Staff Reports
The Florida Education Association isn’t satisfied with Gov. Rick Scott’s and legislative leaders’ plan to pump another $100 per pupil into public education. The union also wants Scott to veto HB 7069, the Legislature’s big education package.
“The gaping flaws in HB 7069 haven’t changed with this suggested increase in funding,” FEA President Joanne McCall said in a written statement.
“It doesn’t even pay for the massive giveaway to charter schools included in the bill. The governor and the legislative leaders who cooked up these changes and called for a special session are not addressing the needs of the parents and students in this state,” she said.
Scott announced with House Speaker Richard Corcoran and Senate President Joe Negron Friday that the Legislature would convene in special session between June 7 and June 9 to add $215 million in K-12 spending; establish an $85 million Florida Job Growth Fund to promote public infrastructure and individual job training; and boost Visit Florida spending to $76 million.
HB 7069 provides for $419 million in schools spending, including the House’s “Schools of Hope” initiative, steering money to charter schools that take pupils from consistently failing public schools.
“Unless the governor vetoes HB 7069, there isn’t enough money to offset the incredible damage that will hit our public schools,” McCall said.
“The 2.7 million students in our traditional public schools will pay the price so that operators of for-profit charters, that serve a small fraction of that number of students, can get a financial benefit.”
She called the bill a “sneaky” attempt at privatization.
“Parents and taxpayers want stronger traditional public schools, not a parallel school system that divvies up scarce tax dollars,” McCall said.
“This bill will not help our students, our teachers, our school employees or our public schools. It is a wrecking ball aimed directly at our traditional public schools. It is not what Floridians want for their children and their schools.”
3 comments
Dan
June 2, 2017 at 1:40 pm
Education is not a right. the Tax Payers pay for results not Marble mansions and the life styles of administrators. Obviously it doesn’t take $14,000/pupil per year to teach them and then get dismal results.
Tony White
June 2, 2017 at 5:06 pm
Dan Dan Dan you should have read the Florida Constitution before showing your true colors. In the constitution article 9 section 1 indicates it is the paramount duty of the state to provide a free quality public education for all. Funding now of roughly $7300 per student is over $4000 below the national average just in case you were not aware
David
June 2, 2017 at 2:39 pm
Dan, please define “dismal results.” Actual data doesn’t agree with your assessment. And educations should be a right as it benefits ALL of society, not just those being educated.
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