JACKSONVILLE, Fla. — Teachers across the Sunshine State protested and chanted for months about House Bill 7069. Gov. Rick Scott ultimately signed it, and now that the smoke’s cleared, Action News Jax is taking a closer look at it.
“Everybody is going to feel it. I think it’s unfortunate. There are good things and bad things in this bill. This is one of the things I didn’t agree with,” Scott Shine, school board member for District 2, said.
Shine is referring to the part that requires DCPS to share the wealth and hand over an estimated $16.9 million to charter schools over the next five years.
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Considering the district is already facing some budget woes, some argue the mandate is bad news.
“It basically digs a hole we already have, deeper,” Shine said.
Schools like Andrew Jackson High School may be impacted the most. It has a number of things that need to be fixed, like air conditioning, aging windows that don’t close properly and roofing. More money leaving the district means maintenance projects may have to be put on hold.
Shine said it’s up to him and the powers that be to get out of their financial pickle, and they’re working on it.
“Right now, we’ve considered whether or not we’re going to need bond money to build new schools and repair our old schools, so this simply makes the situation worse,” Shine said.
The district has a few weeks to finalize its budget for the upcoming year.
Click here for DCPS' view of HB 7069.
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