Florida Democrats on Education
Pasco Democrat Legislative Committee
Working for a Better Pasco

Quick Statistics:

• Florida's high school graduation rate is 55.7%; this places Florida in 48th place nationally.
• Florida is 47th in per pupil spending; in the south, only Mississippi spends less*
• Florida has approximately 2.6 million students.
• Florida has a student/teacher ratio of 18.4: 1; the national average is 15.9:1.
• 32% of Florida schools received a grade of C or lower by state standards.
• 90% of Florida schools can be expected to fail by federal standards.
• FCAT scores determine students' educational status as well as the status of their schools

Problems with Florida Education:

1. A record number of Florida schools, includingmany labeled failingaccordingto the federal standard, received A's last year from the state. This means replacement of employees, a longer school day or school year, or hiring an outside expert to advise the school.

2. The 2002 Class Size Limit Amendment is causingmany districts to use the majority of their budgets to pay for the reductions. Schools that do not (or cannot) comply may be forced to face fines.

3. Students in Florida are receivingsocial promotions. Only thirdgraders in Florida must prove they read at the appropriate level to move up to the nextgrade.

4. Despite Florida 's having the 2nd lowest state spending per student, the legislature decided to mandate that counties raise the property tax rate in order for school districts to receive more state aid for schools.

Some Things for Pasco Residents to Consider:

1. Pasco County is one of the 100 largest school districts in the nation.

2. Surgingpopulationgrowth isgoingto require more and more schools.

3. Readingscore results on this year's FCATs showed the number passingg oingdown asgrade level went up.

• Grade 4 - 71% of Pasco students scored 3 or better on the 1-5 scale
• Grade 10 - only 30% of Pasco students scored 3 or better. (The state average for grade 10 was just 32%)

News Clips

*In the late 1980's under then Governor Bob Graham's educational reform leadership, Florida had gotten as high as 16th place in per pupil spending. St. Pete Times (March 6, 05)

Nine out of ten Florida schools will fail this year under the No Child Left Behind Act. Meanwhile, a record number of Florida schools, includingmany labeled failingaccordingto federal standards,got A's last year from the state. Palm Beach Post ( January 25, 2005 )

The State Board of Education announced last week that it would ask the Legislature to require students at allgrade levels pass the FCAT. "This is social promotion or you can call it educational malpractice." says Mary Laura Openshaw, director of Gov. Bush's Just Read initiative. Or you can call the way Gov. Bush has used the FCAT asgovernment malpractice. Palm Beach Post ( January 24, 2005 )

Information Provided by Florida Democratic Party: http://www.fladems.com and National Center for Educational Statistics, 2003.

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