged on the state Capitol to petition lawmakers to pass pay increases and increase school funding.

But Friday night, before many Polk County teachers boarded buses, the Florida Department of Education sent a letter to teachers saying they could be fired for attending the rally in Tallahassee because it could be considered a strike, which is illegal in Florida.

Superintendent Jacqueline Byrd previously said that letter was not a threat, and a couple of days later, she doubled down on that message. Byrd said she supports the teachers and has been preparing for months for teacher absences on the day of the planned rally.

"That was not a threat from me. It was merely providing information about the law," Byrd said in a news conference Sunday night.

Anita Carson and Branden Lane were settling in to their Tallahassee hotel ahead of the teacher rally. They listened to Byrd's message.

"I'm encouraged for hearing that now. I'm a little disappointed that it took so long," Lane said.

The educators said Monday's rally is not a strike, it's a call to action.

"We're looking for equitable funding across the state levels. And we're also looking for fully staffed schools. Our county has 100 instructional openings right now," Carson said.

Florida teachers are some of the lowest paid in the country — most starting teachers earn less than $40,000 a year.

"I would love for my pay to go up, but that's not why I'm here. I'm here because we don't have fully-staffed, fully-funded schools, and that hurts our kids," Carson said.

Carson said educators in Polk County are stretched thin, and students are not getting the attention they need and deserve.

"We have counselors whose case load is 600, 700 kids at a time. That is insane," Carson said.

Lane is optimistic about Gov. Ron DeSantis's $600 million proposed budget to raise minimum starting pay for teachers.

"While they've made proposals, we think they need to go much much further," Lane said.

DeSantis's budget proposal for this session includes almost $23 billion in education funding, including $900 million working to retain and recruit teachers.