State predicts $842M surplus
Maxwell: It’s time to fund schools, the environment, pre-K and special needs. Actually, it’s way past time.
For Christmas, my mother gave each of her seven grandchildren a crisp fifty-dollar bill … with a catch.
The kids could spend the money immediately if they wanted. (And believe me, most wanted to.)
But if they could muster up some patience, she also gave them the option of doing research to find a worthy charity — to which they could that 50 bucks.
If they did that, she’d replace their money with another $50 … plus 10 percent interest.
It was supposed to be an exercise in both supporting worthy causes — and making financial decisions that would serve them better in the long-term.
Smart lady. I hope the politicians who run Florida can be that smart.
See, Florida’s budget analysts recently predicted an unexpected $842 million surplus over the next two years. And the state has real investment needs — schools, the environment and specialneeds families they have shortchanged for years.
Unfortunately, when our politicians come into extra money, they usually opt for short-term scores and giveaways. They cut corporate tax rates (already some of the lowest in America) to the point where most businesses no longer pay corporate taxes and funnel even more money into subsidizing the low-wage tourism industry’s advertising budget.
Meanwhile, our education and quality of life decline. Our students suffer. The environment degrades. And we end up paying more later on.
So today, I want to propose a better way to spend the extra $842 million. It’s a way to make smart investments — without raising taxes one nickel.
Teacher raises
Florida ranks 44th in teacher salaries, depending on the year — and has a tough time keeping the jobs filled.
Raising the average salary by 2 percent wouldn’t be enough. But at least we’d pass Idaho.
The state says the average teacher salary is $48,168 right now. A 2 percent raise equals $963. Multiply that times 174,000 teachers for two years and the price tag is $335 million.
Special needs families
One of Florida’s great shames is its refusal to properly provide therapy services, respite care and other assistance to specialneeds families who are qualified to receive it.
As of this month, there are more than 21,000 families on the state’s Medicaid-waiver wait list where the average wait is more than six years. Some kids die before they get the help they’re entitled to receive.
State officials say not everyone on this list needs immediate assistance. And every family’s needs are different. (Some get $2,000 a month for services. Some get $4,000.) But $150 million could get an additional 2,000 or so families off this wait list for the next two years.
Keep in mind: In the past, the state properly funded this program so there was wait list.
Also keep in mind: The state’s budget is about $90
Pre-K funding
Knowing that early education sets the stage for everything else in life, Gov. Jeb Bush once called for Florida to establish one of the best pre-kindergarten programs in the nation. Unfortunately, it has become one of the worstfunded.
The state spends $2,437 per student — less than half of what most states spend. (Including states like Arkansas and West Virginia, for Pete’s sake.)
A 10 percent boost for the 175,000 students enrolled would cost about $85 million over two years.
School transportation
Schools don’t get enough money for all the buses and drivers they need. As a result, many kids have to walk to school in the darkness if they live within two miles — a dangerous proposition in a county such as Orange, which ranks as one of the deadliest in America for pedestrians.
A lack of transportation funding also means schools share buses and stagger routes, forcing most high schools to start too early, with 6:15 am pickups common.
Cost estimates here are very rough. But Orange County has said it would need about $18 million to get enough buses and drivers for proper high school start times. So $200 million would be enough to make major strides for both safety and start times in districts throughout the state.
Environment
For years, Florida has neglected its environment — and then acts shocked when springs get polluted and toxic green algae coats the state. Often, spending a relatively small amount of money up front would save taxpayers down the road.
As one example, Gov. Rick Scott vetoed $2 million in 2013 that was supposed to be spent on a network of pollution sensors meant to detect problems in the Indian River Lagoon … a body of water regularly home to dead wildlife.
The state spends $2,437 per student — less than half of what most states spend. (Including states like Arkansas and West Virginia, for Pete’s sake.)
There are many more needs. So for a start, let’s multiply that $2 million by an even dozen similar environmental efforts ($24 million) times two years = $48 million.
If we add all that up, we have $335 million for teacher salaries + $150 million for special needs families + $85 million for Pre-K + $200 million for school transportation + $48 million for environmental protection.
That totals $818 million. If the politicians simply can’t resist the urge to hand over more money to tourism and businesses, fine, you have another $24 million to play with. Though I’d prefer better funding for mental health, the court system, arts and culture or other neglected priorities.)
These investments would help this state play catch-up on important quality-of-life issues — the kind of long-term investments my mother would respect.