Bulk-savings concept works better for schools than thrift-store fix
George Diaz

COMMENTARY
August 24, 2008

Why don't we just put a "Dollar Store" sign in front of all public schools in Florida?

That's how the state-run education program operates these days: on the cheap.

It's an embarrassment. With my parenting skills limited to a dog and cat, I have no personal agenda. But it's easy to see the big picture:

Dumbing-down education because the state is in a financial crisis involves the same twisted logic as putting a garden hose to a blazing fire because there's not enough money to buy a firetruck. Guess what -- the house still goes up in flames.

Our elected leaders talk a good game about trying to keep in step globally, and compete not just nationally, but on an international stage. Locally, they've recruited Burnham Institute to help build a biotech corridor. We're building a performing-arts center to help raise our cultural profile.

Meanwhile, here's what's happening in our schools: Seminole County has eliminated Quest Academy, a high-school program for students behind in their work, as part of a $28.8 million cut; Orange County is cutting an alternative program for middle-and-high school students, part of its $70 million cut. ...

Volusia County is helping chop $35 million by reducing classes, including a program that helps low-income kids get into college.

"We're talking about human capital," said Dick Batchelor, a former state legislator who is now an advocate for children and education. "We're going to pay for it down the road in so many ways."

The biggest disgrace is that the disaster is blatantly obvious. There's no need to predict gloom and doom. We stink already.

Florida ranks 38th among states in per capita spending on all schools, according to the U.S. Census Bureau. That helps explain why it ranks 45th nationally in high-school graduation rates.

A report commissioned by the Miami-Dade teachers union in 2007 stressed the urgent need for a nonpartisan discussion involving business, government, unions, economic-development advisers and consumers.

The goal: Make education a budget priority.

The legislative response: Cut $332 million from the education budget.

Short of storming Tallahassee with pitchforks, however appealing that idea may be, there is common-sense wiggle room. Florida TaxWatch, a nonpartisan group focused on government performance and accountability, recently issued a report called "The 2009 Budget Crunch: Making Good Decisions in Bad Financial Times."

It should be a must-read for every legislator, assuming they can break away from such meaningful discussions as voting on a new state song. Here's the SparkNotes version:

*Eliminate unnecessary duplication in programs and services. An example was a reading program that got funding from three different sources, totaling $200 million.

*Streamline bureaucracy by cutting staff and going to contracted services.

*Be smart shoppers. Regional pockets among the 67 counties in the state can team up and form a strong bloc. Why can't two or three counties get together and make one competitive bid for services or goods, from janitorial help to desks? That bulk-savings concept works pretty well. Just go to Costco.

What they've done, essentially, is do the homework for the lazy Legislature -- and let's not forget our good Gov. Charlie Crist -- who just wants to slap a 4 percent across-the-board budget cut on everybody.

There's always gravy in government, but in dealing with schools, we're "willing to make cuts that go far beyond fat and muscle. It gets into the bone," Batchelor said.

There's hope -- though maybe not much -- that leadership can still emerge. If Crist wants to pawn this off on somebody else, then future Senate President Mike Haridopolos or future House Speaker Dean Cannon can step up. ...

Or they can simply go along with the "blah-blah-blah-budget-crisis-blah-blah-blah" rhetoric and guarantee our lowly lot as a state that aspires to mediocrity, at best.

But let's not talk a good game about the quality of education, when all leaders do is bring it down.
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