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Posted on 10/04/2002 7:08:29 AM PDT by Ragtime Cowgirl
Anti-Jeb spin from the Gannett Florida Political website -
www.floridacapitalnews.com/campaign:
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The REAL cost of the class-size amendment:
How Much Money is $20 Billion - $27.5 Billion?
The validity of the estimates aside, the class size amendment would require a significant contribution from taxpayers. For perspective, the total General Revenue Fund for the current fiscal year is just under $20 billion, and the lottery provides less than $900 million annually to education.
Over eight years, the $20 billion - $27.5 billion total averages out to $2.5 billion-3.4 billion annually. Based on FY 2004 population, this means an average cost of $146 to $201 per Floridian annually or $369 to $507 per household. Over the eight years, the total cost would be $977 to $1,343 per capita and $2,460 to $3,382 per household.
Even assuming that tourists and other out-of-state taxpayers pay 20% of the cost burden, the total investment by Floridians would be $781 to $1,074 per capita and $1,968 to $2,705 per household.
The universal pre-K amendment would add another $25 to $39 per capita and $64 to $97 per household.
Reducing class size to the prescribed limits would be a challenging undertaking. Without a significant overhaul of state spending patterns, the class size proposal would likely require some new or increased taxes. A 1-penny increase to the state's 6-cent sales tax would raise $2.9 billion (based on FY 2004 estimated collections.).
To further illustrate the scope of the estimated required investment, the gross receipts tax on utilities, which funds public school construction, raises less than $800 million annually. Moreover, it would take a tripling of the state corporate income tax to raise the additional revenue called for in the estimates. In fact, four major tax sources combined (gross receipts, corporate income, beverage, and tobacco taxes) are expected to bring in $2.97 billion in FY 2004, so it would take a doubling of all those to raise the revenue. Lastly, a state personal income tax (currently prohibited by the state Constitution) of 1 per cent of Floridians' federal taxable income would raise approximately $2.4 billion.
Half of the bill's supporters won't have to pay the bill:
PFAW, NAACP and the NEA all paid big $$$ into getting the class-size amendment on our ballot. All oppose Gov. Jeb Bush's school voucher program.
"The four groups have pumped $578,000 into the effort. Other contributors, including telecommunications companies and the Congressional Black Caucus Policy and Leadership Institute, pushed the out-of-state total raised through June 30 to $685,000."
The big-ticket item is the class size amendment. It is estimated that 30,000 more classrooms would need to be built and 31,000 more teachers hired between 2004 and 2010. The cumulative cost over this period was estimated at between $20 billion and $27.5 billion. This range is dependent on how the Legislature would choose to add capacity, building new schools or using portables. Once implemented, the new system would cost an extra $2.5 billion annually (in today's dollars.)
Currently, the state spends approximately $16 billion on education. According to the Florida School Indicators Report 2000-2001, the statewide average class size in elementary school is 23.3 and middle school, and high school varies by subject: from 24.8 to 27.8.
Bureau Staff: Paige St. John,Bureau Chief | bio Alisa LaPolt,correspondent | bio Victor Epstein,correspondent l bio
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FreeRepublic , LLC PO BOX 9771 FRESNO, CA 93794
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Headline:
Bush would seek to kill class-size amendment - Governor cites his own 'devious plans' to squash unfunded proposal if it passes - and he is re-elected.
Are you going to let them win? Are you going to help us fight?
I found this at the Miami Herald....even they're not spinning the NEA line full time:
Voters favor class-size plan -- but not cost, Sept. 29, Miami Herald. Voters overwhelmingly support the "class-size" amendment until they hear the cost. The cost isn't on the ballot.
No mention of the fact that the amendment won't help the children.
Good advice, fv. This Gannett sight needs Freepin', though. Tampa Tribune, Orlando Sentinel and even the Miami Herald have been balanced on the "class-size" issue. Gannett is blatantly political and dissing Jeb almost daily. Letters to the editor and e-mailing postive Jeb facts helps relieve that frustation, too. 
It may be a good time to visit The Tampa Bay Business Journal, register and search their archives re: Gannett. That may be a way to find out how they are connected to McB, the white collar candidate (code for rat). Anybody who wants to help, please visit the TBBJ. I'm going to go back and re-register since I've probably lost my password. Registration to see the archives is very simple, not blood type, etc. FV
I HOPE PEOPLE AREN'T THAT STUPID, but think about it. The ignorant among us don't read the paper, have a computer or watch the news on tv. They also don't go to the polls.
Only the hard core dems will revel in the biased reporting. It will fall flat with everyone else. That's why we have to befriend dems who are undecided as well as swing voters. If they are already our friends, then they need a course in Jeb 101.
Anyone visiting the News-Press website for political news is asked to click on a box that will take them to the Gannet site: www.floridacapitalnews.com/campaign. It's subtle, daily digs at our Gov. that need addressing, imho.
One headline today - "Bush would seek to kill class-size amendment Governor cites his own 'devious plans' to squash unfunded proposal if it passes - and he is re-elected." Last week they printed a headline that accused Governors of wasteful spending, but click to the article, read carefully and you'll find that Jeb was one of a few Governors nationwide to get an "A". Also, check out the pics of Jeb and McBride on the lower right. It's the McBride "makeover" shot. Rats.
I found some good info at www.myshortpencil.com as well, both sides of the argument...and cons win.
It's his minions that are going to do the heavy lifting for McB. We don't know how far they'll go to win Florida for Hillary. That's what this is about.
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