Florida public schools will lose nearly $100 million to charter schools
Thanks to Gov. Rick Scott's freshly signed education bill, Florida public school districts are now set to lose a massive chunk of cash to charter schools next year.
According to data requested by the Miami Herald and The Tampa Bay Times, a provision of SB 7069 will force Florida counties to share their local tax dollars with nearly 650 charter schools (many of which are for-profit) to the tune of an estimated $96.3 million.
Florida has nearly a quarter-million charter school students, compared to 2.5 million public school students, reports the Herald.
This new sharing model will go into effect when the new budget year begins, which is Saturday, July 1.
Scott's bill also sets aside $419 million for various incentives, including helping encourage charter schools to relocate near struggling public schools, as well as get access to school construction funding generated by local property taxes.
Last month, Tallahassee Mayor and Democratic gubernatorial candidate Andrew Gillum called the signing "another deeply painful decision by our state's leaders giving tax dollars away to for-profit charter school executives — instead of to our students."Florida public schools will lose nearly $100 million to charter schools | Blogs:
