Earlier this month the Florida State Supreme Court blocked a question, Amendment 8, from the Nov. 6 ballot. This bill would essentially have taken control of charter schools from local school boards and put that in the hands of state government. It also would have made it easier to establish more charter schools, further draining public education resources from public schools to charter schools.
This wise and correct decision leaves charter schools in the hands of local school boards, but more importantly takes some of the politics out of the education of our children.
In Florida we need to do a much better job of educating our children. We need to work for the 2.8 million public education students in the state and work to make their education and school days better. While charter schools are public schools, they fall under different rules and are not nearly as transparent in their operations.
As your next member of the Florida House of Representatives from District #115, I will fight for public education as a priority. And that means working for all public schools. Two of my children attend Miami-Dade public schools, one is in high school and one is in elementary school. My two oldest children graduated from public high schools. One is in college and the other is now, I am proud to say, an elementary public-school teacher in the Miami-Dade County system.
The direction the current governor and the Florida legislature are on seems to be doing all they can to increase funding and opportunities for charter schools, while leaving the bulk of the public-school education for our children behind. Let me be clear, charter schools absolutely fill gaps in our educational system. In many cases they provide opportunities and academic choices many parents won’t have otherwise. They can also provide innovative educational opportunities. Many of these schools serve areas where similar opportunities don’t exist. They are part of the educational puzzle, not the whole solution.
In Florida there are some 2.8 million public education students with just 284,000 charter school students. So about 10 percent of Florida students are going to charter schools. But as a result of state political maneuvers, when it comes to investing in infrastructure, charter schools will now receive about $512 per student while the public schools make do with only $18 per student in funding. And by the way, the vast majority of those allocated funds become property of the charter schools and not the state, since the school’s themselves are in private hands. There have also been troubling reports about conflicts of interests in the management of some charter schools as well as leasing deals that wind up in the pockets of the school’s operators. We need to make sure dollars meant for students go to students.
We need charter schools, but we need these schools to be subject to the same transparent scrutiny as our public schools. We need to add to our public-school funding, not subtract. There are battles ahead, as your next State Representative I will be a proud advocate for our public schools. We must increase teacher pay. And of course, we must insure that our schools are safe, gun-free zones.
Jeffrey Solomon is a chiropractor and lifelong resident of Miami. He and his wife live in the community he hopes to serve and have raised their four children there, all of them attending local public schools, with his oldest now a public-school elementary teacher. He has been active in the community including working on the zoning board and as a member of the local PTA. A former doctor for the U.S. Olympic team, he continues to provide health care to his patients and neighbors.
Great response. Thank you for seeing the issue from both sides. The main objective here is making education a priority for all children –our future and ensuring that teachers are well paid and given the necessary tools to do so, in addition to ensuring a safe environment for learning.
The statement that “In Florida we need to do a much better job of educating our children” is correct and it starts with parental choice. Charter Schools serve a purpose, they accept the student the Public Schools do not want, are failing, or cannot handle. Public education is a great, and I admit that all my children have graduated from Public Schools, but the bureaucracy and top heaviness of public school administration is one area where money is wasted. It is only fair that teachers are paid equally and the student be granted an equal opportunity in their education with state and federal funding following the student. Educational choice should be the norm, if a Public School is failing, as a whole or an individual student, the parent should have the right and obligation to find a school that works for and with their child, and not be forced to have their child’s education and future left to be dictated by the school district or a local or state representative, sitting in office.
I agree that some of the Charter School Management Companies game the system and oversight is necessary, but there are other management companies that still have the child’s wellbeing in mind and do a great job.
The funding discrepancies are not quite accurate. Charter Schools do not have the tax base for construction or start up as public schools do. All startup money for Charter School buildings, furnishings, textbooks and other school needs are all funded with private money. To pay for all this outlay the charter school must make profits to pay for the original cost of startup.
I have seen firsthand the greatness of both public education and the overwhelming advancements made by Charter Schools across the nation, as well as the success they have made. Unfortunately I have also seen the failures on both sides as well. With all this said, Public Education and Charter Schools need to work together for the betterment of the student and the community they serve. This is not an “us against them” situation, it should be a bipartisan focus that our children come first, and how to educate them should be equally shared. Every child deserves the opportunity to a great education no matter where they chose to go to school.
Anyone considering voting for Mr. Solomon should take the time to review his background and political beliefs.