Why Rick Scott’s Education Budget Proposal is Just the Latest Republican Bait and Switch
When he was running for governor, Rick Scott promised not to cut funding for public education. Once elected, however, he presided over a budget that slashed education by nearly 8 percent, took 3 percent out of the paychecks of every public school employee and green-lighted massive unfunded mandates for school districts.
“But now the governor has been telling anyone who’ll listen how much he values the state’s ‘investment’ in education. But today’s budget proposal shows just those words are empty. If his budget proposal is enacted, spending will still stand nearly $800 per student less than our state’s commitment to education five years ago, the unfunded mandates are still in place, pre-K remains woefully underfunded and the brain drain at our public colleges and universities continues as universities in other states continue to gobble up our professors. Meanwhile, Florida continues to