Jacksonville
–
Education leaders and supporters from
Northeast Florida joined today to discuss the
financial impacts the passage of Amendment 1
will have on their institutions.
The
proposed amendment will provide the average
Florida homeowner with only about $20 per month
in relief but will result in devastating cuts to
public education, costing local governments over
$9 billion and Florida's public school system
nearly $3 billion over five years.
“The
addition of this amendment would cause school
districts to face a loss to important programs
and initiatives that are ongoing in promoting
teaching and learning,” said Duval County Public
Schools Superintendent Ed Pratt-Dannals. “We
are urging voters to think about how this
amendment will affect public education when they
head to the polls on January 29.”
Florida
is currently facing additional budget cuts to
local governments and public schools because of
unexpected shortfalls in revenue caused by an
economic slowdown. Unlike municipalities,
school boards cannot charge fees to make up for
the lost revenue.
In
December, the Duval County School Board passed a
formal resolution opposing passage of the ballot
items citing an estimated drop of $74 million
over five years in revenue that supports
learning in Jacksonville’s public school
classrooms.
