LWVeducation
The plaintiff completed its case today. The State’s attorneys said that the plantiff really had no case, and argued that the case should be dismissed. The judge did not agree. Calls for dismissal may be standard procedure in such trials, but it is a good way to not only see what the defense will argue and but also gives glimpses into what the judge is concerned about.
In spite of the mass rally by private school advocates in Tallahassee last January, the Florida Education Association and the League of Women Voters will have their day in court. The First District Court of Appeals will hear the case on May 10th.
Some arguments may include the following:
I loved the line in this Capital News story about the public education trial going on in Tallahassee right now. Susan Bowles was asked by the defense attorney if she had enough books in her classroom. She answered: “Yes, and guess who paid for them.”
Districts state that budgets are inadequate to meet all student needs. Children in poverty and the high rate of homelessness require more funding to provide tutoring, time and behavioral support. However, the defense argues:
Superintendent Vitti’s testimony was a straight forward account of the demographic makeup of the county schools. The district is 44% African American and 36% white and 11% Hispanic. Nearly half of the students qualify for free and reduced lunch (FRL). About 56% of FRL students were below grade level, and their graduation rate was 67%.
How the needs of students are met was the subject of his testimony. Are districts funded adequately to meet these needs?
I watched the trial yesterday and again this morning.
MONDAY
The witnesses yesterday spoke to the relative funding support for education in Florida vs. other states. While Florida’s funding is very low, the defendants argued that cost comparisons are not indicative of quality. They cited the Florida NAEP fourth grade reading scores that are slightly above the national average. What was not mentioned in the testimony is that about 12 states retain third graders based on their states’ assessment scores. Florida is one of those states. Thus, Florida’s fourth grade NAEP scores are likely to be elevated compared to other states. Florida retains approximately 20% of third graders. In addition, Florida has one of the highest percentage of students with tax credit scholarships whose scores are not included in the NAEP assessment. These FTC scholarships are need based and would include a high percentage of low scoring students from public schools.
The second witness discussed the academic deficiencies of homeless students. The percentage of homeless in Florida is increasing, and these students do less well than students from low income families who have homes.
TUESDAY
This morning, Professor Smith from UCF discussed the Florida DOE comparisons of traditional and charter schools. The DOE reported raw results in which charter students tended to score higher than traditional public school students. When scores were adjusted statistically for the percentages of free and reduced lunch and minority students, based on school scores, charter school students scored somewhat lower than public school students. This comparison also revealed that charter schools had relatively fewer students with FRL and minority status which accounts for the decrease in adjusted scores for charters. Bottom line, charter schools do not out perform traditional public schools.
I had to sign off when the cross examination began. More later
Is this the first day of the rest of our lives? The Citizens for Strong Schools trial begins in Tallahassee today.
The one plus billion dollar surplus Florida was expecting in 2016 is dwindling. The latest estimate of new revenue is down by $400 million. Governor Scott wanted to give the surplus away in corporate tax reduction. He would also authorize more money for education, but it was supposed to come from local property taxes, not state revenue. The legislature has other ideas.
The legislature wants part of the new state revenue for education. The budget agreement that will go to the Governor increases the per student funding by about $50.
To complicate everything even more, money for school buildings comes from two other sources. Districts can raise some from local property taxes. Charter schools want access to that fund, but currently districts do not have to share the money. Since charter schools are privately owned, the district would not own those facilities even if they were to close. As a result, the legislature has been giving most of the state tax revenue on utilities to charters and public universities. This fund, called PECO is drying up.
How then is the state to support school facilities without making property taxes so high that voters complain? The latest idea reported in the News Service of Florida is for the state to issue bonds. This means the state would take on the debt to pay off the bonds while the Governor pursues his quest to minimize corporate taxes and use surplus revenue for his pet projects.
The Governor may veto issuing bonds for school facilities. Will he also veto the K12 per student funding increase? A high quality educational system is key for attracting the new business the Governor seeks. Yet, it is as if he wants something for nothing.
from Pat Drago
Stargel’s amendment to SB 524 is terrible. Please oppose. It requires 10% of FTE in charter schools before a district that is a High Growth District is eligible for additional capital funds.
Many states are struggling with a fundamental choice in improving at risk schools. Do you help communities to band together to bring resources and talent to struggling schools or does the state take over these schools and ‘fix’ them by turning them over to charter management companies?