Passing the Plate

by Bryan

9 comments

1 Mustang Bobby { 11.26.06 at 6:08 am }

I’m considering getting that plate and personalizing it. I wish the proceeds from the plate would go to the local boards instead of the state education fund, though.

2 Bryan { 11.26.06 at 10:05 am }

I view this plate as another attempt by the legislature to avoid paying for education, just like the lottery. The money is supposed to be for “enhancements”, but somehow that never seems to happen.

Things are really messed up when a local board has the money to buy computers, but doesn’t have the funds to pay for the electricity to run them or to fix the roof in the room where they would be located.

3 ellroon { 11.26.06 at 2:03 pm }

Hmmm. School is indicated by an apple? So…polish enough apples and you can slide right from school into a comfy job? Worked for the Bush boys…

4 oldwhitelady { 11.26.06 at 3:20 pm }

Things are really messed up when a local board has the money to buy computers, but doesn’t have the funds to pay for the electricity to run them or to fix the roof in the room where they would be located.

I guess that’s where local taxes are needed. Sure is sad. When Missouri started allowing lottery and riverboat gambling, they said funds would be allotted for schools. I’ve heard that funds do come from that area for schools, but the money that was earlier allotted (through govt) was taken back and allotted for other things – This way, schools are still getting the same money, but nothing extra to help. So, of course, cities still keep adding school tax increases to be voted on.

5 Bryan { 11.26.06 at 3:59 pm }

Ellroon, that only works if your family owns the orchard.

Same here, OWL. The lottery was supposed to be extra money, but it wound up with schools getting less than before the lottery was started.

6 ellroon { 11.26.06 at 6:02 pm }

The lottery was supposed to be extra money, but it wound up with schools getting less than before the lottery was started.

Exactly the same thing in California. The politicians go pale when they look at all that ‘extra’ cash going to education and work hard to divert just … a … bit more to their other pet projects.

They forget that education is the tool to change everyone’s lives for the better.

7 Bryan { 11.26.06 at 7:41 pm }

Georgia is the only state that actually gets something from their lottery, all of the money goes to fund college scholarships. The law that created the lottery has that locked in, so the state legislature can’t get to the money.

8 Mustang Bobby { 11.27.06 at 4:17 am }

The lottery money was supposed to supplement the state education budget here in Florida, not supplant it, but that’s what happened.

That and some shenanigans involving “inside baseball” things like the DCD (District Cost Differential) formula that gives money to counties based on their cost of living screwed the more expensive places to live (i.e. Miami-Dade) and gave it less expensive but better-connected counties (i.e. Duval). Is it just a coincidence that the counties represented by the Speaker of the House and the Senate President got the biggest boost in the DCD…and both men are Republicans? Hmmm.

9 Bryan { 11.27.06 at 8:34 am }

People were warned that this would happen, but they assumed that legislature would do what they promised, forgetting that it changes with every election.

This is why we have term limits and multiple education amendments to the state constitution trying to force the legislature to do the right thing.

I guess the DCD will have to be fixed by initiative, because the legislature just can’t do the right thing.