A.G. Gancarski
Back to school time coincides with the ramp-up of the general election season, and Sen. Bill Nelson has bad marks for Gov. Rick Scott in his latest digital ad in the U.S. Senate race.
Nelson’s spot charges that “when it comes to education, Rick Scott failed our kids,” asserting early administration cuts in funding led to lower teacher pay and per-pupil funding.
“It’s no wonder why Florida ranks 40th in education, or why we’re experiencing a shortage of quality teachers,” the spot asserts.
Earlier this year, Scott was pilloried by Democrats for education spending cuts in real dollars, though it seems Scott sees the funding formula differently.
As Politifact spotlighted in March, Scott contends that “for the sixth straight year [in the budget process], we have secured record funding for K-12 and state universities.”
The site noted that in real dollars, that didn’t hold true, and over the last decade, schools have had more unfunded mandates, such as increased safety measures and mental health, that weren’t the case pre-recession.
The Nelson spot is below.
