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Education Issues Blog

To Educate and Inform on Issues Relating to Public Education

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Our blog is a tool box. Make it work for you. Here you will find data, studies, and perspectives that inform the discussion about school choice. Send stories of events in your state. Tell us about studies that clarify issues. Do your own studies. Use the information you find here to advocate for League positions.

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Heads Up on DeSantis School Budget

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Governor DeSantis announced that the per student funding would increase about $224. Smoke and Mirrors! The increase is simply shifting the teacher bonus money from the lottery to the General Fund which allocates the money to schools. Thus, there really is not any new money,,,,just rearranged money. Some funds for school safety and mental health are included.  In our district, cuts from last year’s budget result in a smaller budget this year.

The Governor allocated $50 million for public school maintenance …all 4,000 of them.  The 654 charters are allocated $150 million.  Charters do not have to meet the same school facility standards as public schools.  They go and find building to lease or buy.  If they close, they can keep the buildings.  Nice of the state to give them the money to maintain these privately owned charter schools.

The legislative budgets are not out.  The likelihood of any help for public schools is nil.  The Governor’s call for vouchers paid from the public treasury has to come out of public education.  The scramble in the legislature for money will be interesting.  Let your legislators know what you think.

Governor Calls Grand Jury Investigation of All School Districts

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The latest attack on public schools was launched by Governor DeSantis yesterday. DeSantis called for a grand jury investigation of possible fraud and failure to implement school safety measures mandated by the state. The Grand Jury will look for evidence of misuse of funds from facility bond issues related to school safety. In addition, he claims that there may be a failure to report all serious discipline incidents at schools. The Grand Jury will convene in Broward County where the Marjorie Stoneman Douglas shooting occurred. Read the press report here.

The Guardian Bill, SB 7030 to arm teachers, is a high priority of school privatization supporters in the legislature. There is also a proposed constitutional amendment, HJR 229/SJR 274, to impose term limits on school board members. The amendment would go on the 2020 ballot for voter approval. The Grand Jury probe targets school boards, so including all school boards, not just Broward, is likely a strategic move.

DeSantis Announces New Voucher Program

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Governor DeSantis plans to fund vouchers to private schools from the state treasury for about 14,000 students. Vouchers paid from public funds were declared unconstitutional by the Florida Supreme Court, but DeSantis believes the new appointees to the Court will support vouchers. How vouchers can be legal when the constitution specifically says they are not is worrisome. Granted the MacKay and Gardiner scholarships for students with disabilities have not been challenged in court. Is the Governor planning to redefine disabilities?  Will he fund personal learning accounts and claim the money goes to parents not private schools?  Getting around the law has become a habit.

Florida saves about $500 per student for those who enroll in private schools. It is a nice tuition support program for children already enrolled. It is a sham for children who attend private schools with unqualified teachers. The latest Brookings study, Are Low-Quality Private Schools on the Rise in Florida? underscores the issue. Private schools are becoming more racially and economically segregated, and their students have poor achievement gain.

UNFAIR SCHOOL FUNDING BILL FILED

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SB 1028 filed by Senator Hutson will take money local voters approved for their public school facilities for privately owned charter schools. This is unfair for many reasons. Here are two. Charters are privately owned. If they close, which they often do, they keep the school buildings and can sell them for profit.

There is another reason to question this bill. Charter schools can build on the cheap, and do. They do not have to meet the state building codes that public schools must meet. The funding for charter schools, however, is based on student enrollment. Thus, charters get the same proportion of funding as do public schools, but they have lower standards for their schools.

Charters can locate in any building that can meet local fire codes. This is why they sometimes are in really poor facilities. Parents have to make it clear to the legislature that education on the cheap has gone too far. The charter school movement is turning into a real estate boondoggle.

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