Judge upholds two voucher questions on ballot

A state judge ruled Monday that two proposed constitutional amendments dealing with school vouchers are legal and can remain on the Nov. 4 ballot. Circuit Judge Leon Cooper in Leon County ruled that the 25-member Taxation and Budget Reform Commission did not exceed its authority by proposing the two amendments, which would appear as Nos. 7 and 9.   

The teacher union that brought the lawsuit, the Florida Education Association, promised to appeal the decision. It is likely that the Florida Supreme Court will be the ultimate arbiter of this case.

"We are disappointed with the ruling today," FEA President Andy Ford said in a statement. "Today's ruling means the 140,000 members of the Florida Education Association will continue to educate the people of Florida about these misleading amendments."

Read the ruling here .

Comments

How sad that some would rather condemn poor children to failing schools in dangerous neighborhoods than allow their own incompetence to come to light. And they are intend on wasting MORE money from teachers' hard-earned dues on appealing a good, compassionate decision.

how sad is it that someone thinks tax money should go to non public schools.

There should be no public schools...they should all be private.

Provide vouchers to everyone and let parents decide which school to send their children to. Schools then compete for your business and if you aren't happy with the service they provide, you can fire them and take your voucher elsewhere.

Schools can then cater to differing needs and specialize.

This is how they do it in Belgium and their kids do far better on standardized tests than American kids.

4:06

Private schools can discriminate on admissions. If all schools are made private, do you propose all schools may continue to set different admission standards?

Tax money is OUR MONEY. We should decide how it is spent.

Have tax payers forgotten this?

4:06-- I like that idea! Let them compete! Teacher would also earn a much better wage without all the waste the schools now have! Let the parents decide. That is the best idea yet!!

Now this is some great news. The teachers union under the self absorbed lack of leadership Andy Ford has provided at the expense of Florida's children is going to go the way of Ford Motor Co.

FEA can be disappointed all they want. It's the people's decision. They can strong-arm and bully their members, but not the citizens of Florida! Win or lose, amendments 7&9 are ours to decide.

accountability is a b|tch...

ALWAYS VOTE OPPOSITE OF UNIONS?

no accountability for private schools accepting public welfare is a b_itch

[terminator]

Fear not union members:

it's highly unlikely any of the three "education" constitutional amendments will pass muster with voters (all are polling below 50% presently).

while it's true many school districts and schools are a mess due to excessive bureaucracy we shouldn't throw out the baby with the bathwater.

we need to continue to attack public school district bureaucracy and drive out overpaid administrators. once they're gone we can start rebuilding a solid foundation for our schools and children.

private school vouchers aren't the answer and voters have overwhelmingly rejected them all over the country.

most private schools quality isn't compatible with a similar (demographic) public school. most aren't accredited, teachers can be uncertified, there is no accountability (school grade/FCAT), SAT/ACT scores are lower, less number of AP courses, etc.

private isn't always better but is a false sense of security for parents looking for a way out of the public school quagmire.

also, for the genius who quoted Belgium, guess what...Belgium doesn't have minorities who score lower than anglos, asians and jewish sub-groups.

many black/lower class hispanic schools won't improve no matter what reforms are put into place.

you're just throwing money down a piss hole.

[Paul D. Harvill]

The Commission that placed this and the other highly deceptive amendments on the ballot should be prosecuted for violating their oaths.

[Paul D. Harvill]

The Taxation and Budget De-Reform Commission.