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Teachers' insurance a boondoggle© St. Petersburg Times, published December 1, 2001 When Gov. Jeb Bush said new programs should be the first ones sacrificed to the deficit, did he really mean it? Not exactly. On Nov. 19, his Department of Management Services awarded a $1.2-million contract for professional liability insurance for teachers, a new program, even though the Legislature had voted in the first special session last month to rescind the appropriation. In the new special session, only the Senate still wants to kill it. The House voted 68 to 50 to defeat an amendment aimed at using the money to restore deep cuts in programs for deaf, blind and developmentally disabled children. Merely seven Republicans voted for the children. Bush's press office says he regards the insurance program as an aid to teacher recruitment and retention. All the same, it's a boondoggle; the Senate should hang tough. Most teachers already have liability insurance as a union benefit. The state-paid insurance was sponsored by Republican legislators whose transparent motive was to weaken the union. Surely there are better uses for the state's money.
 © 2006 • All Rights Reserved • St. Petersburg Times
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From the Times Opinion page |
