It amazes me how hard Florida Republicans are pushing ahead with their attempts to weaken the public school system here. There is little in the papers about it, very little on the news that really tells the truth about what these amendments will do.
When we post here about it here, there is some consternation. But it is short-lived until we post again. There has been some work done on this by the DU poster
called Seafan.This article does a good job of explaining Amendments 7 and 9 as they relate to allowing public tax money to be turned over to private religious schools.
A blatant attempt to mislead the votersTroxler points out there are 9 amendments on the fall ballot.
Floridians will have a lot of voting to do this fall. Besides choosing our politicians, we'll also have to decide nine proposed amendments to our state Constitution. Nine! That is a lot of constitution writing. We will hear about them all in time, but today let's focus on a couple that present some interesting questions on the front end.
Maybe you think expanding school vouchers is a fine idea. Lots of people do. Maybe you think it is a terrible idea. But before we even get to that debate, the first point is … Shouldn't the ballot actually SAY this is what we're voting on?
Yes, it should.
He explains Amendments 7 and 9 and talks about the misleading way they are being presented to voters.
Amendment 7 would repeal the "Blaine amendment," an old part of the Constitution that prohibits the use of tax dollars in support of religious institutions.
Amendment 9 would reverse a court ruling saying that Florida has an "exclusive" duty to run public schools. That would seem to mean that the state could use vouchers to educate kids, too.
Allowing public tax money to go to religious schools? If it were made clear to voters, I doubt very many would really want that. But there is no real discussion on the news about it...mostly just the info news kind of thing.
And...reverse a court ruling that says Florida has the "exclusive" duty to run public schools?? That leaves the door wide open for every possible group to start getting tax money.
Here is more on the topic. There needs to be much more media attention to this.
Radical voucher initiative on Florida's ballot will allow public school money to private schoolsBut there's more to the story than the headline and the voucher initiative - much, much more. The voucher and another proposal would, if approved by voters: Eliminate a wise, time-honored clause in the Florida Constitution that prevents government revenue from being "taken from the public treasury … in aid of any church, sect or religious denomination or in aid of any sectarian institution."
Undermine the constitutional requirement that the state fulfill its "paramount duty" to provide all children residing in Florida with the opportunity to obtain a high-quality education in public schools.
These proposed changes to the state constitution are as radical as they are unwise.
I wish the Florida Democrats would spend as much time fighting back against initiatives like this as they do attacking the national party. What a lovely picture that would be.
