FL budget $133 per charter student, $18 per public school student. $1000 per lab school student.

[madfloridian]

Polk County, FL educators recently learned about these screwed up priorities of the Florida Legislature. I posted about it last week or so at Daily Kos

This latest move toward depriving public schools of resources to build or maintain existing buildings has incurred the anger of people who were not paying attention before. It is so blatant, so obvious.

FL budget: $133 per charter student, $18 per public school student

This is what has been allocated for building and maintenance this year. Even this is far better than what has been given out the last few years. For two years public schools got nothing, and charter schools got millions.

Polk County Public Schools Lose In Facility Allocations

In working out a proposed state budget deal in the wee hours of the morning, state House and Senate leaders divvied up Public Education Capital Outlay money for such things as repairs and renovation this way:

* $4.7 million, or $1,000 per student, for Florida Lab Schools, a small group of schools connected with universities across the state. They have about 4,700 students.

* $1.6 million, or about $133 per student, for Polk charter schools. They have about 12,000 students.

* $1.5 million, or about $18 per student, for the Polk County School District. It
has about 85,000 students, not counting those in charter schools.

After the budget agreement was worked out about 1 a.m. Tuesday, House Appropriations Chairman Seth McKeel, R-Lakeland, was receiving praise for his work to hold some projects together, like $700,000 for the city of Frostproof's water system.

One of the main charters in the county mentioned above is Seth McKeel charter group. It just so happens that Seth McKeel, chair of the House Appropriations, is on the Board of Directors at that charter school that bears his name. People are noticing.

That charter group sends 12.5% of their students back to public schools. They sent a note that read:

“Your child does not meet the criteria to be a McKeel student.”

These charters are getting taxpayer money. They should be required to work with the students and manage their individual needs, just like public schools do.

[hobbit709]

1. It's always been about the money.

[Mnemosyne]

2. K&R for more visibility. nt

[madfloridian]

3. Thank you. It will disappear quickly.

[Lochloosa]

9. Let's hope not. November can't get here quick enough.

[madfloridian]

4. Well...a friend told me just now...her honor student niece failed the FCAT. She's devastated.

They are already realizing that all her A's won't mean a damn thing now. The test is God.

Oops, she just found out her nephew failed also.

Nothing to do with the OP I guess. Just very upsetting.

[MissB]

35. That's terrible.

I had to look up the FCAT (I'm in a northern state). Looks like students can substitute SAT reading and math scores if they fail the FCAT three times - 280 on reading and 370 on math (both of those sections are out of 800). Hopefully your friend's niece and nephew can use those options.

[madfloridian]

36. I don't think they can graduate with their class despite being an honor student.

So for now this is the first time they have failed.

[wavesofeuphoria]

5. Kick .... Thanks, mad

[madfloridian]

7. You are very welcome.

[giftedgirl77]

6. K & R for exposure..

This is some bullshit, it's nothing but a money laundering scheme at the expense of our kids.

[madfloridian]

8. SO true. I don't understand why more people aren't irate about this?

Thanks for the kick.

[Scuba]

10. Kick.

[madfloridian]

11. ......

Appreciated.

[madfloridian]

12. Kicking because Democrats should care about public education.

[Starry Messenger]

13. k&r

[lpbk2713]

14. They don't even see the need to be discrete and sneaky any more.

They perform their robberies right in the wide open spaces
while everyone (especially Scott) is looking.

[madfloridian]

16. Exactly. Seth McKeel got some "splaining" to do I think.

[TBF]

15. K&R nt

[marmar]

17. Charter schools are nothing but an organized heist of the public trough by entities.....

..... that don't have the best interest of the kids as their No. 1 priority.

[madfloridian]

18. These figures show that clearly. There can be no argument.

[adirondacker]

34. A+ !nt

[scarletlib]

19. Where is the florida attorney or law firm to help the citizens

I do believe there is a constutional issue (florida constitutuion) about giving all kids a quality education. florida experts in the forum?

[madfloridian]

20. I am hoping there will be lawsuits.

Before I retired two different parents were filing lawsuits to find out why their gifted children failed the FCAT. It's been going on a while, just hasn't been getting publicity.

Today in Florida there are many heartbroken seniors who can't graduate if they failed the FCAT even if they have straight As.

[Shrike47]

21. Charter schools are a transfer of public monies to a select few business men. Awful idea.

And I agree that the charter schools, if we must have them, should be required to keep the unusual (and more expensive) students. They always deny their intention to dump off troubling kids on the public schools, but their actions tell the story.

[Mc Mike]

30. Those are both good points, S47, thanks.

What gets me furious is the blatantly hypocritical, self-contradictory, double-thinking double-stantard in the definition of 'business' here.

When they sell 'charter', they say public education should be run more efficiently, like a business, with free market competition driving efficiency, innovation, reform. That definition of 'business' is used to get public ed funds into private hands.

Once the public funds are privatized, it's time to treat the 'business' according to real-world standards for well-connected sweetheart government contractors. They keep getting caught lying about their performance, cooking the books on test results, wasting money, stealing, employing unqualified personnel, failing the students. Ignore the larceny, embezzlement, fraud, and failure. They only failed their 5 year performance review because we aren't giving this great privatization idea enough time to succeed. This 'business' just needs a government bail-out, the taxpayers can foot the bill.

Anyone with an ounce of sense knew they were lying when they spouted off their free-market 'business' malarky to 'reform' education.

[Enthusiast]

22. This seems fair.

Thank you, madfloridian!

[FloriTexan]

23. Kicking this for the lack of diversity in funding.

Great post!

[madfloridian]

25. Thanks. Any tornadoes your way today?

[justhanginon]

24. k&r any further comment would contain really bad language n/t

[HooptieWagon]

26. Rec, and a kick for visibility. nt

[madfloridian]

27. ....

Thanks for that kick. This is so important, but it's just not going to hang around long.

To me it is shocking to see these figures. To most, not so much.

[liberal_at_heart]

28. K&R

[madfloridian]

29. Thanks.

[Jakes Progress]

31. Thank you again and again.

But getting DU excited about what the republicans and this administration are doing to children and our public education system is the definition of lost cause.

No other issue has made me more cynical. I tried fighting that cynicism for quite a while, but every time something came up, I was whelmed by the apathy and hypocrisy of those who should be doing better. Meh.

[madfloridian]

32. I agree.

It's a lost cause. This administration has not made one move to reach out to public school teachers at all. Not even with all the protests and anger from teachers and parents. They simply do not care.

And therefore it's mostly okay with most of the Democrats who used to oppose these Bush policies when Bush did them.

[Jakes Progress]

33. So sad.

I also just read about the administration's plans to gut the Fulbright Scholarship program.

We can all agree that the republicans are horrible. But if those on this site - of all places - can't agree that most of the things this administration does is far right of things nixon and reagan would have done. And if any republican tried them, this site would be up in arms calling for mass protests. People who call themselves Democrats can be just as hypocritical as republicans.

I originally came on DU for the succor of like-minded progressives. I know they are here, and I know the reagan-democrats and celibritats are a minority, but it still gets me that so many are so willing to allow any right-wing travesty to take place because Obama supports it.

Color me disappointed. Or pissed. Or disgusted. Or . . .