Hoodwinked

Hoodwinked, bamboozled, had the rug pulled out from under or just plain lied to all fit for what the state did to thousands of teachers the other day. With little fanfare the Florida Department of Education announced they ended the Critical Teacher Shortage (CTS) loan forgiveness and tuition reimbursement program. They did so because the legislature decided not to fund it anymore.

This is the same legislature that told thousands of people in the business world and prospective teachers that if they joined the profession and taught in areas of critical needs, math, science and special education that they would have their loans forgiven. Now all of these people are going to be saddled with debt that they were told that if they did the right thing that they wouldn’t have to pay. Though it’s not only the unfulfilled promise that’s the problem here but why would teachers stay or go into the most challenging areas of education now?

This happened during the same legislative session where they capped the amount of taxes that the buyers of new yachts have to pay.

This happened during the same legislative session where they tried (and may still do) to circumnavigate the will of the people by rolling back the class size amendment.

This happened during the same legislative session where it took a veto from the governor to stop from passing, the punitive towards teachers and badly written senate bill six.

This happened during the same legislative session where they continued to violate the constitution of Florida by refusing to fund education in a first class manner.

This happened during the same legislative session that approved increased tax breaks to companies that finance vouchers taking even more money away from the already cash starved public school system.

This happened during the same legislative session where they dramatically increased graduation requirements despite the fact that thousands ands upon thousands of students can’t reach the requirements already in place.

The other day thousands of teachers who counted on the promise of having their student loans forgiven if they agreed to teach in an area of critical need were hoodwinked but they weren’t the only ones. Parents who believed the legislature had the best interest for and actually cared about their children had the wool pulled over their eyes too.

Hoodwinked, bamboozled, had the rug pulled out from under, the wool pulled over their eyes or were just plain lied to all fit for what the state did to thousands of teachers the other day. Sadly that’s the same thing they have been doing to parents, children and the citizens of Florida for a while.