Florida spends billions of taxpayer dollars on education and expanding school choice programs. Supporters say it gives families flexibility and opportunities, while critics argue it’s happening at the expense of public schools.
The debate over how to pay for education and the future of public schools is being amplified in Orange County neighborhoods. On a Saturday morning near Orlando’s Taft neighborhood west of the international airport, a group of about 20 volunteers knocked on doors hoping to have conversations with people about the importance of public education and its funding.
One of them, UCF graduate Anjali Murali, says she’s a proud product of public schools.
“We don't see enough of the benefits that go into public education,” she says. “Public education is just as good compared to private schools or charter schools.”
Murali canvassed with Edie Berman, a mother of two, whose concerns about Florida’s changing education system feel personal.
“I have had the full OCPS experience as a mom and am very concerned about changes that I've seen over the past 22 years,” Berman says.
The canvass was organized by State Representative Anna Eskamani with Orange County School Board candidate Susanne Peña and current member Angie Gallo who is running for School Board Chair.
Vouchers Explained
Florida’s universal voucher program is paid for by taxpayers. Every year, families who apply and are approved get a minimum of $8,000 for each K-12 student to help pay for private, charter, homeschool, or other alternatives to traditional public school. Step Up For Students is the state’s funding organization that distributes those school choice scholarships. Just a few years ago, the state removed income requirements for families to receive one.
Orange County School Board District 1 member Gallo spoke to canvass volunteers about the costs to OCPS, “We need everybody to be really aware because most people aren't that $5 billion of your taxpayer dollars are going to subsidize the wealthy to send them to private schools. A lot of the kids that are getting those vouchers never stepped foot in a public school.”
Gallo’s opponent for chair is Orange County School Board District 3 member Alicia Farrant who says vouchers are not the problem.
“The problem is the standard of excellence that has been lacking in public schools for years, and when we raise the standard and we're innovative and we think creatively, parents will see that public school is still a great option,” Farrant says.
Does funding follow the student?
Supporters and critics of school choice often argue over whether funding should follow the student. Last year, an audit of Florida’s voucher program found overspending and underfunded public schools.
“We know that really millions of dollars is either not following students properly or has been misspent. We know that from an audit that was conducted by the state,” says Larry Walker, an Associate Professor in the Department of Education Leadership at UCF who studies education policy and school funding.
“There have been major challenges as it relates to making sure this money is being spent the way it was meant in terms of its legislative intent,” he adds.
Debate Reaches Courts
The tension is moving to the courts. A lawsuit filed by parents, educators, and the Florida Education Association against the Florida Department of Education says the state is failing to meet its constitutional obligation of ensuring every child has access to a uniform, high-quality, free public education system. The lawsuit says the state’s scholarship system lacks the same oversight and accountability standards as traditional public schools.
Andrew Spar, President of the Florida Education Association, says, “This lawsuit is really about transparency, accountability, and fairness, and so when we see an auditor's general report that came out of the executive branch here in the state of Florida that criticized the lack of oversight for funds that are going out of public schools taxpayer dollars and going to a voucher program that isn't accounting for where those dollars are going, we should all be concerned as citizens.”
Supporters of expanded school choice disagree with the lawsuit. Ron Matus is Director of Research and Special Projects with Step Up for Students Florida.
“We have moved to a system where we're giving parents the power to drive quality based on their vision, their values, and their better judgment. It's a different way of doing accountability, and I think a better way,” Matus says.
