There is great controversy in Florida on the Parent Trigger Bill, the substantial changes in the Florida School Grading System and on inclusion of Students with Disabilities and ELL Students
The Parent Trigger and the School Grading Changes will have a major impact on students, teachers and the State of Florida
Senator Simmons and others have called on Senators and the Governor to hit the Pause Button and to give the state the time to get it right
Let's take the immediate passage of the Parent Trigger and implementation of the School Grading System and hit the Pause Button
Showing posts with label Florida Parent Trigger. Show all posts
Showing posts with label Florida Parent Trigger. Show all posts
Tuesday, March 6, 2012
Sunday, January 29, 2012
The Privatization Express (TM) -- Is The Parent Trigger The Decoy and Charter School Funding The Reformers Real Target?
Patricia Levesque orchestrated a very professional presentation at a house meeting in Tallahassee promoting a Parent Trigger Bill -- allowing parents in a failing school to have a choice on management of the school if it has been failing for 3 years. Not a bill I like -- if Parent Empowerment and Involvement was the goal and not Privatization, there are far better things that could be done far easier and far sooner -- like getting parents involved today or at the latest when the school is deemed a failing school.
HB903, that says districts must either give Charter Schools a pro rata share of local money for construction, is a big issue.
It could move
- Over $100 million into the Charter School coffers
- Reduce bonding capacity for public schools
Three things that do not make sense:
1- Public school districts own public schools -- so when the state funds the new buildings, the public gets the benefit and keeps the asset -- with charter schools the assets belong to a private corporation and they charge the charter schools rent. Consider the following
Responding to this week's cover story about the charter school chain he runs, Frank Biden continues to insist Mavericks in Education Florida is not profiting from its schools. He says it's just the school buildings that bring in the dough.
Why should the public fund construction when the private enterprise makes money on the rent, they get the asset and there is no benefit to the public
2- In a Ball State study they found that charter schools get $2700 less per student, and $2000 of that is the local districts not allocating local taxes. Take that $2000 per student multiply it by the 200,000 students in Florida Charter Schools and that would be a $400 million swing -- more money for charter schools and $400 million less for public schools. If HB903 is passed, expect to see the same logic used with operating funding. What's worse -- is this could grow to $600 million or a Billion.
3- HB903 is saying that local government must spend their money the way Tallahassee wants it to and not have a choice -- if a local government refused to allocate the money to the charter schools the bill says the state will deduct this from their allocation to the districts
These actions could significantly reduce public school funding for building and in the near term even more significantly reduce school operating budgets.
Bad for public school students, bad for public school teachers, and very bad for local governments
HB903, that says districts must either give Charter Schools a pro rata share of local money for construction, is a big issue.
It could move
- Over $100 million into the Charter School coffers
- Reduce bonding capacity for public schools
Three things that do not make sense:
1- Public school districts own public schools -- so when the state funds the new buildings, the public gets the benefit and keeps the asset -- with charter schools the assets belong to a private corporation and they charge the charter schools rent. Consider the following
Responding to this week's cover story about the charter school chain he runs, Frank Biden continues to insist Mavericks in Education Florida is not profiting from its schools. He says it's just the school buildings that bring in the dough.
Why should the public fund construction when the private enterprise makes money on the rent, they get the asset and there is no benefit to the public
2- In a Ball State study they found that charter schools get $2700 less per student, and $2000 of that is the local districts not allocating local taxes. Take that $2000 per student multiply it by the 200,000 students in Florida Charter Schools and that would be a $400 million swing -- more money for charter schools and $400 million less for public schools. If HB903 is passed, expect to see the same logic used with operating funding. What's worse -- is this could grow to $600 million or a Billion.
3- HB903 is saying that local government must spend their money the way Tallahassee wants it to and not have a choice -- if a local government refused to allocate the money to the charter schools the bill says the state will deduct this from their allocation to the districts
These actions could significantly reduce public school funding for building and in the near term even more significantly reduce school operating budgets.
Bad for public school students, bad for public school teachers, and very bad for local governments
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