Voucher bill wins House nod

Legislation that would vastly expand the state's corporate income tax credit scholarship program, adding $30-million to the budget, passed out of the House on an 86-30 vote. A House analysis projects the measure would save the state $5.7-million in fiscal 2009 by decreasing the number of students in the public school system.

A similar bill is moving through the Senate. Critics have blasted the underlying concept of growing the program at a time when lawmakers are reducing public education funding by about $1-billion. But those arguments have yet to carry much sway in the halls of Tallahassee.

Notably, eight of the 18 members of the Black Caucus - Oscar Braynon II, Ronald Brise, Jennifer Carroll, Charles Chestnut IV, Terry Fields, Matt Meadows, Daryl Rouson and Betty Reed - supported the bill. Five other Democrats - Bill Heller, Janet Long, Ron Saunders, Michael Scionti and Darren Soto - also backed the legislation. Not a single Dem backed the program when it was first created in 2001.

Comments

The point 3:05 p.m. is that the analysis is a lie.

The district employees that are cut will go on unemployment, and you will be paying about half of their cost to stay at home than you were for them to actually work. This is not good for the taxpayers! Or, do you care about them?

Also, as revealed by the debate on the floor, this is a scheme for the Legislature to meet its requirements to provide a high quality system of education by AVOIDING the public school system. The Supreme Court has rightly ruled that this is not constitutional. Do you care about that? As a good American and a good Floridian, I respect the LAW OF THE LAND. Too bad that those who swore to uphold it as part of taking office do not.

I care more about poor kids than I do about district employees. Under this program parents don't have to move their kids, they only do it when they are desperate. So desperate they have to come out of pocket be on the program. Sure 25,000 kids out of 2.6 million is not the death knell of the public education system.

Dear blogger,

If they pay about 60% for the voucher and 50% (declining enrollment) for students that are leave, how can they save money? Is it possible that the "analysis" was a lie? HMMMM. In the "old" days, at least one reporter somewhere in the state might have actually asked.

The bill costs the state money even if you treat all expenses (general revenue and local taxes) the same which their normal budgeting procedures would not have allowed anyway. When vouchers were proposed 9 years ago, the state student population was growing by 50,000 students per year. Taking 5K out of the growth was one thing, but now the state student population is shrinking. Districts will lay off employees so that the state can provide more vouchers.

[G-Money]

OH NO! WE'RE DOOMED! Not.

Interesting that over 40% of the Black Caucus in the House and 30% of all Democrats in the chamber voted for the bill.