4/1/09 Letter to Editor draft 1

Author's Note:

This is the first draft of a letter to the editor regarding an opinion article bashing the Florida legislaters rather thant the school district leaders for the potential drastic measures that may occur in certain Florida school districts due to recent budget cuts in education. I think I need help making sure my statements are clearly understandable, as I often find that my wording can be a little akward and difficult to get through. I am also concerned that my points are not effective enough.

Draft 1:

In regards to the article published on 3/20/09, “We think: Legislators sleep as the education funding crisis deepens,” and having been raised and educated for the most part in Central Florida, It seems that Florida’s legislators and Florida voters need to take another look at their priority list and reevaluate what is important to sustaining and promoting a good life.

As a college student who can now fathom the importance of learning continuously in order to lead an enriching and purposeful life, I have learned numerous times that less focus on education leads to increased unwanted births, increased drug and alcohol use, and a dampened economy. And if you don’t believe me, do your research. My experience with the situation comes from attending public high school in Florida. Over and over again, the story seems to be that the importance stressed on education, and the amount of resources available, are negatively correlated with violence, low test scores, and failing rates.

I came from a school that was nationally ranked, but some surrounding public schools were known for their low test scores, violence, and failing rates. It was for this reason my parents decided to send my sister and I to a private middle school and to move to a better school district in the town over. Not all families, though, have the opportunity to or care to make such changes to send their children to a better educational setting. And why should they if Florida legislators did their job to ensure that public education is a top priority no matter the economic state?

Many have traveled and experienced an 8 percent sales tax in other states, two cents higher than the six percent sales tax in Orange County. While this is not ideal, the ultimate question is if people will people stop buying if one to two percent more is taken in the name of sales tax for the benefit of the school system? And if so, why not, instead, raise the sales tax on cigarettes to that of other states since more and more studies are suggesting that smoking cigarettes is one of the leading causes of cancer? What does the governor think is being accomplished for the state by decreasing property taxes and failing to raise cigarette taxes? Is appeasing Florida smokers by not increasing taxes to the extent of every other state more important than ensuring that our youth have the best educational resources available?

As the article points out, Charlie Christ is opposed to increasing taxes. Maybe it’s on this principle that he was placed on several billboards throughout the state when Florida voters were called to “vote yes to Amendment 1”. While the article does not mention this, I can see a parallel theme. Amendment 1, as all Florida residents probably know, decreased property taxes. In turn, however, the school system saw dramatic budget cuts. Teachers were fired, busses cut from bus schedules, and four-year universities across the state eliminated degree programs and limited available summer courses.

In my opinion, not only are the governor and legislators to blame for their skewed sense of what is important, Florida voters need to be called upon to pay more attention to the consequences of their voting decisions.