Miami Herald: FL Still Pays for Education on the Cheap

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Florida still pays for education on the cheapGov. Jeb Bush's reputation as education governor has not muted criticism that Florida still does not pay enough for its public schools.BY GARY FINEOUTgfineoutmiamiherald

Even as Gov. Jeb Bush has moved aggressively with his reforms in education, he has been unable to silence one constant criticism during his nearly eight years in office.

The nation's fourth-largest state still pays for education on the cheap. What's more, the burden for paying for public schools has fallen more on property owners since 1999.

''Teacher pay is grossly underfunded, schools in general are underfunded,'' said Andy Ford, president of the Florida Education Association, an umbrella group of teachers unions. ''You've got class sizes that are still too large, and he's [bush] tried to dodge implementing the class-size amendment,'' approved by voters in 2002 to reduce student-teacher ratios.

This fall will bring one of the largest boosts in education funding in the last 25 years -- but it was done over the objections of Bush, who wanted to cut property taxes charged by school districts. The Republican-controlled Senate insisted on using that money for schools, resulting in a nearly 9 percent increase in money spent on average for Florida's 2.68 million schoolchildren.

'OUTPUTS,' NOT `INPUTS'

Bush bristles whenever the topic of school funding comes up, and on many instances has complained that education should be measured by ''outputs,'' not ``inputs.''

''We have increased funding for education in real terms,'' he insisted. ``Teacher pay in our state is close to the national average. We have made the commitment.''

There remain a few facts regarding education funding that continue to nip at Bush.

The amount of per-pupil spending in Florida remains mired in the bottom tier. Education Week, using 2002 data, the latest available, ranked the state 47th in terms of per-pupil funding that was adjusted for regional differences. When Bush came into office in January 1999, the statewide per-pupil average was $4,727, according to the Department of Education website. This fall, the statewide average is expected to be $6,789.

Florida remains below the national average in starting teacher pay and average teacher pay, although Education Week ranked Florida 21st nationally in terms of starting pay and 29th in average pay.

In 2005, Bush -- who for years maintained that teacher pay was a local issue since school boards negotiate union contracts -- asked lawmakers to undo some of the strict mandates of the class-size amendment in exchange for a provision that starting teacher salaries be higher than the national average.

The measure was shot down in the Senate, largely out of concerns that it would mean less money to urban schools districts.

Despite the passage of the class-size amendment, which calls for the state to bear the cost for implementing, the burden of paying for public schools have steadily shifted away from state government to local taxpayers. What this means is that school districts are relying more and more on growth in property taxes to pay for education.

In 1999, the state spent $6.77 billion on day-to-day operations of public schools, while local districts spent $4.28 billion. This year local districts will spend $8.36 billion, while the state will spend $9.89 billion.

`IRRELEVANT'

When asked about this shift, Bush said: ``Does it matter to a school administrator or teacher where the money comes from? It's irrelevant.''

Democratic legislators say it is important, because instead of directing more state money to education the shift enabled Bush and the Legislature to cut taxes at the state level instead of boosting money for schools.

''It's been a total shell game and at a cost to homeowners,'' said state Rep. Dan Gelber, a Miami Beach Democrat.

Herald staff writers Marc Caputo and I. Pinzur contributed to this report.

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