Posted on 12/16/2010 2:16:22 AM PST by broken_arrow1
Newly elected Florida Gov. Rick Scott is making waves with his proposal that all children should receive education vouchers they can use to attend private, public or charter schools. "The parent should figure out where the dollars for that student are spent," the Republican governor-elect told the St. Petersburg Times. "So if the parents want to spend it on virtual school, then spend it on virtual school. If they want to spend it on, you know, whatever education system they believe in, whether it's this public school or that public school or this private school or that private school, that's what ought to happen." The idea has previously won backing from the late Nobel-laureate economist Milton Friedman and former Florida Gov. Jeb Bush as a way to foster competition among schools and give parents more choice in their children's education. But there is one major hitch: The Florida Supreme Court has ruled private-school vouchers unconstitutional, concluding that they endanger the free public school system. And, it turns out, many in the education world agree, and not even only those connected to the teachers union (though for the record, a Florida teachers union spokesman called it a "terrible idea."). The details of the plan are still unclear, but the proposed voucher would most likely be for $5,500, the average state per-pupil contribution to public school students. The state would deposit that sum into each individual child's "education savings account" (theoretically every Florida child would have one) instead of into school districts' coffers. (The state currently doles out vouchers for some low-income and disabled students, a program that has not been challenged in court.)
(Excerpt) Read more at news.yahoo.com ...
I did not support Rick in the primary, and held my nose for him in the general...but if he is already pissing off the teachers union, he is getting off on the right foot with me. :)
GO FOR IT RICK! LET’S GET TO WORK!
Breaking the NEA would be a most worthy goal;their members are too busy indoctrinating kids to teach the traditional American values.
Sounds like Christie II! What he proposes is excellent - let’s hope he succeeds.
Gov Elect Rick Scott Hints at School Vouchers for All
He did not use the term vouchers. Others called it an "education savings account."
Florida Gov.-elect Rick Scott on Thursday blew the door wide open to the idea of a voucherlike program for all students, saying he's working with lawmakers to allow state education dollars to follow a student to the school his or her parents choose.
"So if the parents want to spend it on virtual school, then spend it on virtual school," he continued. "If they want to spend it on whatever education system they believe in, whether it's this public school or that public school or this private school or that private school, that's what ought to happen."
"The way I look at it is, we're allocating dollars to students and the parents ought to figure out how to spend those dollars because they can figure out what their child needs more than anybody else," he said.
The state would deposit money into a child's "savings account" instead of channeling education dollars through the public system.
The proposal would allow parents to take an undetermined percentage of the state's per-student funding amount — last year, it was $6,843 — and direct it to the school of their choice, public or private.
The teachers unions will rightly view any such initiative as a declaration of war. FL will be the proxy battle ground for a national discussion on the purpose of schooling. But then teachers unions represent the needs of teachers not the need of students.
I love the sound of liberal heads exploding in the morning.
It's about time for this
Governor-elect Rick Scott announced that Michelle Rhee had joined his transition team. Rhee is no stranger to controversy. As chancellor of the D.C. Public Schools, she fired 400 teachers in four years and butted heads with their unions.
“Kids are getting a really crappy education right now,” Rhee said emphatically on the award-winning documentary “Waiting for Superman.” She’s a strong advocate for ending teacher tenure and implementing merit pay.
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It sounds like a great step in the right direction.
Bust those damn teacher’s unions wide open...
Somebody is going to have to change that supreme court decision or this isnt going to fly.
“The Florida Supreme Court has ruled private-school vouchers unconstitutional, concluding that they endanger the free public school system.”
Where in the Florida Constitution does it state that a free education is the law? Does it simply state that the state would provide for education for all...and that’s it?
Great news
Scott is using poor political strategy. He needs to build small but politically active constituencies and then spread from there.
For example, Florida sets up a small voucher program ( a few million dollars) for those with disabilities. Of course “disabilities” includes dyslexia. Then when one neighbor on the block sees a child going to private school and her child can't, there is political pressure to grow the program. Each year the legislators increase the amount of money going to the program.
Another way to do it is to have a small voucher program for the most desperate inner city youth. Hold lotteries. Then be very such that the the tears of the losers are **well** publicized every year. Each year the legislators increase the program. ( It's for the chiiiildren, you see.)
Another way to build a private infrastructure is to gradually expand charters. Again, it is important to have publicity of the tears on the faces of the parents and children during the admission lottery.
Allow teachers to join together to make their government school a charter school. This was successfully done with a high school in Los Angeles. The teachers themselves voted to become a Green Dot charter school.
They had best be careful what they ask for because this is the most conservative state around in terms of legislators in the state government.
I think that the voters would approve vouchers so fast it would create a hurricane.
Good for Rick Scott. Tell the unions to go straight to hell.
NEA is a commie front group - the bachelor’s children even asked their members to reads Antonia Gramsci!
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