The concept that public cash ought to observe college students wherever they attend faculty was an enormous a part of the rationale behind the state’s expansion of school choice this yr.
However a “big quantity” of that cash — $16 million — slated to go to personal faculties didn’t observe college students after they ended up again in Broward County public faculties final yr, faculty district officers informed lawmakers this week. Laws is required to repair the issue, faculty officers informed lawmakers.
Broward County’s legislative delegation met with Broward County officers to set legislative priorities because the Session attracts close to and an enormous query that lawmakers had was concerning the impact training laws handed this yr was having.
Final yr, a unanimous Republican supermajority handed the nation’s most vital growth of common faculty alternative. However the Broward faculty officers say they — and plenty of different faculty districts — are scuffling with a difficulty predating that growth that put Florida amongst eight states giving public cash for personal faculties no matter household revenue.
“How do you recoup the {dollars} from a household that took the voucher” however then returned to public faculty? stated Judith Marte, deputy superintendent of finance and operations for Broward, explaining that she’s in talks with Division of Schooling officers to get final yr’s share. “That’s the query.”
Beginning this faculty yr, households no matter revenue may decide to take $8,000 a yr in public funding and apply it to tuition exterior the general public system. Earlier than this yr, it was restricted to households making 400% or lower than the Federal Poverty Stage (FPL), which is about $111,000 yearly for a household of 4. It additionally expanded the vouchers to extra home-schoolers this yr.
Marte estimated that 1,700 college students who signed as much as get their share of public funding to go to personal faculty final yr returned to Broward faculties.
So, Broward County was shorted about $16 million, she stated.
Proper now, faculty monetary officers from across the state are working with the state to get this reconciled, however an total repair is required, Marte stated.
“Fingers crossed, we’re getting our cash,” Marte stated. “However we want greater than fingers crossed.”
In the identical vein of public cash going to locations apart from public faculties, Central Broward’s Democratic Sen. Rosalind Osgood requested about laws that made capital funding accessible to constitution faculties.
“This was a drive-by,” Osgood stated of the regulation (HB 1259) that may transfer lots of of thousands and thousands a yr to highschool buildings not a part of the general public system, primarily based not on precise constructing wants however on per-student enrollment.
Marte put that determine at a $12 million value to Broward’s faculty buildings.
“We should not have $12 million that might be spent on our deferred upkeep, which, the final time our capital workers calculated, was greater than $2 billion with a ‘b,’~,” Marte stated.
Marte stated repair for that might be limiting capital funding to constitution faculties that occupy publicly owned buildings, like when cities function a constitution faculty, as Pembroke Pines does.
Osgood requested the district to formulate a one-pager so lawmakers may very well be particular about the price to Broward County public faculties.
“We have to perceive after we make coverage within the state of Florida the way it helps or hurts our college district — that’s the lacking piece,” Osgood stated.
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