Education leaders endorse gaming compact

Gov. Charlie Crist and his $100 million a year gambling compact with the Seminole Tribe, saying that the reliable nature of the money is desperately needed for education in these uncertain times.

None of the educators, however, weighed in on whether they preferred Crist's approach to the House plan, which strips the tribe of its black jack and table games but gives them slot machines or the Senate plan, which gives them full casinos. But the governor did.

"We're talking about the original compact. That's what the we're interested in. What the tribe is interested in and those dollars are what education is interested in,'' Crist said.

"Our budget goal this year was very simple: it was no more layoffs and no more cuts,'' said Wayne Blanton, head of the Florida School Boards Association. "We cannot have an adequate education budget without the infusion of dollars that this compact would present for education in Florida this year.''