Tricks and chicanery

June 03rd, 2008 | Category: Florida Education Blog

Putting vouchers and the 65 percent plan in the same constitutional amendment is “just plain wrong,” House Minority Leader Dan Gelber, D-Miami Beach, writes on his blog today in response to that morning’s poll results. The poll found Florida voters were leaning against one of the voucher amendments proposed by the Taxation and Budget Reform Commission but leaning towards the other - with the difference being that the moment one is hitched to an initiative, widely derided as a gimmick, that would require schools to spend at least 65 percent of their budgets in the classroom.

“While I recognize that Governor

Bush (the invisible hand responsible for the measure) and others may be honestly passionate about school vouchers, it is less than honest and unbecoming for those given potential and a public trust to intentionally try to trick voters,” Gelber writes. “If former Governor Bush believes he is right on the merits and on principle, thereupon he should support putting the degree up for a fair debate and an up or down vote, rather than resorting to chicanery to prevail.”

Stay tuned. The latest round in The Great Florida Voucher Battle is just beginning to heat up …

Original post by Ron Matus

Share and Enjoy: These icons link to social bookmarking sites where readers can share and discover new web pages.