"Genuinely conflicted"

Are Democrats warming to vouchers? House Minority Leader Dan Gelber (left), D-Miami Beach, says yes, to a point: "You can say some Democrats are genuinely conflicted" about some voucher programs, he told the Gradebook today.

Last week, 13 House Democrats and five Senate Democrats (nearly a third of all Democrats in the Legislature, and more than ever before) voted yes on a $30 million expansion for corporate tax credit scholarships. A steady erosion of opposition? Maybe. But Gelber noted that many Democrats strongly opposed the Opportunity Scholarships program – the one that was struck down by the Florida Supreme Court in 2006 – and yet supported McKay vouchers for children with disabilities.

He attributed the shift on CTC scholarships to several things: intense lobbying by advocacy groups; the fact that the scholarships go to low-income and predominantly minority kids; and what the Republican agenda has done to public schools.

Gelber said parents of scholarship recipients told lawmakers time and again that they didn't want their kids to take the FCAT and liked the smaller classes that private schools offer.

"To a certain extent, I don't know if you're seeing people like the program or you're seeing Democrats throw their hands up with what Republicans have put in our public schools which to some extent have made these private schools more attractive," Gelber said.

For the record, Gelber said he is not conflicted. He voted no on the expansion.

- Ron Matus, state education reporter

Comments

Termie,

The accountability bill this session wasn't for private school scholarship programs, it was just for charter schools. A comprehensive private school scholarship accountability bill passed a couple of years ago.

Thanks for the honesty on Wilson. I wouldn't count on her giving up her district job.

[terminator]

how bout Carrie Meek? She's already in the business and set the precedent.
Now the other's are saying, "hey this way we can hoodwink the white man whose been keeping us down all these years".
"yeah vouchers sound good, real good"
"I can just see my taxpayer green rolling in courtesy of those gullible Florida voters"
gee what happened to that charter/voucher school accountability bill this session? Anyone Bueller, anyone?

While Freddi's a good woman with her heart in the right place she should step down since her title is "Director of Drop-out Prevention", considering Dade's drop out rate at many of it's high schools is well over 50%!

Terminator,

As usual, we will ask for even one shred of evidence for your wild eyed claims. Even one shred of evidence that the Dems who voted for the bill plan to set up "foundations" to pay themselves money? Just one?

Maybe their goal should really be to get a job like Senator Fredrica Wilson, who is paid over $100,000 a year by the Dade school district to be a state Senator. Now that's a sweet deal.

[terminator]

Most of the Dems who voted in favor are self serving black politicians who plan on setting up "not for profit" foundations that will serve as clearinghouses for voucher recipients.
They will then pay themselves six figure salaries, provide car allowances and spend large parts of their day wasting taxpayer time and money conducting personnel business in their district while the voucher kids are safely warehoused away in unaccredited schools that will never become a pathway to higher education but make so called "disadvantaged" kids parents feel better because they're not overrun with little thugs and hoodlums like down in the ghetto public school they would have gone to if they didn't get the voucher to their crummy faux pau private school!

Actually it was 15 Democrats in the House. Luis Garcia recorded his vote after the fact (he was absent at the original vote) and Ed Bullard changed his vote from no to yes.

Jeb creates a public school system where students have to take a test that everyone hates, but then allows vouchers to private schools that will never be forced to take the test.

The more basic question is are any of the voucher programs remaining any less Un-Constitutional than the Opportunity Scholarships as ruled by the Supreme Court? Those who want to destroy the public schools know the answer to that question, and it is that they are just as illegal. The continue only because no one has hired an attorney to get rid of them yet.