F.A.C.E. to FACE
F.A.C.E. BULLETIN
05/10/07
May 10, 2007
Thousands of New Scholarships Available for Low-Income K-12 Students
(More scholarships available! See bottom of Newsletter!)
Our legislative session just Friday but unfortunately neither of the two bills we tried to get support for passed.
We had hoped that the failing schools model in a tax credit format bill was going to switch out to the House version (which added legal findings and intent language, and also increased our scholarship amount about 10%), but it did not happen. The press played up the “reinstatement of Bush’s failing schools vouchers” and the union was forced to work with certain legislators against the bill. The Democrats in the Senate locked down on both bills, and with dissention from three Republicans (Villalobos and two other dissenting Republicans loyalists) had enough to kill the trust fund.
The foster care bill ended up being combined in the House with the bill that provided the findings and intents and scholarship increase. It passed the House but failed in the Senate. The reason that this bill didn’t pass the Senate is that, astoundingly, and yet again, the bill got caught in a final day chess match between the two chambers. Even more exasperating was that the bill driving the impasse was for more money for the Florida Marlins baseball stadium. The foster care bill was one of several bills in that negotiation, and time ran out without a “deal".
At least our new Governor (Crist), is solidly behind the CTC and McKay. It was very important for everyone to see him endorse these programs at our Rally. You may view the rally slideshow at http://www.flace.org/rally.htm. Additionally, the new Democratic Leader in he Senate is Senator Al Lawson, who spoke at our Rally and also seems firmly behind the CTC and McKay.
What we now need from you is to personally contact your legislator for an appointment and to encourage them to support the scholarship programs. Calls need to start being made this week if having a scheduled appointment before the end of school is the goal.
Please look out for a communiqué from me on this. You need to let your let your legislators know that in addition to the 4,000 parents and children went to Tallahassee from all over Florida to show their support for the Step Up For Students Scholarship Program, on April 12th, hundreds of the attendees came from their district and some all the way from south Florida, boarding buses the night before.
We need to do everything we can to convince our lawmakers to support school choice initiatives during the upcoming year. The main point will be to encourage them to endorse a large increase in the $88 million cap and the individual scholarship amount for CTC students. Legislative session ended on Friday and they will be returning to their district offices. Now is the best time to get this done.
Your school community’s efforts may serve as the impetus in convincing the legislature of the necessity of school choice programs. Please do everything possible to ensure that your legislator hears our voices!
Please let me know if you secure an appointment. Thank you for putting your FACE on the future of Florida’s education!
Thank you for Stepping Up For Students,
Michael A. Benjamin
Executive Director, F.A.C.E.
Florida Alliance for Choices in Education
Copyright 2007 Sentinel Communications Co.
Orlando Sentinel (Florida)
April 24, 2007 Tuesday
FINAL
SECTION: EDITORIAL; FLORIDA; OTHER VIEWS, My WORD; Pg. A13
LENGTH: 554 words
HEADLINE: School choice: Florida can add momentum
BYLINE: Adam B. Schaeffer
BODY: An increasing number of Floridians want school choice, and their representatives are beginning to take note.
There are now two school-choice bills under consideration in the Florida Legislature -- one in the House and a companion in the Senate -- that would make foster children eligible for scholarships to attend good schools. The scholarships would be funded by donations from businesses that get tax credits on the money they donate toward them.
Education tax credits are a promising alternative to vouchers -- which often meet stiff legal and political resistance -- and they're gaining ground around the country. These credits reduce the amount a taxpayer owes the state for each dollar he spends on education or donations to scholarship organizations. If a business owed the state $4,000 in taxes and donated $2,000 for scholarships, it would pay just $2,000 in taxes. Similar benefits can also apply to individuals for donations and for their own child's education expenses.
Credits for business donations to scholarship programs already support more than 14,000 low-income children in Florida.
Politicians in other states -- even Democratic ones -- are increasingly getting on board. Arizona, Rhode Island and Iowa passed tax-credit programs last year, and Pennsylvania expanded its existing business-tax-credit program. The Arizona, Iowa, and Pennsylvania bills became law with Democratic governors, and the Rhode Island business-tax credit was born in a Democratic legislature. Even in deep-blue New York, Gov. Eliot Spitzer proposed an education-tax deduction in his first state budget.
They're starting to see that education tax credits are good for all citizens.
School-choice programs encourage parents to take responsibility for their children's education, so it's no wonder academic research finds that they increase student achievement.
They can also save money by allowing students to transfer from expensive government schools to more efficient independent ones. According to the National Center for Education Statistics, after adjusting for inflation, public schooling costs around $10,500 per child, while private-school tuition averages around $5,300.
Florida's families are already marching to demand freedom in education. Two weeks ago, more than 4,000 supporters of school choice rallied at the Capitol in Tallahassee. Civil-rights leader the Rev. H.K. Matthews stood with Gov. Charlie Crist and Democratic Sen. Al Lawson before a huge crowd of parents, children and businesspeople determined to expand Florida's business-tax-credit program for donations to private scholarship funds.
The educational choice movement is broad, deep and American in every sense of the word, because it comports with American values: family, community and individual choice. Its supporters want only the freedom to decide where their children go to school.
Education tax credits save money and children from bad schools. They strengthen families and civil society. And they're increasingly a bipartisan policy. As Florida legislators must realize, school choice will soon become the norm, not the exception. With the first of many bills to that end on their desks, now's their chance to get on the right side of history.
CONTACT: Adam B. Schaeffer is an education-policy analyst at the Cato Institute, a libertarian think tank.
UNION PACIFIC JOBS
IF YOU KNOW ANYONE LOOKING FOR A JOB, PASS THIS ALONG
This was announced on ABC News, www.unionpacific.jobs
http://www.unionpacific.jobs/. Union Pacific is Hiring 3,000 to 5,000.
They need people to fill all jobs for people retiring this year. They will do all the training for 14 weeks.. 35k to 40k per year salary to start. They’re looking for people to fill positions all over the united states. So, if you know anyone who needs work let them know. They can apply online or go to one of the job fairs in their area. It's also online for locations and times.Click here: Careers at Union Pacific http://www.unionpacific.jobs/?www.unionpacificjobs.com
6,000 New Scholarships Available for Low-Income K-12 Students
Florida P.R.I.D.E. and Children First Florida, Florida Corporate Tax Credit scholarship funding organizations, will award approximately 8,000 new scholarships for the 2006-2007 school year to Kindergarten through 12th grade students who qualify for the Federal Free and Reduced Lunch Program. Applicants must be currently enrolled in a public school, unless they are entering kindergarten or first grade. Those who qualify may receive up to a $3,750 scholarship for tuition at an eligible private school of their choice or a scholarship for up to $500 for travel expenses to an out-of-district public school. The scholarships provide a fresh start for students who are not succeeding in their current school setting.
This year, $70 million in scholarships will be awarded to qualifying Florida students until funding is exhausted so applicants are encouraged to apply as soon as possible. Income limits for scholarship recipients are determined by household size. For example, a family of four can earn no more than $37,000 to qualify. To apply, log on to www.floridapride.org or call (813) 258-2700 for Florida Pride and www.scholarshipfunding.org or call (904) 247-6033 or (407) 702-2607 for a Children First Florida application.
The Florida Corporate Income Tax Credit scholarship program provides K-12 scholarships that currently allow over 14,000 low-income Florida students to attend an eligible private school or out-of-district public school. One hundred percent of corporate contributions go directly to funding scholarships – not a single penny can be used for administrative costs.
Children First Florida - Serving Orlando, Central Florida, Jacksonville and Panhandle
P.O. Box 49099
Jacksonville Beach, Florida 32240
(904) 247-6033 or (407) 702-2607
cforster@scholarshipfunding.org
Florida P.R.I.D.E. - Serving Tampa Bay, South Florida and Marion County
P.O. Box 1670
Tampa, Florida 33606
(800) 782-9140
info@floridapride.org
School Year 06 - 07 Income Eligibility Guidelines
Persons in Household
Annual Household Income
2
$24,420
3
$30,710
4
$37,000
5
$43,290
6
$49,580
7
$55,870
8
$62,160
9
$68,450
10
$74,740
11
$81,030
12
$87,320
13
$93,610
For each additional person, add
$6,290
Effective from June 1, 2006 to June 30, 2007
Florida Alliance for Choices in Education (F.A.C.E)
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