The Broward County school district isn’t always smart the way it handles money — just look at what’s happened with the $800 million bond issue.
But the School Board is right to spend $25,000 on initial fees to fight the big wet kiss the Legislature gave to charter schools, at the expense of public schools.
Broward is the first school district to sue over the passage of House Bill 7069, which basically was the Legislature giving all sorts of gifts to charter schools — public schools that are privately managed, often by for-profit companies.
Public schools in Florida have been getting the shaft for awhile, and HB 7069 will only make things worse. The law steers millions of dollars to charter school operators, by making districts share property tax and setting up a fund for the “Schools of Hope” program.
Under the law, charters would get funds to help open in areas where elementary and middle schools have been rated D or F at least three years in a row. Those charters wouldn’t have to adhere to rules like class size — rules that public schools have had to abide.
Bottom line is the Legislature is getting too cushy with charter school operators and giving them money public schools need.
And there is the matter of the constitution. Charters are not permitted to collect property tax, but HB 7069 lets charters share in property tax revenue.
As you might expect, House Speaker Richard Corcoran, a big proponent of HB 7069, ripped the Broward School Board.
“This is another example of the educational bureaucracy putting the adults who administer the schools ahead of the children who attend the schools,” Corcoran said in a statement to the Miami Herald/Tampa Times.
Considering how much state business Corcoran and his buddies were doing behind closed doors during the session, I don’t feel like listening to their whining.
Charter schools serve a definite purpose. They make public schools strive to be better.
But public schools are the lifeblood of any community. Too bad the Florida Legislature doesn’t treat them that way.
I say sue away.
Gary Stein can be reached at gstein@sunsentinel.com, or 954-356-4616. On Twitter@sseditorial.
