Democrats criticize Bush on education

Democratic gubernatorial candidates Bill McBride and Janet Reno criticized Gov. Jeb Bush Wednesday, saying he has failed to improve Florida's education system.

In Tampa, McBride spoke about the importance of recruiting and retaining teachers. He stood outside Gorrie Elementary School, where both his children attended.

"Schools are getting stressed all over Florida," said McBride, accompanied by his wife, Alex Sink. Bush has "put our public schools at risk."

McBride said he would provide $434-million in the 2003-04 budget to cut a teacher salary gap in Florida.

Reno spoke at the Century Village retirement community in Pembroke Pines in Broward County, along with state Sen. Daryl Jones of Miami, who is also seeking the Democratic nomination Sept. 10. Both also said teachers' salaries need to be raised.

Reno, the former U.S. attorney general, said Florida's low pay forces teachers to seek better-paying jobs in Georgia. She did not specify how much the increases would cost the state.

Florida's average teacher salary of $37,824 in 2000-01 was $5,101 below the national average and $4,392 under neighboring Georgia, according to estimates by the National Education Association, a teachers union.

The Florida Department of Education computed a slightly higher figure of $38,230 for the state, still well below the national average.

Jones said one way to increase teachers' pay is through modernizing the state's public schools by using electronic textbooks, which would cut back on costs for providing printed learning materials.

Jones proposed adding $300-million to the budget for salary increases.

Bush campaign spokesman Todd Harris said none of the proposals from the Democratic candidates was feasible.

Harris said the ballot initiative to reduce class size, which Reno and McBride support, would cost so much there would be no money left for increases in teachers' salaries.

Harris added that the Democrats' criticism against Bush is unfounded, because teachers' salaries in Florida are negotiated on a local level. Bush has increased education spending by more than $3-billion, some of which went to boost salaries, Harris said.

Bush is unopposed in the Republican primary in his bid for re-election.

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