Tax dilemma? Bright Futures could be cut to save state tax money, while popular voucher expansion would cost millions
by Michael C. Bender | March 17th, 2010A Florida Senate panel on Tuesday approved a second year of cutbacks for the popular Bright Futures scholarships, citing declining tax collections.
But just down the hall in the Capitol, another Senate committee approved cutting tax collections further to help pay for a massive expansion of a different kind of “scholarship” — one that gives corporations tax credits for the contributions they make to a program that gives poor children vouchers to help pay for private school tuition.
“It’s sadly ironic,” said Sen. Dan Gelber, D-Miami Beach, a member of the Senate Higher Education Appropriations Committee considering the Bright Futures changes. “Floridians want our schools funded and fixed, not privatized.”
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March 17th, 2010 at 9:28 am
Make the fraudulent insurance companies pay the difference…The insurance industry has been fleecing florida for years and our incompetent Governors’ have done NOTHING about it…
March 17th, 2010 at 9:35 am
Let the money follow the children. If parents choose to send their children to charter, public, private schools then LET THEM.
Parents will place their children in schools that are GOOD, they won’t place them in bad schools.
ALL parents should have the opportunity to use vouchers.
It’s just wrong to assume that only ‘poor’ children do poorly in school. Children of all economic levels have trouble, it’s not just the poor.
The key to education: the UNengaged parent. They don’t care, their kids don’t care.
Stop putting all the blame on schools, teachers. Look to the parents. Hold them responsible.
As usual the government doesn’t know what it’s doing.
Get government OUT of your life. They taking your children, demanding certain curriculum, certain testing and robbing you of LOCAL control of schools.
It’s the States that should get all federal funds and the States that should decide about education, not the federal government. All states are struggling with the undereducated.
Vote out those that are trying to rangle control from local school boards and DEMAND VOUCHERS for all.
Obama put his kids in a charter school (did he get his kids in because of race, who he was? And now Obama spends $29K for each of his children to go to private school) Don’t you wish what these politicians have, that we the public should have.
We get the crumbs!
March 17th, 2010 at 10:01 am
If it weren’t for bright futures, I’d be dead or in Jail.
March 17th, 2010 at 12:21 pm
Don’t we want an educated workforce so Florida can grow? Cutting Bright Futures cuts Florida’s future! Parents CAN’T afford to send thier kids to college!