Miami Herald editorial: For schools, the buck stops in Legislature

For schools, the buck stops in Legislature

OUR OPINION: State lawmakers can't shirk education funding responsibility
For too long the Florida Legislature has been reducing its general-revenue contribution to the state's public-education budget and making up the difference by raising a school-board tax called the Local Required Effort. Though school boards had no control over this, it looked as though they were responsible for increasing property taxes when it was really done by state lawmakers.

From the sentiments expressed during Wednesday's education rally in Tallahassee, the days of the Legislature getting by unnoticed for underfunding schools are over. Now perhaps legislators will take their education-funding responsibilities and obligations to Florida's school children more seriously. As in, if they don't do right by Florida schools they run the risk of voter backlash by angry parents and school employees, not to mention business leaders who know how important education funding is to the state economy.

Because of this year's $3 billion revenue shortfall, lawmakers are under extreme pressure to deliver on education funding -- from kindergarten through college. Florida's university presidents seek approval of a bill that would allow them to gradually increase tuition until it reaches the national average, $6,600. Tuition at state schools is $3,800 a year. With Sen. Ken Pruitt, R-Port St. Lucie, and Rep. Will Weatherford, R-Wesley Chapel, authoring the legislation, its chances of passing are good in the GOP-led Legislature. Gov. Crist also supports it. The presidents point to $285 million the colleges have lost in prior cuts and say that increasing tuition is their only option to offset the damage.

As to K-12 funding, legislative leaders have said they will consider everything put on the table. So far they have been lukewarm to: raising the tax on tobacco products; lifting any sales tax exemptions; imposing sales taxes on Internet purchases. There is more enthusiasm for taxing bottlers who take water from Florida's water supply, but that will bring in a few million dollars whereas the need is for billions.

Rep. Dwight Bullard, D-Miami, and Ronald Brisé, D-North Miami, coauthored a bill for a three-year, one-cent increase in the sales tax for education. Bad idea. The sales tax is regressive. It would hit hardest among the poor. This bill would exacerbate that effect. If Republicans have little taste for lifting sales-tax exemptions, they have even less for increasing the sales tax.

Which leaves, what exactly? Still deeper cuts for school districts? Unacceptable. Miami-Dade has cut $300 million so far this year. Broward has cut $150 million. Florida's schools are hemorrhaging, and the Legislature, like Nero, is fiddling away its funding options.

The Miami Herald, 3/20/09