Religious freedom or public school privatization?

Kim Slote, Naples

No on 8

As the mother of two children in the Collier County public school system, I urge you to vote "no'' on Amendment 8 on Nov 6.

This constitutional amendment is not about religious freedom, despite what its misleading title says. This amendment is about is public, taxpayer funding going to support religious organizations. If passed, any religious group or sect would be able to use public funds to fund its own religious school.

As a taxpayer, this worries me greatly. I believe that religiously affiliated (parochial) schools should be funded by members or parishioners of that religion, not by taxpayers. And I believe that our public schools cannot afford to have funding taken away from them – public schools are already struggling financially to provide the best education possible to the children of our state.

The Florida Center for Fiscal and Economic Policy recently concluded that this amendment could cost our public schools $3.7 billion to $6.5 billion over the next five years. This is why the Florida School Boards Association, the Florida Education Association and the Florida Parent Teacher Association have all stated their opposition to Amendment 8.

Please vote no on Amendment 8.