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Lawton “Bud” Chiles, son of the late Governor Chiles, is retracing his father’s 600 mile walk around Florida to raise awareness for children’s issues. This weekend, his walk took him through Okaloosa County in the panhandle where he visited a pre-K facility and learned how a decline in state funding has put a burden on…
DetailsWe at FundEducationNow.org have been traveling around the state talking about the economic importance of investing in a world-class education system. As a state, we have sent a clear and consistent message that we do not put a high value on education or on anything child-related. We consistently rank in the bottom quartile of states…
DetailsOn Tuesday, Amy Baker from the Office of Economic and Demographic Research gave her forecast to the Senate Budget Committee. The news was grim. Florida is facing a budget shortfall of $2.6 billion to its critical needs. State governments are required by law to produce balanced budgets so new cuts will have to be made…
DetailsIn a letter dated October 5th, Commissioner Eric Smith warns school superintendents across the state that Florida is facing major deficits for critical needs including education. In his memo, he warns that deficits could be nearly 23%. It is unclear if the legislature has the stomach to find any new sources of revenue but it…
DetailsWe here at FundEducationNow.org have spent the past few months meeting with various parent groups around the state that share the same mission to improve public education in the state of Florida. One of the very active groups that we met was Save Volusia Schools. They formed last winter when they heard of the dire…
DetailsAs the Florida legislature continues to shift the burden of funding schools to local property owners, the colossal cost of the unfunded class size amendment looms. Joe Callahan with The Gainesville Sun wrote a thoughtful story today on the dense subject of education funding. A decade ago, voters overwhelming passed an amendment to the…
Details“Dropouts from the class of 2008 will cost Florida almost $25.3 billion in lost wages over their lifetimes.” Alliance for Excellent Education As our dropout rate continues to grow, that number is compounded every year. Sadly, it isn’t until we clearly tie our enormous economic loss to our soaring high school dropout rate that it…
DetailsAs Florida’s children head back to school, the editors at the St. Petersburg Times wrote a piece today describing the very near future of public education in our state. Dire situations require strong leadership. We at Fund Education Now have been meeting with strong parent and business leaders throughout the state all summer. It has…
DetailsOrlando Sentinel http://bit.ly/pXNXR Threat of school cuts sent Orlando mom into action Leslie Postal Sentinel Staff Writer August 2, 2009 Sunday Spotlight Kathleen Oropeza Birthplace: Atlanta Resides: Orlando Occupation: Stay-at-home mom, active in PTA and school advisory council at Blankner School, one of the founders of Fundeducationnow.org Family: Husband, Keith; sons Nicholas, 9, and Alexander, As economic news…
DetailsEditorial, Miami Herald Thurs. July 16, 2009 Gov. Charlie Crist keeps hailing the federal stimulus package as a magic job-saver — on Wednesday he pointed to $2 billion of the money helping 26,000 teachers stay employed in Florida. The governor’s pronouncement came a day after President Barack Obama pledged $12 billion for the nation’s community…
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