FL allows $64 million in budget for 2013 charter school maintenance. Zero for public schools.
The same thing happened last year, but the amount given charter schools was then $55 million. Zero for public schools.
http://journals.democraticunderground.com/madfloridian/7909
Florida charter schools get $55 million for upkeep. Traditional schools get nothing.
The charter school operated for children of employees of The Villages, the Republican stronghold in north Lake County frequented by Scott and former President George W. Bush, is expected to receive about $1 million.
School district officials across Florida are bemoaning the Legislature's decision to cut traditional public schools out of PECO — the Public Education Capital Outlay program. The state's 350 charter schools will share $55 million, while the approximately 3,000 traditional schools will go without.
And this year? Even worse for the public schools.
From the Palm Beach Post:
State plan to help charter schools irks Palm Beach County School Board
Charter schools are alternatives to traditional public schools. They receive taxpayer funding but are freed from meeting some state requirements — such as in curriculum, hiring and classroom sizes — in exchange for targeting specific classroom results from their students. They often are run by private companies, some of them for-profit.
The state Department of Education last week gave a Florida Senate subcommittee a report on the state Board of Education’s requested budget for next year. The budget includes a request for about $64 million for capital improvements at charter schools. Last year charters received about $55 million for school construction.
If approved, that budget would mark the third straight year the state has given capital outlay money to charter schools but no capital funding to districts to build and maintain traditional public schools, said Vern Pickup-Crawford, the county school district’s state lobbyist.
But it's okay and the public school chancellor for the state said public school districts just need to raise taxes.
The state’s budget request reflects the Board of Education’s priorities to assist charter schools, said Pam Stewart, chancellor of public schools for the state Department of Education. Stewart also pointed out that individual school districts can levy local individual property taxes of $1.50 for every $1,000 of taxable value to raise money for their local capital needs.
The state appears to have officially come out in support of charter schools over public schools.
This method of financing, or should I say, NOT financing public schools' maintenance, is making sure traditional public schools will not be able to survive long in Florida.
= new reply since forum marked as read
ex-husband to explain how for-profit charter schools were going to be able to improve education, without raising taxes. He stopped dead in his tracks and said, "they can't, of course". Then I asked him whether he thought, after adding a layer of profit to the cost of education, charter schools could even deliver the same level of education...again an emphatic NO. I said, "Remember that when it comes to the next election pal because all of the 'not-for-profit' charter schools will disappear once people have accepted charter schools...think of those not-for-profits as loss leaders." The only way to get through the incredibly thick skulls of republicans is to hit them in their tax pocketbooks. 
thanks for informing so many, MF!
