OPINION: Don't punish Sarasota County students for School Board's sins
The Florida Legislature has one constitutionally mandated task and that’s to develop and pass a balanced budget. But with this task there is also a tremendous amount of responsibility.
The Florida Constitution states “The education of children is a fundamental value of the people of the State of Florida. It is, therefore, a paramount duty of the state to make adequate provision for the education of all children residing within its border."
Since 1973, the Florida Education Finance Program is a formula that has successfully funded our public education system because it guarantees each student, no matter where they reside in Florida, equalized funding for his or her education.
In building its suggested budget for this year, the Florida House has proposed the Putting Parents First Adjustment as a component of the education finance program's calculation. The backers of this proposed legislation support allowing the adjustment to remove $200 million in state education funds from 12 school districts to hold them accountable for not complying with the Department of Health’s emergency rules relating to mask and quarantine policies.
But despite what these backers may say, the Putting Parents First Adjustment would reduce per student funding in the 12 “mask non-compliant” districts and send more money per student to Florida's remaining 55 “mask-compliant” districts.
Multiple school boards, including the Sarasota County School Board, ignored the Department of Health’s emergency rule and some districts even challenged its validity through the court system. And I, along with several of my colleagues, have been frustrated with the actions of school board members over the past year.
But it’s important to note that as soon as the Florida Legislature passed and Gov. Ron DeSantis signed House Bill 1B on Nov.18, 2021 – which put school mask and quarantine policies in state statute – these districts came into compliance.
Education funding is about our children’s future and the funding adjustment would be punitive. It would de-equalize educational funding between school districts, and it would not enforce school board accountability.
The governor was right to block the unnecessary and unhealthy masking of our children – he was acting on their behalf to protect them from the severe negative impacts of day-long masking. But at this point removing funding from our schools would simply work to the detriment of the same children the governor was protecting.
There is no way to cut a portion of the education budget and expect it not to impact student education. The Florida Education Finance Program provides school districts with equalized per-student funding, and a $12 million cut to education funding in Sarasota County would hurt children in Sarasota County. It would also send the message that their education is worth less than the education of students in surrounding districts.
The Putting Parents First Adjustment legislation would give 55 districts more resources to absorb educational cost increases and enhance educational resources in their districts. At the same time, this proposal would penalize students in 12 districts, including Sarasota County, making it more difficult to absorb the very same costs and provide the very same educational services.
Florida’s education funding formula is meant to be equitable, but this adjustment would fundamentally make the formula a tool for political revenge at the expense of Florida students.
Sen. Joe Gruters of Sarasota County represents District 23 in the Florida Senate, and serves as chairman of the Senate Education Committee.
This article originally appeared on Sarasota Herald-Tribune: It's wrong to punish Sarasota students for the School Board's sins
