From the Orlando Sentinel's school zone
Politicians from Tallahassee to Washington, D.C. complain that “America’s schools are failing.”
They especially point to the poor education that they say minority and low income students are receiving, and say something needs to be done about it.
Their apparent solution? Cut education funding. And for the feds, that means targeting the neediest students.
The Florida Department of Education has been notified that the US Department of Education has reduced nationwide appropriations for the Title 1 program by $163 million, and has passed the word on to local school districts. Florida schools will lose just over $9.5 million.
Title I is the decades old program that provides federal funds to help level the playing field for low performing low income students, who so often also are minorities. It pays for extra teachers and other services in the schools, and in recent years for after school tutoring by independent tutors of parents’ choice.
When the cuts are juggled down to the local school districts, Orange will lose about $225,000 – the cost of about four teachers. Osceola with its enormous poverty rate, will lose even more -nearly $227,000. Other Central Florida counties line up with losses of $194,384 for Seminole; $152,867 for Lake; and $112,941 for Volusia.
The cuts come nearly halfway through the school year, when every penny counts. Florida lawmakers last spring reduced state funding for this school year, and word is in the wind that more cuts will come for next school year. The situation has become so dire that former Gov. Jeb Bush, still way influential in state poltiics, this week cautioned lawmakers that schools can’t make more progress with less money.
http://blogs.orlandosentinel.com/news_education_edblog/
No comments:
Post a Comment