The Senate tries on its own rose-colored glasses
by Michael C. Bender | March 26th, 2009UPDATE: Senate budget chief J.D. Alexander responds: “A number of revenues that we would consider don’t exist or don’t exist at the same level, so we have to use the best guidance we have to determine what those are. And that’s what we have an impact conference for.”
Gov. Charlie Crist has taken shots from several members of the Senate over his budget proposal. Chief budget writer J.D. Alexander has hung “rose colored glasses” in his office. “We threw that away,” Sen. Mike Fasano said about Crist’s proposal days after it was submitted.
But on Wednesday, the Senate’s budget proposal for public schools included about $1 billion in money the state does not have, including $200 million from a plan to expand gambling at Seminole casinos and $865 million from the federal stimulus plan the state is not yet eligible to receive.
“We’re hoping and praying that the money will be there,” said Senate Education Pre-K-12 Appropriations Committee Chairman Stephen Wise, R-Jacksonville.
Tags: education, state budget, State Senate
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April 17th, 2009 at 5:52 pm
[...] –Senate Pre-K-12 Appropriations Committee Chairman Stephen Wise, R-Jacksonville, about the chamber’s proposed education budget. [...]