Democratic Legislators Call Out Rick Scott’s Shameless Education Gimmick

Today, in response to Rick Scott’s latest election-year gimmick regarding education funding, Florida state representatives made the following statements:

From Senator Dwight Bullard of Miami: “Classroom teachers across this state have been subject to Rick Scott’s abysmal education record and misguided priorities for four years, and an eleventh hour campaign promise does not even begin to undo the damage he has done. Rick Scott has had four years to properly fund Florida’s education system and he has completely failed to do so. Voters will see this shameless election year ploy for what it is — a deathbed conversion that comes too little, too late.” 

From Representative Amanda Murphy of Pasco County: “For four years Rick Scott has put education on the back-burner as he gave away millions to wealthy special interests and top campaign donors. Now he wants Floridians to believe that he cares about education — despite cutting over $1.3 billion from K-12 in his first year in office. With such a clear record of failure, how can Rick Scott possibly expect Floridians to trust him to do the right thing in another term?” 

From Representative Janet Cruz of Tampa: “Rick Scott’s latest campaign gimmick is not going to fool Floridians. After all, this is the same governor who cut $1.3 billion from education and skipped out on attending his own education summit so he could be at a Tea party rally. Education has never been a priority for Rick Scott, and his latest reelection promise shows you that this governor knows his record of failing Florida’s students is a major liability.”

From Representative Karen Castor Dentel of Orlando: “Florida’s teachers are all too familiar with Rick Scott’s record on K-12 education. They have not forgotten how he cut $1.3 billion from education. Cuts like that take a long time to heal. Last year I implored him to invest in our public schools with the increased revenue, however, he chose not to bring funding back to necessary levels.”  

“Scott even diverted millions of public school tax dollars to unaccountable charter schools and private-school voucher schemes! People are leery of campaign promises such as his latest to devote more dollars to our classrooms next time, especially when past actions are more predictive of future decisions. Our students deserve a governor committed to supporting our state’s public schools full time — not just when it may score political points,” Rep. Castor Dentel added.