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Florida Schools To Take $3 Billion Hit Under Scott Budget
February 8, 2011
Florida’s public schools and universities will take a more than $3 billion hit under the budget proposed Monday by Gov. Rick Scott, with public elementary through high school spending dropping by nearly $300 per student.
Scott said, essentially, that’s not really his fault. He isn’t cutting state money to public schools, he simply is choosing not to replace federal stimulus money that is no longer available.
Former Gov. Charlie Crist and lawmakers used stimulus dollars to prop up the state’s budgets the past two years, and now that money is gone. Trying to find a new one-time source of cash to replace it doesn’t make sense, the governor said, likening that to a Lottery winner spending all his winnings on the assumption that he’d win again next year.
“We’re not going to take federal money and believe it’s going to be there forever,” Scott said.
Budget officials in the governor’s office said the loss of federal stimulus money accounted for some of the cuts to education, but didn’t provide details on how the governor planned to achieve all of them.
Scott said repeatedly on the campaign trail that he wanted Florida students to receive a “first class education,” advocating for the state to better invest in its education system, provide school choice and create a merit pay system for teachers. Lawmakers are already working on a merit pay system, but have been slower to take up a voucher expansion.
Under Scott’s proposed spending plan, per pupil spending in K-12 would drop by $298 to $6,600 per student.
The House Prek-12 budget subcommittee chair, Rep. Marti Coley, R-Marianna, has said she hopes to protect the per pupil spending level at the current year amount.
Scott’s overall budget – just shy of $66 billion – gained kudos from business groups around the state, who praised him for a budget that didn’t raise taxes and focused on job creation.
“Cuts to education and health care will inevitably raise concerns among some, but in the midst of a recession, government must cut expenses because raising taxes is a death knell for job creation,” said Associated Industries of Florida President Barney Bishop.
Getting school spending to the $6,600 per student level would still rely in part on Washington, having local school boards reserve dollars from a federal education jobs fund from this year.
Education advocates argued that a $300 per student cut still will result in layoffs and make things worse for the public school system, not better.
FundEducationNow.org, an Orlando grassroots education advocacy organization that says it was created by parents of public school children, called the proposed cuts “catastrophic.”
“Florida’s children are the key to our long term economic stability. High-quality public education is a job creator not a funding burden,” said group co-founder Linda Kobert. “Gov. Scott must embrace his paramount duty to invest in the real future of this state – the students.”
The governor’s office released details of the budget on a Website that got so many hits Monday afternoon that it crashed. That made it hard for some advocates to evaluate the proposal. Officials at the Board of Governors said they couldn’t comment on proposed cuts to higher education, because they hadn’t been able to read the budget recommendation.
The Board of Governors could face a substantial reduction if stimulus dollars from last year are not replaced. Twenty out of 53 positions were paid for by stimulus money.
Comments
11 Responses to “Florida Schools To Take $3 Billion Hit Under Scott Budget”
Federal Stimulus Money = Other People’s Money. It’s the way Big Government gets States addicted to support from “Big Government”
It’s like the Crack Dealer that gives away free drugs to people that have never used them, knowing that once they are hooked, they are customers for life…and usually a vastly shorter life.
This “Stimulus” money is part of the Debt Problem our Nation is facing. We cannot depend on a government that spends all our tax dollars, borrows more from unfriendly nations, and prints more money to make up for funds we don’t have.
This lunacy has to stop somewhere.
Press On, Rick Scott!
Why take from the kids I can think of many other ways to cut back like lets start with sentors salarys and stuff. If we middle class workers are experiancing pay cuts because of the encomy then why can’t they instead of taking from the Children! Just my thoughts.
if the lottery is not working,get it out of the state.when we voted on the lottery it was a play on words.sure the lottery put in,but then the government didn’t.so we gained nothing for the schools.but we have the lottery. and the schools in florida suck bad!! I know first hand,what do we rank close to 300 in the nation(escambia)-shawnee kansas #3 in the nation-no lottery!
Think how much we would save if we quit giving free – or greatly discounted – goods and services (healthcare, groceries, housing, college tuition, etc.) to illegal immigrants.
Lets just release all people in prison across florida that are in for drug charges. Imagine how much that would save. No one is talking about that
Bear in mind the governor is not truly CUTTING the education budget. He is just not going to try to replace the one-time stimulus fund. I never had the expectation that if the government gave a stimulus bonus the state would keep that bonus going in subsequent years. The money was greatly needed, granted, but it was a bonus that came from our pockets and put our country even deeper in debt. Now we’re back to where we were before the stimulus bonus, which is a sad state of affairs.
I taught public school for years, and I was never felt as if more money would improve my teaching. I didn’t need more money, I needed more time in the classroom. My desire was to provide the best education possible to the children, but the time constraints made that very difficult. There are so many special programs and government requirements placed upon schools that the teachers have very little actual class time. Thirty minutes for math and ten for language arts just doesn’t cut it! Of course we need the basic operating money, and I hate to see any teachers lose their jobs, which has been happening all over the country, but if the nonessentials are cut during this crisis, that might make up the difference. Teachers can still teach with the basics: an adequate room, adequate textbooks, and some whiteboard markers. I did . . . back when I used to have adequate teaching time. Huge cuts that cost teachers their jobs are another matter, and, of course, that is awful. I’m just saying that there are areas that could be cut that wouldn’t affect the teaching per se.
I agree that the pre-first grade programs could be cut. However, unfortunately, too many of our children are being reared by children who were reared by children with no responsible fathers in the picture. Children from those kind of families need the early learning programs just to learn basic skills such as eating with utensils, identifying colors, and speaking in complete sentences. Hillary Clinton tried to make us believe it takes a village to raise a child. Well, it may have come to that, but that was not God’s original plan. Child rearing is supposed to be the responsibility of the parents. It takes two responsible, loving, caring parents who put their child’s needs above their own to raise a child. The sad epidemic of drugs, alcohol and illicit sex – in other words SIN – causes so many children to suffer. Money is not the solution. God is.
The following is my opinion & I know there is lots of different opinions. Eliminate the public schooling for prior to 6yr. old 1st grade, which was the way the Florida school system use to be. Parents use to be responsible for their own children. I was raised very poor for material possessions but not for food & necessities. I learned at a very early age how to budget & save which I needed that experience because I had to basically raise 3 children on my income [ no form of welfare system]. One of my children went to private kindergarten the other 2 I wasn’t able to do so. Parents are suppose to teach children at home to prepare them for public 1st grade it is not the taxpayers responsibility. This would save the state a lot of money to put toward the 12 years for public schooling. If parents are doing their part during those 12 years the teachers could handle large classes
Kind of an eye opener. It cost now $6698 per student K-12. I believe we should at all cost give every child an education. Wonder what percentage really does not care or want an education. As in all governmental organizations there is plenty of room for cuts. The educational system has mushroomed into a monster that someone will have to address sooner or later, may as well be sooner.
wheres the lottery money for schools going?
And where will the local taxing authority for schools make up the money…. Yes that’s right, It’ll come right out of the home and business owners’ pocket with an increase in property taxes!
As Neal Boortz says, BOHICA (Bend Over Here It Comes Again!) The first place they go when they cut budgets is education, firefighters, and the police force. I personally don’t mind contributing to my retirement fund because I should be taking care of myself instead of relying on others to do it. Having said that, I think I should also have a guarantee that the money I contribute will be there for me when I need it. If this happens I hope it doesn’t become another Ponzi scheme like Social Security. There are ways that this state and country could become solvent again. Privatize social security and let us decide how and when to save our money for retirement. Implement the FairTax and watch the economy grow!