If Rick Scott gives $5500 to each child who leaves public school to go to private or charter school

[madfloridian]

or even another public school, three guesses what will happen to our public school system in Florida. First two don't count.

Scott has come up with a new idea called "Education Savings Accounts", another word he uses for vouchers. It is so far out that I had not taken it that seriously, but there still appears to be concern that he might get it done.

From TCPalm.

Florida Gov. Rick Scott doesn't want to fix public education, he wants to destroy it

The new governor and his advisory team on education don't seem to care what respected studies or the law say about poverty, merit pay or vouchers, but they seem destined to try the opposite of what sound research says should work. This plan is not about school choice; it's about putting profit before education.

His first step is "Education Savings Accounts," which are the new rebranding of vouchers. Gov. Rick Scott's goal is to give $5,500 to parents directly so they can choose where to send the student, public or private. The Florida Supreme Court ruled this type of voucher system unconstitutional (Bush vs. Holmes); violating among other components the requirement of providing a system of uniform, free public schools. Why would Scott going to waste dwindling tax money on fighting for something that is unconstitutional?

Will this money allow a disadvantaged student to afford a swanky private school? No. Private schools will raise their prices and pocket extra public tax dollars for their own purposes. Charter schools will quickly switch to private schools, preventing any public oversight or accountability. Restructured as private schools, they will open up without county approval and try to crowd out public schools. Unlike public schools, private schools are not be required to provide transportation, give the FCAT, have state-certified teachers, follow Florida's course guidelines or meet class-size restrictions, along with insufficiencies in many other areas. Most important, they can kick students out their school for any reason and selectively recruit the best students from the public school system.

Here is more about the court ruling on such vouchers from 2006.

From USA Today.

Fla. Supreme Court strikes down school vouchers

Florida's highest court on Thursday handed public school advocates a decisive victory, striking down a Florida program that gives students taxpayer-funded tuition vouchers to private schools. It was the first time a state Supreme Court has said states have a duty to educate students in public schools.

..."Unaffected are two other Florida voucher plans: One that pays for 16,144 disabled students to attend private schools and another that gives tax credits to businesses that donate to a scholarship fund allowing 13,497 low-income students to attend private schools.

But Thursday's ruling ultimately could affect these and other voucher programs. The court found that taxpayer support for private schools in general is unconstitutional because Florida's constitution requires "a uniform, efficient, safe, secure and high-quality system of free public schools." Private schools aren't "uniform when compared with each other or the public system," the justices wrote. They're also exempt from public standards on teacher credentials and requirements to teach about a wide range of subjects, such as civics, U.S. and world history and minorities' and women's contributions to history.

Mother Jones covered this issue back in December.

Rick Scott's School Plan for Scoundrels

Conservatives have been plotting for years to blow up the public school system. Now, Florida's incoming governor Rick Scott is poised to light the fuse.

During his campaign, Scott pledged to overhaul the state's schools while simultaneously reducing school property taxes by $1.4 billion. How to accomplish both? Privatization, of course. His plan, which promotes online schooling along with other educational options, may actually pave the way for the elimination of such pesky budget busters as buses, cafeterias, teachers, and, well, school facilities themselves.

Scott's transition office did not respond to inquiries from Mother Jones, but according to various news reports, Scott is cooking up an education proposal that would expand an existing voucher program designed for low-income and disabled kids, opening it to all students. The result would be that instead of public school funds filtering through the unionized public bureaucracy, it would go with the students, who could use the money to enroll in the school of their choice—public, private, charter, or virtual. If parents are wealthy enough to pay for their child's education with their own funds, they can use the voucher money for laptops or school supplies, or even sock it away in a college fund. The proposed voucher amount, about $5500, is only 85 percent of the annual cost of educating a child in Florida.

Far-right conservatives have been pushing vouchers for years as a way to dismantle public schools and fund parochial schools. But Scott's proposal may be the first to propose using vouchers as a way of also cutting taxes.

I am fearful because he has a legislature that is so strongly Republican that he can do whatever he wants with their blessing. And many of them seem to be in favor of these vouchers that will end up destroying our public schools. Another article from December shows their support.

From the Miami Herald:

Scott shaking up halls of academia with plan

A draft of the plan that surfaced Friday, written by Levesque, says parents of eligible students would receive 85 percent of the state's per-pupil funding figure, which is $6,843 this year.

``I don't think it's radical at all,'' said Lindsey Burke, education policy analyst at the conservative Heritage Foundation. ``At this point, the radical notion is to trap a child in a failing public school.''

``I love it,'' said Sen. Alan Hays, R-Umatilla.

It could unlock an ``educational marketplace,'' said Rep. Erik Fresen, R-Miami, one of House Speaker Dean Cannon's education advisors. ``The parent would not be bound by an attendance boundary, but rather would have the ability to compete and put their child in whatever school they think will best meet their child's needs.''

School board members, union officials and Democratic lawmakers, though, gasped at the sweep of it.

``There had been talk of expansion of the (voucher) program,'' said Rep. Rick Kriseman, D-St. Petersburg. ``But that's not an expansion. That's a takeover.''

He wants to give away our public taxpayer money to any student who decides they want to go to a school of their choice. It is arising out of the atmosphere set by the strong emphasis on charter schools by Arne Duncan at the DOE. It is arising out of the anti-teacher, anti-union atmosphere created by this administration in Washington.

Such an atmosphere makes it easier to tear down public schools with no recrimination from higher up. Because in fact there is no party now that is really supportive of public education.

If Rick Scott does go ahead with this plan, he just might get approval. That will destroy the Florida public school system, and he might just get away with it.

[SteppingRazor]

1. And the Education Savings Plan thing is specifically designed to get around the voucher ruling.

The idea is that, since this is just government money going into a pot that citizens can do anything with, the government won't be supporting private schools necessarily. The whole idea was specifically ginned up to get around court cases in Florida and Arizona that struck down vouchers as unconstitutional per the state constitution.

[Still a Democrat]

8. How is it different from a voucher?

n/t

[SteppingRazor]

22. A voucher is specifically used to send a kid to private school with state money.

In this new education savings plan, the money could still be used for private education, but could also be used for home schooling supplies, college savings, or what have you -- just so long as the student exits the public education system.

The governor and his allies are hoping that the savings plan is sufficiently broad that it will pass muster where former Gov. Jeb Bush's voucher plan did not.

[newportdadde]

2. That and those private schools will just raise their rates by 5500.

They know what you got and they know you will already pay so they will just raise their rates and make even more. Why all these parents with kids in public schools see these vouchers as a boon just confuses me. If you paid 5k and then get a 5k voucher your kid isn't getting in to that private school for nothing out of your pocket. Instead that private school will raise their rates by the amount of the voucher and just double up.

[Change Happens]

11. Private Schools are near $14,000.00 per year here in South Florida!!!

Please make a note, I don't know of any that cost anything less.

[OHdem10]

3. On the surface, Vouchers sound good. Pull back the curatin and

look more closely.

Most of the better Private shools charge much more
than the amount of the voucher. Most will not even
be able to apply to these schools even with a voucher.

Here is an old chestnut they are getting ready to bring
up again. I do not mean to be ugly or create discension.
I am not saying this is the right thing. I am saying
people are human and their darkest side can be brought
to the fore by public policy(that has not been thought
through). I remind people--what was the flight to surburbs
all about???? Is Scott telling many of his consituents
you must make room for more students. When will the
"Burbs" revolt???

[SoCalDem]

4. "Storefront Strip-Mall Jesus Schools" will be what's left for "the childrennnnn"

SSMJS, Inc, LLC, Ltd. ®™©³

[madfloridian]

9. Your sig pics make my day quite often.

I always look for them.

:hi:

[SoCalDem]

13. happy to oblige, ma'am

I will be changing it in a few days.. The whole Keeeeeeeeith drama has run its course:rofl:

[TicketyBoo]

5. Talk about parents' choice in schools

just about makes me froth at the mouth.

There shouldn't be a choice. If a public school isn't good enough for every student, then it isn't good enough for any student, and should be improved, consolidated, or shut down and replaced.

Outlaw private schools. Make public school attendance mandatory. Do busing if necessary to make sure that every public school is a good school.

[Nuclear Unicorn]

7. "There shouldn't be a choice."

I think we found our campaign slogan for 2012.

[SoCalDem]

12. There IS a "problem" with school choice

Most areas fund schools with property taxes

More expensive property - more money for schools

What if YOU bought an expensive house because of the new school and the proximity of it, and then found out that YOUR kid, who lives 1 block away could not go to that school because there was no room, because others "chose" it for their kids before you had a chance to enroll your kid?

Another issue is transportation.

If you live miles & miles from your "chosen" school, but you have no way to GET your kid to class, should bus service be offered?

What needs to happen is that ALL schools need to be brought up to the level of the "good" schools, and a different way of funding them has to be found.

Shitty schools for poor kids seems to have not worked out all that well over the last several decades, and even with better schools, lots of the non-so-poor kids seem to be totally turned off to schooling..

[Nuclear Unicorn]

14. If transportation is an issue

how did all those kids living far from my house end up going to the school near my house?

Maybe the better way of funding is to stop funding crap.

How many times does a restaurant have to give you food poisoning before you stop going to that restaurant? If someone came along and said we need a government program raise taxes to pay people to clean the restaurant everyone would ask why we should have taxes to pay for something the other guys seem perfectly capable of doing on their own.

[madfloridian]

15. Wait. Is that your opinion of public education? "stop funding crap"?

Because they HAVE stopped funding public schools as they should, and the money is going to private management companies to run charters and for vouchers to send kids to private schools.

You are aware they are taking taxpayer money and NOT using it for public education??

[Nuclear Unicorn]

16. If it wasn't crap people would be happy to send their kids there.

I'm not saying all public schools are crap but some are. Just like an indictment of a restaurant that gives you food poisoning is not an indictment of the entire restaurant industry; just the one restaurant.

I keep hearing the "we need the money for the child" argument and I totally agree.

So if you have more children in a given school it should have more money. The corollary is fewer children require less money. So it seems the money should follow the child.

What I can't seem to wrap my head around is the "there shouldn't be a choice" idea that demands the child so as to get the money.

If they want the kids, they should earn the, just like a restaurant has to earn customers by not poisoning them.

Why should anyone be allowed to demand patronage?

In a couple of years the government is going to demand I buy insurance from companies who already do not have my best interest at heart. Once it becomes law that I have no choice but to go to them with their standardized lists of services and prices they have me captive. I have no place to go once the effects of price-fixing and monopolies kicks in.

If it's a bad idea for health care how did it become a good idea for, well, anything?

[madfloridian]

17. I'm afraid that TPTB have made "choice" a code word for privatizing.

It has become that now, a way to defund and dismantle public education.

And I am very upset that the Obama administration has continued and even expanded Bush policies.

They have been taking money from schools in poorer neighborhoods and giving it to "good" neighborhoods in my area for years now. What about your district?

[Nuclear Unicorn]

21. Sounds like a good argument for tacking the money to the child

Parents aren't stupid, they want the best for their kids.

What drew me into this thread was the "there shouldn't be a choice" comment.

Actually, there should be a choice. If public education is a good idea parents will choose it.

If it, or anything else, is a bad idea there should be more choices.

If the government cannot be trusted to stop taking bribes from lobbyists (again, I revisit my health insurance analogy) then maybe their involvement in our lives should be minimized. It's hard enough to keep them from making dumb decisions but then we add large sums of money to the mix and trouble is sure to follow.

It would be nice to say, "We should only elect progressives with the best intentions!"

Yeah we should.

How many of us voted Obama '08?

:hi:

But as you noted...Obama...Bush...

meh

Maybe what we need are vouchers with lots of solid progressive based schools available to choose from. What they would save in profit-taking, unlike their corporatists competitors, they could be used to attract the best teachers and staff. The parents will follow those teachers because if teachers care then the parents do all the more so.

Would you eat at a corporate capitalist restaurant more interested in profit-taking or a progressive restaurant that focused on the health of the customer and a happy, service-oriented staff?

[madfloridian]

24. Obama IS fulfilling Bush's education agenda.

If you take money from the public schools, you will destroy them.

If you think that is fine, then I don't know what else to say.

[Nuclear Unicorn]

27. Imagine a nation gone mad...

...and Sarah Palin is being sworn in as the 45th President of the United States.

You then realize she gets to choose the next Secretary of Education and she has congress at her back to not only consent but to fund her initiatives.

Would it be nice to let parents escape public education?

It's hard to fathom a position that says, "the idiots set the policy, let's keep the kids under those policies."

[madfloridian]

29. Everytime I take a stand on public education, I am threatened with Sarah Palin.

And that's a crying shame.

[Nuclear Unicorn]

30. In Texas it isn't a threat, it's a reality.

All threats are a shame. Just because it's a shame doesn't mean it isn't credible.

[madfloridian]

31. So it's accept everything he does or we get Sarah Palin?

Let's stop doing that.

[Nuclear Unicorn]

32. Accept everything who does? Obama?

I never said accept what Obama does. They're all crooks. The contracts go to the lowest bidder with the highest campaign contribution.

That's why I'm skeptical of allowing them to decide where to order kids to attend...by force of law no less. There's a thread in GD about a mother being sentence to jail for taking her kids out of a school district. I'm willing to bet she didn't do it to put them in a worse school but now she's being commanded to submit or be locked away.

Ain't nuthin' lib'rul 'bout that!

[madfloridian]

34. I am backing off.

I see no reason to continue.

[Mojeoux]

58. Save the American Public School System!!!

Teachers are gutsy committed people. They say Union Teachers hardly ever get fired for incompetence. Statistics show that Charter school teachers, less educated, with no unions and cheaper to pay for, NEVER get fired!

Union Teachers have standards.

Charter Schools are about MONEY.

Remember it was the Catholic Parochial system that hid the pervert priests for decades who molested kids with impunity.

Public schools are morally and legally bound to report any type of abuse.

[howaboutme]

23. I'm critical of public schools

I'm somewhat critical of public schools, but I'm not ready to privatize them. In my area they've been throwing ever more money (new football fields) and handing out big raises even in this down economy without showing any improvements in education. Generally more money is not the answer.

I agree we need funding that gives every school an equal amount for education. Eliminate property taxes as funding sources and use sales and wealth taxes instead. Give the schools some discretion in improving results, but we must demand that every school show continually improving results in grad rates, etc. Hold teachers and administrators accountable. Schools have become very top heavy in administration and support. In my area they school districts have been giving out large 5-6 digit anonymous settlements to some parents who make an issue about their kids special ed. It is BS. This takes $$$ away from other children.

I want the focus to be on educating kids by the institution of our public schools, but we need to eliminate the institution itself as the focus and priority. It is a subtle but important difference.

[madfloridian]

25. Actually a football field is not funding education.

In most states they are taking money away from public schools. Actually that is Duncan's policy...and that is a shame.

[onpatrol98]

68. hmm....not liking this idea

I'm not really appreciating this idea. What we do during years when Republicans are in office? They would be the ones deciding what's "good enough." Not to mention, lately some of the best students I've known have been home schooled. There's got to be a better solution.

[okieinpain]

6. if americans want a banana republic this is the way to go about

it.

[madfloridian]

18. Most simply don't care. Even here at DU most don't care about public schools.

:shrug:

[okieinpain]

39. well that's sad, because we're going to be up a creek without them

or if the public schools are left with nothing but the troubled kids. they keep throwing that voucher money out there to entice people but they are not telling them how much those charter/private schools cost.

[madfloridian]

42. Have you read this thread? People approve of this at a Dem forum.

All it took was for Democrats to come out in support of education privatization, and it's ok.

[ClassWarrior]

60. Mostly just trolls approve of this at a Dem forum. Just like DLC DINOs support it at the...

...legislative level. The Rape-Publicans have really infested education.

NGU.

[Change Happens]

10. Ok wait a minute! The bulk of my property taxes go to local schools, does this mean it will be

zero if and when I get this voucher?

In addition, the voucher amount is way less than my property taxes, will I get the difference in cash?

And, just so everyone knows, cost for a private schools in my area is $14K per year, his voucher does not even cover half of this cost.

Nutshell: I fucking hate ALL Republicans mother fuckers, I think they are 100% pure evil bastards...Florida is way fucked, doomed, it is all over...

[madfloridian]

19. Democrats nationally need to speak out against things like this.

There are so few Florida Democrats in the legislature they are almost voiceless.

But our party allows stuff like this to go forward because they are NOT taking a stand for public education.

[howaboutme]

20. Public money going towards privatization always means corruption.

It always works that way because of the dynamics of greed, corruption and the interaction.

The profit incentive means high paid business people will buy off politicians. It means that bureaucrats entrusted to interface and administer contracts properly with integrity and looking out for taxpayers, will become beholden to the contractor hoping to get piece of the action when they retire. The revolving door means public funds will be squandered and wasted while bureaucrats and politicians will be corrupted.

When the government is administering funds to other government agencies there be some waste and nepotism but not blatant corruption and kickbacks. School districts don't payoff politicians or other bureaucrats except with jobs.

[madfloridian]

26. Scott wants to cut property taxes by 19%, cut corporate taxes as well.

From the TC Palm article:

"Will this plan work financially? No. On top of Florida's $3.5 billion revenue shortfall, Scott wants to cut the taxes that go to schools by 19 percent and eliminate corporate taxes, which currently can be written off when donated to schools. He wants to cut funding to $5,500 per student, which would put the state last in per-pupil funding, to match our last place in per-capita funding. But $5,500 also would be given to students already attending private schools, to the tune of $1.7 billion. Additionally, if students have the pick of any public school, the districts would be saddled with the cost of busing students all over the county. The numbers simply don't add up."

[SheilaT]

28. Private schools everywhere cost

a whole lot more than $5500/year. Some parochial schools are around that amount, but only if you live in the parish.

Private schools, unlike what is occasionally stated, won't be bothered to raise their tuition. They all have limited space, and exercise a lot of control over who enrolls. So anyone who thinks the public school kids will simply transfer en masse to private schools are delusional about the spaces actually available.

I sent my kids to an excellent, academically oriented private school. I moved them from a very good, high-achieving public school because of personal reasons, not to flee a crappy school, but to flee bullying, and then with the second one when I saw how much stronger the academics were in the private school, it was a no-brainer to transfer him also. And yes, I always appreciated that thanks to the generosity of the paternal grandparents this was an option. Anyway, by the time they graduated, second one in 2005, the cost of high school was over $10,000, and the school was completely open about how this was not the actual cost of educating each kid, and that various fund-raisers were done each year to make up the difference.

In short, public schools are themselves drastically underfunded.

[madfloridian]

44. In short, soon my taxes will send others' kids to private schools.

As I watch our public school system deteriorate.

I guess the approval here at DU, at least the lack of alarm....has finally opened my eyes to how much we have finally accepted of the Republican frame of mind.

:shrug:

I should have known.

[SheilaT]

45. That's exactly what vouchers mean.

I was very unpopular with some of the parents at my kids' school because I kept on saying I should not be exempt from penny one of taxes just because I sent my kids to private school.

The reality is that NO ONE has kids in the public school their entire working lives. Plus, there are those who never have kids at all. But we all have a vested interest in good public schools. And we need to be willing to pay for them.

[onpatrol98]

69. Had 3 in public and 1 in private (youngest)

It started accidentally when our regular school system had nothing for 3K. Then their 4K options were in two different but nearby cities. It still felt a little nutty to send my child to a different city for 4K when there was a private one around the corner. I never would have tried it a private school had my regular school system had what I needed. But, now, that I've tried it. I like it. My child likes it. Smaller classroom sizes, more attention per child, and my youngest is further along than the older 3 were at the same age. I still support public schools. I still have one in a public high school. But, I also like the idea of giving parents choices.

People choose private school for different reasons. I understand the idea of vouchers. I just haven't seen them work very well in practice. For instance, we push and ask for better schools. But, what do our kids do until we get them? Rich people (and I'm definitely not rich) can afford to live in areas that have great public schools, and poor kids are stuck year after year.

[DainBramaged]

33. Ricki's figured out 'nother way to rob the system.........

[Dappleganger]

48. Well he's an expert in robbing the taxpayers, that's for sure.

[NYC_DEM]

35. Great Idea

This is a great idea or would be if they did it in my area - quite frankly its rough when the local schools stink and if you want your kids to get a great education you fork over 5-15k each annually for private school at the same time your property taxes keep going up to fund lousy schools your kids cant attend (well not if you want them to learn anything anyway).

I don’t have time to worry about the big picture I am working 7 days a week to keep my kids in private schools and keep our standard of living where it has always been, while the city government including the dept of Ed pisses away our tax dollars with lousy results.

If you don’t think they piss the money away google NYC Rubber rooms – yeah pretty insane, they have been closed down now but the practice went on for years and years 700 teachers x 65k = 45m annually down the tubes for years – nice.

I’d take my measly 10k a year to offset the cost of 2 private school tuitions – hell yes I would take it and be thrilled.

I’ve always thought a great education was the key to the future for the next generation. The source of the education is really irrelevant – but I think we all know that.

[madfloridian]

37. The source of education is really not relevant?

And it doesn't matter what is taught either, I guess.

[TheKentuckian]

40. Damn. That is an anti-community, fuck those less well off mentality running away down hill.

Don't have "time" for the big picture? Become a Republican.

[Ilsa]

36. And developmentally disabled children go where? How much is

their tuition when it takes a masters degree for teaching plus two aides for a class size of ten special needs kids? What happens to them when the public schools fall apart? Do the parents in a city of say, 50,000 people have to move to find a school?

[madville]

38. I would like to send my son to the nearby private school

It's $5600 a year though. There is only one public middle and one public high school in this entire county and both leave a bunch to be desired. We may do it next year when he starts 9th grade, they do a great job preparing kids for college instead of pretty much being graded for showing up at the local public schools. About to pay off our car so we might be able to swing the $500 a month it will take but it will be worth it for him. Fortunately his college is already paid for.

If they came out with a way to help with tuition I would definitely look into it.

[madfloridian]

43. Yes, I might get to send your kid to private school with my tax money.

Ain't it great?

[Dappleganger]

49. Oh, the irony...

escapes that person!

:rofl:

[madfloridian]

63. Indeed it does.

They don't seem to get it. :)

[madville]

51. Actually it's my tax money, just getting it back

And I play the lottery also, so I fund education that way as well

[madfloridian]

52. That angers me. Instead of paying for a good system of public schools...

we will be forced to pay for the children of others to attend private schools. It's a selfish thing, and it was planned that way....to make people feel they were entitled to private schools with taxpayer money.

Jeb started out appealing to minorities on vouchers.. He had huge rallies with the African Americans, saying they were entitled to a good education. Of course they are...all of our children are..white or black or any group. They played it that way.

I have always been proud to pay taxes to have a strong public school system. You sound as though you are mocking that system.

I am going to update my list before I see another response like that.

[madville]

54. What if giving the $5500 away actually saves the school/government money?

That would be beneficial to the students that remain in the public system.

[WinkyDink]

55. Not getting it. It's designed to destroy public education the surest way: Rob it blind.

[Dappleganger]

64. No it would not.

The price per child is money that is pooled together to employ the teachers, maintain the buildings, pay the lights, etc. Just like with healthcare, the less people paying into the system the higher the expenses go up per person. Not to mention the quality goes down.

BTW, that $5500 won't go that far with most poor and lower-middle class families. Other families can make up the difference easily but the rest won't, so the public school kids who are left will suffer.

As a taxpayer in the state of FL who also has kids in the public school system, I don't want MY tax dollars going to subsidize your desire to put your kids into christian school. If you want to do that then do it on your own dime, not mine.

[Hannah Bell]

65. because that's not the case.

[onpatrol98]

70. Hope you can find the money to do it

I hope you can find the money to do it. It's an awful feeling to "feel" trapped into a horrible school district. Coming up with the tuition can be tough, but I don't know many who have regrets. Our high school has some good teachers, but the administration leaves a lot to be desired. The rules and regulations they come up with border on just being strange...You're left with a..."What were they smoking?" feeling with some of the rules.

Good Luck!

[Roy Rolling]

41. Management Vouchers

I could support this if they also offered vouchers to choose a government management team besides the politicians who are managing government. Why not put all of government up for "competition" and see how many people choose a better manager than Scott? The "competition" always is to choose basic services, never the idiot managers that caused the problems in the first place.

[madfloridian]

46. They are putting all the government up for competition, aren't they?

That's been the goal of the GOP for years, but now even our party is wanting competition in schools.

Which is another word for letting private companies handle it.

I guess after all that is where we are going. When there is no one standing for public education anywhere anymore, then there won't be any.

[Dappleganger]

47. Hmmmm OK, let me have that money.

I'll give it to my kids' public school teachers and ask them to spend it wisely on our kids' education. After all, they do a great job on far less resources every school day of the year.

[Indydem]

57. You already ARE giving that money to your public school teachers.

Where do you think your tax dollars are going?

[Dappleganger]

61. Apparently...

you don't get sarcasm.

[onethatcares]

50. what it comes down to is this state is attempting to lure

high tech/medical research/high paying jobs and wants our children to learn to make beds and wait tables.

[madfloridian]

56. You are right. It is all about business, not depth of learning for our kids.

And we are accepting it so easily.

[WinkyDink]

53. Think how much the Duggars would rake in annually for home-schooling!

20 X $5,500 = $110,000!

[madfloridian]

59. Heh heh

It would be a possibility under such stupid ideas as Scott is discussing.

I am really stunned at how many think it is ok. Guess our party has done a good job of caving in the issue. No one is standing up firmly.

[Turbineguy]

62. He's obviously got this wrong.

He should just give $5500 for every child who just leaves school. Never mind charter or private schools. They can spend it on guns and drugs. Then he'll have lots of gun toting druggies. Then he can spend all the money they used to waste on education, building profitable privately run prisons.

When millions of people start leaving Florida they can knock down the houses and lay in more cemeteries, because they'll need lots of those.

This man has a plan! He should set his eyes on the White House!

[dogday]

66. I have my daughter enrolled in a virtual academy sw. It is

all state supported, and I am assuming by charter, because everything is paid for including, text, workbook, microscope and all materials are sent to the home and she has a lot of one on one time with the teacher online.

I support public schools, but I am dying and my daughter wants to spend as much time as she can and she could not cope at school any more.

Is what I am doing killing the public school system? Is this the beginning of the end? I don't know. I just know this is what we have to do now so I can spend as much time with her as possible.

I hope that after I pass, she will go back to high school, I think you can never get the life experiences from anywhere else. I will always remember my high school days.

[onpatrol98]

71. Wow, dogday...

I'm glad that your daughter is getting to spend more time with you. I think maybe this is more of what we need. We need to find a way to meet the needs of individual children. It's tough, it's expensive, but they're worth it. You're not killing the public school system. You're helping your own child survive and cope. I hope you're around with your daughter for a very long time.

We need really strong public schools. They seemed to be so much better when I was younger. But, I will also always remember my own high school days.

Best wishes...

[markpkessinger]

67. The problem with vouchers & other government incentives for private schools

These programs are disingenuously cast as providing "choice" to lower and middle income parents. the reality is tuition costs at private schools typically far exceed any voucher or other financial incentive provided, and for lower income parents in particular, they still will be unable to afford the difference.

But that isn't my primary objection to these programs. My principal objection is that these programs are implemented in such a manner as to offset taxes collected that would otherwise go towards public schools. I speak as someone who does not have children, but who was a product of public schools in a part of Pennsylvania where private schools (with the exception of Catholic ones) were few and far between, and thus were not a practical alternative for most people regardless of income. Now, I have heard people say, rather selfishly in my view, that since they don't have children themselves that they shouldn't have to pay any taxes at all towards public schools. Fundamentally, though, I believe that education is a societal responsibility (particularly since the failure to educate our children has ramifications for the entire society).

(A side note here: I think the system in use in many parts of the country for funding public schools of using local property tax revenues as the primary funding source is unjust in that it inappropriately places the burden of funding on property owners. I currently live in NYC, where the primary funding source for public schools is a local income tax, which I believe is much fairer, and more properly reflects the fact that public education is the responsibility of all citizens.)

So, the problem with vouchers and other government aid or incentives towards private schooling, especially insofar as they are used to offset taxes owed by the recipient that would otherwise be used towards public school funding, as that they wind up treating school taxes as de facto tuition payments, which they manifestly are not. So, as far as I am concerned, the public rightly funds public schools, which are then rightly freely available to all. If parents, for religious, cultural or even educational reasons, wish to send their kids to private schools, fine; but that should be solely their own responsibility to pay for, and should not in any wise whatsoever alleviate their obligation (shared with everyone else whether or not they have children) to pay their share of taxes towards public schools.