Education in Florida

The state of Florida is near the top nationally in economic woes, and education is a tragic part of it.

The conditions would be much worse but for the billions of stimulus funding by the federal government. True, Florida is due much of it since it is Florida taxes paid that are paid to the feds.

At least some 10,000 teachers, police and fire personnel and governmental employees are still working.

One might be cynical enough to think the Florida Legislature calculated this when creating the state budgets since 2006.

The bankers, developers, Realtors and insurance industry kept their millions in profits, while regular working people paid their taxes and struggled to survive on less pay, minus benefits and higher prices for just about everything. One cruel example is the doubling and tripling of transportation fees.

Now Governor Crist wants to increase funding for education and give a 1 percent cut in corporate taxes to improve education and create jobs. Again, to make this possible, he expects federal stimulus funds to pay for it.

Ironically, it was the corporate entity, represented by the four noted above, that created the economic disaster in Florida.

The federal government provided some $3 trillion to save Wall Street, bankers and lenders, but did that help working people and small businesses?

The record shows it did not yet the governor wants to give more to corporations and "small" businesses earning not more than $1 billion.

Question: How many "small" businesses in Highlands County earn $1 billion a year? How many earn $1 million? I would guess that the businesses we trade with feel lucky if they make $500,000! Yet, they cannot get loans for payrolls or inventory from those banks that got billions to survive! Modification for homeowners' loans is another cruel hoax.

The plight of education is similar. So, to solve the problem, the governor wants the counties to raise school taxes.

The state legislature has already reduced the percent of state support to fewer than 60 percent.

Just as the federal government shifted support for social and educational programs to the states since 1980, the state of Florida is shifting state support to the cities and counties.

Still, Crist increased the state budget by $3 billion! Where is that money going? Food for thought.

Gabriel Read
Avon Park