“Diversion of education funds to private use is occurring more frequently in Florida than in any other state.”
The Miami Herald published an op-ed piece yesterday from NEA President Dennis Van Roekel. He wrote specifically about the Florida legislature’s pattern of failing to provide adequate funding for the state’s schools . Van Roekel also brought to light the massive shift of taxpayer’s dollars that once went to public schools is now going to private entities.
The problem is especially critical in Florida, where state education funding was slashed by more than $1 billion for the current fiscal year, a drop of almost 8 percent. Even before that latest round of cuts, Florida ranked 50th among the states in per-capita spending on education. That poor investment has yielded poor returns — 44th in the high school graduation rate and 48th in