WFTV: Parents Suing State Over Poor Education
WFTV
Nov 18, 2009
ORANGE COUNTY, Fla. -- Some Orange County parents say their children are getting such a poor education they're suing the state legislature and Department of Education. The parents told Eyewitness News that lawmakers are violating the constitution by spending too little money on education.
Florida's constitution orders lawmakers to fund education as a paramount duty and yet Florida ranks near the bottom of the nation in per student spending. Parents like Linda Kobert are livid.
"The most dangerous animal is a mother bear. And what we are doing is protecting our children and the rest of the children in the state," Kobert said.
She and other local parents sued state leaders to try to force them to spend more money on schools.
“Why is it that no one seems concerned with obeying our constitution? This is something the courts will have to decide," education advocate Kathleen Oropeza said.
The state legislature changed its spending formula, pushing more of the burden to local governments and, with shrinking tax collections, local governments are strained. When federal stimulus dollars run out, more schools could close. Kathleen Oropeza says that can not happen.
"When the coffers were full, they didn't do what they were supposed to do. We were still $3,000 below the national average," she said.
The idea of suing state government to fund education isn't new. People in Maryland sued their legislature in 2002 and, six years later, Maryland lawmakers were forced to spend more money on education. Oropeza hopes the suit with her name on it will provide the same results no matter how long it takes.
"As long as there are kindergartners rolling into these elementary schools, it's never too late. They need us," Oropeza said.
The money spent per student in Orange County has dropped a lot in just the past year. Once you account for the federal stimulus money and adjustments from lawmakers, the amount spent per student drops from $7,309 to $5,634 per student.
Even though Florida is the fourth most-populated state, it is the least-spent per student in the nation, with the exception of Utah.