One of the most shameful aspects of the public education system in America is the need for teachers to spend large sums of their own money to provide school supplies for their classrooms.
Forbes reported that during the 2013-2014 school year, U.S. teachers spent an average of $513 out of pocket on purchases of school supplies.
Gov. Rick Scott and the Florida Legislature attempted to address this issue by enacting a publicly funded debit card program for the state’s teachers. The debit cards, worth $250 each, would allow teachers to purchase much-needed supplies for their students without having to spend as much of their own income.
Unfortunately, the program’s implementation has left much to be desired. Although the school year started in mid-August, Florida’s teachers just received their debit cards last week.
Obviously, by this point, many teachers have already purchased the necessary school supplies for their classrooms. Given the ill-conceived nature of the program, it’s not surprising that only seven of the state’s 67 school districts signed up.
Despite the debit card program’s obvious flaws, Scott has strangely seized upon the rollout of the program in an attempt to score political points.
When teachers received their debit cards, they also received letters from JPMorgan Chase & Co., the bank supplying the cards. The letter read in part: “Governor Rick Scott is committed to improving Florida’s education system and recognizing their teachers for their hard work and dedication.”
Scott’s actual record on public education funding in Florida tells another story. This ineffectual debit card program is simply a distraction from the harmful cuts Scott has made to Florida’s public education system during his time in office.
During 2011, Scott’s first year in office, he cut $1.3 billion from Florida’s K-12 education budget. In fact, Scott wanted to cut even more, but his proposed cuts were too large for even the conservative Florida Legislature to swallow.
Although most of those spending cuts have been restored in the ensuing years, Florida still spends nearly $200 less per student than before the 2008 recession. Adjusted for inflation, Florida’s education spending in 2007-2008 was nearly $2 billion more than Scott’s proposed $18.8 billion in funding for 2014.
Throughout his time in office, Scott has failed to demonstrate any sort of consistent dedication to building a strong public education system in Florida. If Scott is truly interested in improving Florida’s education system, he should withdraw his support for expensive, unreliable charter schools and focus on improving Florida’s underfunded, overcrowded public schools.
Voters should not be fooled by Scott’s feeble attempt to cover up his misguided education policies. This debit card program is nothing but a distraction from his massive spending cuts and his failure to promote a stronger public education system in Florida.
[A version of this story ran on page 6 on 9/29/2014]
