House Budget Debate Often Focused On Punitive, Vindictive Proposal Targeting 12 School Districts

Florida Phoenix

February 16, 2022

Lawmakers voted 102-14 to approve the House version of a state budget Wednesday, but the debate focused on what Democrats considered to be a mean-spirit proposal to take millions in funds from 12 Florida school districts.

Rep. Nicholas Duran, of Miami-Dade, called the proposal “vindictive funding.”

Rep. Joseph Geller, who represents parts of Broward and Miami-Dade, said that he wanted to vote in favor of the House budget, but he “can’t vote for something that has that poison pill in it.”

“It’s punitive,” Geller said.

The proposal would take away $200 million from 12 school districts for placing strict mask mandates on students, and reward the remaining 55 districts with those funds.

State Rep. Randy Fine — chair of the House PreK-12 appropriations committee — claimed Wednesday on the House floor that the districts had broken the law and needed be held accountable for implementing mask mandates that the DeSantis administration and some parents didn’t want.

But those districts had repeatedly said they were trying to protect students and staff during the surging COVID-19 pandemic.

Fine recommended that the 12 districts be financially penalized to the tune of $200 million, and those dollars are now in the House budget. The Senate does not have a similar provision so the two chambers will need to negotiate the issue when it comes to building a final state budget.

But several hours in the House, lawmakers criticized Fine’s proposal, described as “Putting Parents First Adjustment.”

Many Democrats, including Geller, hope that the proposal will get removed as the House and Senate come together to finalize the the state budget.

“I hope this gets worked out, it comes out in the wash,” Geller said. “We can fix this.”

And then he voted no on the state budget bill for the House. Thirteen other lawmakers voted no as well, including one Republican, Anthony Sabatini, of Lake County. But the majority said yes. Three lawmakers were listed as absent.

Some Democrats, such as Duran, decide to vote for the overall budget, though he made it clear he was concerned about the 12 school districts.

Rep. Robin Bartleman, representing part of Broward, listed all of the 12 districts impacted by the Putting Parents First Adjustment.

“Miami-Dade, Broward, Hillsborough, Orange, Palm Beach, Duval Alachua, Brevard, Indian River, Leon, Sarasota, and Volusia,” Bartleman said. “So if that’s your county, I think you need to call your school district and find out how it’s really going to impact their day-to-day operations.”

Rep. Carlos Guillermo Smith of Central Florida called it the “Putting Politics First” adjustment.

“We’ve got to remove that as soon as possible to make sure kids have the resources they need to succeed,” Smith said opposing the provision. However, he still voted yes on the overall budget. He said he was conflicted on how to vote, largely because of the Putting Parents First Adjustment. Ultimately, he voted in favor.

Rep. Felicia Robinson, who represents parts of Broward and Miami-Dade County, told colleagues that “any money you take away from school districts, it will have an effect on our children.”

In the past, the federal government has gotten involved in the issue of the state docking pay for local school districts.

Meanwhile, Agriculture Commissioner Nikki Fried has already sent a letter to the U.S. Secretary of Education, urging him to prevent state lawmakers from penalizing the 12 districts.

The Florida Phoenix, a nonprofit news site that’s free of advertising and free to readers, covers state government and politics through a mix of in-depth stories, briefs, and social media updates on the latest events, editorial cartoons, and progressive commentary. The Phoenix is part of States Newsroom, a national 501(c)(3) nonprofit supported by grants and a coalition of donors and readers.