VPK Budget Keeps Going Down

boy-717151_1920Florida is forever robbing Peter to Pay Paul.  This year K12 received a modest budget increase.  Where did the money come from?

 

 

 

Some came from four-year olds.  According to an article in the Orlando Sentinel, per child funding this year is $2437 which is below 2005 levels.  Florida’s program is supposed to cover three hours of instruction per day for 180 days.  Do the math.  Let’s see,,,,$451 per child.  The teacher/student ratio is one to eleven.

An article in Politifact shows the per student funding from 2010 to 2014-15.  It drops every year.  The 2015-16 budget did not increase funding.

The Governor’s proposed 2016-17 budget includes a 26.1 million increase in funding plus an additional $15.5 million for centers that demonstrate improvement in kindergarten readiness scores.  These bonus awards tend to favor centers that cater to more affluent area centers where children enroll with most readiness skills already mastered.

Testing and accountability sound good but do not produce results where they are needed most.  We need to gear up for the 2017 legislative session.

 

 

 

Posted in Achievement, Early Childhood Education, Florida, Funding.

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