Behind the scenes: Why "no" on Amendment 1?

Were you surprised when the Hillsborough School Board this week came out strongly against the property tax amendment?

The teachers union wasn't. The Hillsborough Classroom Teachers Association put in a flurry of phone calls to Board members before a special-called meeting of the School Board on Tuesday.

"We were disappointed that they had not taken a position," HCTA president Jean Clements said. "Based on conversations that we had had with different Board members, we felt that a majority of them felt as we did that this is the wrong fix."

Echoing sentiments voiced by Board members, Clements said the downsides of the amendment outweighed the savings to taxpayers. After the vote, the teachers union immediately sent out an e-mail notifying its school-based representatives, calling the decision "courageous."

The Board voted 5-1 to oppose the amendment, bucking the don't-criticize-until-asked approach of many other government officials. Board chairwoman Jennifer Faliero opposed the decision, which she felt had become a partisan issue and was not appropriate to the office. Member Doretha Edgecomb was absent.

Comments

The layoffs at the universities have NOTHING to do with Amendment #1. They are because the STATE is bankrupt because the leadership of the state wants it to be that way. Amendment #1 cuts property taxes that support cities, counties, special districts and school boards. Universities do not receive any of that money.

So, the universities are making cuts because the state is going to make huge cuts to their budget whether or not Amendment #1 passes.

[Doris R. Ripoll]

Amendment 1

I am proud to claim membership in both the Hillsborough County School District...and in the Hillsborough Classroom Teachers Association, both of whom had the courage to do the right thing for the right reasons.
This was another one of those Black Hawk issues that the state thought would fly under the radar of our thought processes...much like the Florida Lottery. Do you remember how that concept needed the public school teachers to make it happen? Do you remember how much they promised us and the schools if we voted it in? Do you recall over the past ten years...when a battle has always ensued over whether to allot teachers a few dollars for school supplies...for those students who cannot afford pencils, paper, binders, erasers, notebooks, etc.?
Well, we are still wondering where the "$17 Billion for Education so far" is being housed. We DO KNOW that it is not in the schools...and it is not in the bank accounts or the pockets of public school teachers. And don't even get me started on where the interest on $17 billion might be housed!
So...what does the state now do? They wait until we are all aflutter over the history-making presidential campaign...and then they fuel up the Black Hawk.
Under the new housing, real estate
and tax-no-tax fog, I owe almost as much as my house is worth...after 30 years...and one refinancing in 1987.
There is no way Amendment 1 can help me personally...and there is no way it can help me as a public servant to our state's children.
If one reads all the fine print, along with all of the lines between the lines...he/she will see whom the politicians are truly trying to
"help". It is not teachers, students, poor parents who rent, small businesses, or low to middle-class homeowners...and it most assuredly is not helping public schools. Read and think...please...before you vote.
Then you, too, will say, "No thank you!" to Amendment 1.

[Christine]

How can FSU attribute laying 200 people off BEFORE the amendment has even come to vote? They can't. The average price of tuition is being raised 8%, I'm not so concerned about the moneythey might "possibly" lose, I'm concered with the fact that in my lifetime I will never be able to send my children to college because the cost of college education is skyrocketing, much like our property taxes that need to be brought under control.

The average homeowner will save $280 per year. And the cost to our state will be immeasurable. Just read the article about the 200 faculty and staff FSU is already having to lay-off.

[Bob Frazier]

Teachers are a little mixed up. You are not going to lose tax dollars to run the schools. Somebody had to put the brakes on government spending. Amendment #1 will do that. Vote yes on amendment #1