Yesterday, the inaugural Santa Rosa EA Legislative Debrief took place in Navarre before a room filled with Santa Rosa EA supporters. The training centered on legislative policies, funding, and laws adopted at this recent legislative session.
It is no secret that the legislature passed a dismal public education budget this year. This year’s state budget includes a 1% increase over last year’s – which doesn’t even come close to meeting the needs of our schools, teachers, and students.
Cathy Boehme, FEA Public Policy representative, reported that FEA President Joanne McCall called on the governor to veto this failure to fund our schools. Santa Rosa will only receive a 1.71% increase in new money over last year, which amounts to about three million dollars.
The legislature could have done better for our kids, but they chose election year hype over substance. Florida’s economy had historic tourism in 2015, and Disney had its best year ever. And though the governor and legislature call this year’s education budget “historic”, it’s not even close. When adjusted for inflation, this year’s education budget falls far from anything close to a historic high.
Santa Rosa EA members attending the meeting vowed to meet with local legislators and to continue their advocacy for a stronger union both locally and statewide. They will also meet with their school board members and push to elect pro-public education representatives who support public education.
Use the FEA Action Center to find your legislator: http://feaactioncenter.org/act/contact-your-lawmakers/