Jeb: 'Activist jurists' no longer decide vouchers

Jeb Bush has released this statement on today's school voucher action by the Taxation and Budget Reform Commission:

"Nearly a decade ago, Florida created Opportunity Scholarships to empower parents with financial resources to give their children a quality education.  The program was based on the principles that parents know better than bureaucracies how to best educate their children and that providing a quality education to children in low income families was the best way to prevent a life-long dependence on government.

Since introducing accountability and school choice, Florida has experienced unprecedented rising student achievement in public schools.  Vouchers are one of the tools that spurred the turnaround. They provided needed options for students in chronically failing schools and created competition that improved low-performing public schools.

Unfortunately, the Florida Supreme Court struck down the successful program partly under the tortured reasoning that a better education from a private school was unconstitutional because it was different than the education provided by a public school.

Thanks to the good work of the Taxation and Budget Reform Commission, Florida voters, not activist jurists, will ultimately decide the best way to provide a quality education for all of our students."

Comments

Jeb that's really funny! Shut up!

[Omega83]

How do we know the students who used vouchers performed better at private schools?

How do we know those private schools perform better than public?

guess neil must now be in the 'private schol' bidness, eh?

could any of these mopes exist without the public trough to fill their slimey pockets?

just go clip your coupons and drink yourselves to death silently, o.k., kidzzzz?

[Donald Lance]

Jeb, as your brah says, "I appreciate ya" but have you seen the dropout rates lately?

Dear Jeb,

GO AWAY FOR GOD'S SAKE! AS IT IS, I'VE HAD TO PULL EVERY "BUSH" UP FROM AROUND MY HOUSE BECAUSE I CAN'T STAND EVEN HAVING ANY REFERENCES TO YOU DOPES.

... I also drink only german-made beer too.

Way to go Jeb! We miss your strong conservative leadership here in Florida.

We miss you Jeb! it's getting harder to steal taxpayer money here in Florida.

Love,

CSX and the gang!

JEB Bush. You lied about improvement like your brother lied about "Texas miracle." The miracle is that any children survive your deceptive privatized crony ripoff of Florida taxpayers.

Dropout rates are actually pushed out rates and phonied up as if kids transfer. They are LEFT BEHIND when test scores determine cash available.

Elitist pig programs to shovel cash to religious and/or profit based dumb down schools. Go away JEB and your whole lying, cheating family with your privatized "cures" for the lives you destroyed.

[Omega83]

"Way to go Jeb! We miss your strong conservative leadership here in Florida."

I thought conservative meant opposition to welfare and subsidies? Vouchers are subsidies to private schools and welfare for students

Vouchers = Treason

Vouchers on the '08 ballot. Jeb, you arrogant a*s, you killed us.

Signed,

John McCain and
The Republican Party of Florida

All student test scores (especially minority test scores) increased under Gov. Bush. Accountability and school choice work and the left need to stop being in the back pocket of the teachers union.

[Omega83]

4:59

I have no problem with increased accountability for public schools. It was desperately needed.

I do have a problem with 0 accountability for private schools accepting public money

All student test scores (especially minority test scores) decreased under Gov. Bush. Florida is Ranked 49th out of 50 states, in Education)

Accountability and school choice have never work and the right-wing criminals need to stop being in the back pocket of the corporations.

[Chris W]

Omega83, that's one of two things that are wrong with vouchers as constituted - schools are not required to accept all voucher students, and the voucher schools aren't required to take FCAT along with the public schools. If accountability is so good for public schools, it's good for private schools too.

I have to wonder - if you could compare FCAT scores side by side for public and private schools, would that show that claims of superiority for private schools are nonsense?

[terminator]

Jeb and Levesque:
don't get your hopes up.

we will shoot this down just like we've shot your other programs down.

and McKay, you better get ready for the lawsuit we should have filed against you years ago but you flipped on us and now it's time for retribution.

has anyone checked the paternity of Levesque's kid?

bet Jeb will be the Godfather!

Terminator you are a complete dumba-- and I'm not Jeb fan either

[Zhombre]

I agree with 7:19. Termie is fricking incoherent. That paternity remark ranks up there with the Crist-is-gay or Obama-is-Muslim smears. Dreck.

Give termie a break - 7:11 on a friday and the legislature was out... he had several at clydes before getting to the 'puter...

The Florida Supreme Court's ruling echoed the policy preferences of the Stalinists who cannot abide children escaping the clutches of government schools. Vouchers allow children to escape crappy education for one their parents believe is better. The court's ruling was indeed a cramped interpretation of the constitutional power of the Legislature to fund education. It was a horribly biased interpretation that this proposal will supersede. This gets 60% easy!

Who really cares what this meglomaniac thinks?

[terminator]

geez, you guys don't have much of a sense of humor.
lighten up it's the weekend.
we know Jeb's latest scheme won't pass the 60% muster.
W's at 30% nationally, the economy's in the sh*tter, we owe a trillion in debt, gas prices fast approaching $4 per gallon and climbing, foreclosure rate the highest in the nation, state economy in tatters.
and you guys actually believe the voters will buy into something being pushed by the Jebster????
all quiet on the western front here on Adams Street. Hey Andy, what was that you're drinking?
sorry guys, got to get the waitress for a nightcap.
do we look worried?

[Gilbert R. Ford]

The critical veiled comments fmr. Gov Bush hurled at the FL. Supreme Court for derailing his voucher program, clearly illustrate that he is STILL smitten with the ruling against him!
While, I am a voting Republican, I cannot in good spirit support the fmr. Gov. The mere notion that he has hailed a success for a program that was devised, to not only trample on the low income kids, but try and get the suffering taxpayers to continue it is galling to say the least.
It is apparent, the fmr Gov. has not opened his mind to the reality that we Floridians rank a combined 42 nationally in overall education areas of Reading, Writing and Geography. Further, we rank 48 in Math. When polled/surveyed of 5 top Florida PRIVATE Schools; families with income of 75k or higher, we rank in the top 10 percent. The latter, would be the DIRECT BENEFICIARIES of this voucher program! While I am well educated, (combined total family income never exceeded $30k a year) I never had a scholarship or hand out. I am not opposed to allowing ALL kids to have every possible opportunity to succeed, regardless of the family's financial standing. All I ask, we as parents give them Love, encouragement, support and our time! Something I do not think the fmr. Gov has ever considered. As his term came to a close, he assembled some of his ardent supporters in positions to undermine any attempt by the new adminstration to add common sense to this devisive, elitist albatross! Sure, he has and continue to have supporters-is this really what we as parents want? Become informed and challenge this at every corner!

Can we deport all memebers of the Bush Family... say to Iraq?

termie

besides being an obnoxious twit, you just confirmed the need for the amendment.

parents of disabled kids will unite against you and your ilk who care nothing about their needs.

and to top it off, you can't even count!

[terminator]

8:14
just because your kid is disabled doesn't mean they deserve any more than any other kid.
you "disabled" parents are some of the most obnoxious people around, always demanding more than your fair share.
I can see the apple didn't fall far from the tree!

[LDisanexcuseforLAZY]

oh yes 8:14 I want a learning disabled student to become my surgeon...

"Oh, excuse me dear patient, you have to wait on the table a moment while I look up the name of your organ because I did not memorize it in high school, since I got to use open book, open note and extra time throughout my whole education at the taxpayers' expense and I got into med school by taking the MCAT with as much time as I needed when the other "basic" learning students had to finish in the required time constraint.

Oh yes, so now I want to use the taxpayers' money to go the a private school where they have to give me even more accomodations so that I can figure out a way to become better at using my learning disability to avoid the malpractice insurance that I signed and did not understand so I become an even "better" surgeon
so I can cheat/manipulate the same taxpayer that paid for my private school education.

BTW I only really want to go to private school because I know I can't pass the standardized tests they give the public school kids because "my brain works differently"....that's what my mommy tells me.

Vouchers on the ballot?

I wonder if this was an unconstitutional action of the commission since this has little to nothing to do with why they exist as commissioners and as a commission.

How do we know those private schools perform better than public?

Posted by: Omega83 | April 25, 2008 at 03:39 PM
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When the Legislature passed Jeb's version, there was NO ACCOUNTABILITY to any government - not to school boards, not to the state education department. Niente. Nada. Nothing.

Jebbie enjoyed and took great meaning in signing into law clearly unconstitutional legislation.....which is a strong indicator of someone who wants to dictate....as in dictator.

Shut up John Ellis Bush.The reason Crist is so popular is that he is not the arrogant, unctuous twit you are.

Speaking of arrogant, unctuous twits:

http://www.wbt.com/dynamic/photo/ap/f3f7af0b-b71d-41bb-8013-4245ca17fc48.jpeg

Shut up John Ellis Bush.The reason Crist is so popular is that he is not the arrogant, unctuous twit you are.

Posted by: | April 26, 2008 at 04:06 PM
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Ditto.