The governor should step in to help boost oversight of school voucher programs and halt misuse, they say.
By Associated Press
Published June 5, 2004
TALLAHASSEE - Four Democratic state lawmakers said Friday that Gov. Jeb Bush should issue an executive order tightening oversight of Florida's two largest voucher programs.
The programs, which began three years ago, "have morphed into a taxpayer-funded free-for-all for unscrupulous individuals that will continue to thrive so long as the system goes unchecked," said Sen. Ron Klein of Boca Raton, minority leader in the upper chamber.
The programs are supposed to help children with disabilities and children from poor families. In the past year, they have been plagued by questions and concerns about misuse of the voucher funds and the quality of staff.
Senate President Jim King, R-Jacksonville, said increasing state oversight of the programs was a priority during the two-month legislative session that ended in April. After a Senate bill died on the House floor, King predicted the programs were "a disaster waiting to happen" unless the state started keeping a closer eye on the programs.
Sarah Bascom, a spokeswoman for King, said her boss was already working on legislation for next year.
But Klein and the other Democrats said the programs can't go another year without greater state oversight. They called on Bush to issue an executive order similar to the Senate bill that died. Without an executive order, it will be "yet another year for millions of tax dollars going out the door into private hands without proper accountability measures in place," Sen. Debbie Wasserman Schultz, D-Weston, told reporters.
The state Department of Education has proposed steps for increased oversight, but the Democrats said Friday that those measures are inadequate.
Alia Faraj, a spokeswoman for Bush, said the extra oversight proposed by the department would provide enough accountability for the voucher programs.
She said the voucher programs are working and are improving education.
