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Highlands Today

School Funding

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Gabriel Read

Published: March 15, 2009

A recent editorial rebuked the federal government of shortchanging Florida in its effort to provide more educational funds (stimulus) for our schools. How could the feds be so mean to require the state to request a waiver because it had cut funds for education instead of increasing funds?
In reviewing Florida's record relating to educational funding, one will discover that Florida had shortchanged education for decades. The late governors Askew, then Collins, tried to turn the tide and move Florida up about 45th in the nation on funding, only to have the Democratic legislature to again decrease funding. Governor Graham worked to improve funding, but again that was reversed. The late Governor Chiles had a Republican legislature that under funded education. The state is currently near the bottom in funding education.
The voters approved the lottery by 76 percent to supplement educational funding, but the legislature used those funds to replace the cuts made in the education department. Those voters have been upset ever since. About five years ago, the state, under Gov. Jeb Bush, had a $1 billion deficit. The departments of education, children and families and fireman-police, made up that deficit. So the charge made that the legislature simply made temporary changes and improvements is correct. It simply put off needed reform, both in education and taxes.
Another effort by the voters to improve education was to reduce class size. Bush opposed and delayed it. Highlands County School Board was ahead of the curve, but again reduced funding made that difficult. The latest funding cuts not only stifled small class size, but other parts of curriculum as well. Thus, it is ironic that the editorial would rebuke the feds on that issue.
Ours is a very diverse society; this infuses many problems that under-funding schools generates. It needs to be repeated that our public schools are not failing; it is our society that has either neglected to, or refused to, address this problem for decades, especially here in Florida. Our schools did not cause these problems, but they were "dumped" on the schools, which were inadequate to address them.
Gabriel Read
Avon Park

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