As a body of publicly elected officials, The School Board of Lee County recognizes the commitment to public service reflected by each member of the Lee County Delegation and the difficulties they face in weighing local priorities with available resources. We will continue to partner with the Delegation to provide for the educational needs of the students in this District.

Our top priorities for this year's legislative session are:

• Provide Funding for District Operations Commensurate with a State Goal to Improve Instructional Outcomes

• Re-establish Proper Governance of Charter Schools

• Assist with Classroom Space Needs for Class Size Reduction, Growth in Students and Replacement of Aging Facilities

• Improve on the Newly Established State Pre-Kindergarten Program

Priority Details

Provide for Funding for Public School Operations Commensurate with a State Goal to Improve Instructional Outcomes

The primary goal of funding public education is to continually improve student performance. Lee County supports a powerful accountability system that strongly ties funding increases to student achievement. Florida currently ranks in the bottom quartile of states in providing per student funding for public education. We respectfully request that the Legislature:

• Increase education revenue to a level that will move Florida into the top 50% of states in student funding for public education.

• Provide funding for a 7th period day for high school students to expand the opportunities available to meet high standards.

• Allow for funding to the district for students taking courses at the Florida Virtual School during the school day.

• Review the procedures for estimating the total cost of instructional materials to include all of the true costs of newly adopted materials.

• Maintain the 90% rule within the FEFP that stipulates that a maximum of 90% of a district's base funding may be generated by local tax
  funds with the remainder coming from state general revenue.

• Fully fund for student enrollment growth.

• Increase the Safe Schools Allocation to meet the rising costs to keep campuses safe and secure for students and staff.

• Restore weighted funding for middle school career education programs.

• Establish full funding of the transportation formula.

Re-establish Proper Governance of Charter Schools by Constitutionally Established and Elected School Boards
 

Article IX, Section 4(b), Florida Constitution: “The school board shall operate, control and supervise all free public schools within the school district and determine the rate of school district taxes within the limits prescribed herein. . .”

The School Board of Lee County supports charter schools and has approved charters that are well-planned and contribute to meeting the needs of the overall District. We are concerned that recent changes made in the charter school law are contrary to the responsibilities for the students, parents, and taxpayers in Lee County. We respectfully request that the Legislature:

• Eliminate provisions limiting local flexibility for school boards where charter schools have failed to meet Class Size Reduction
  Requirements.

• Repeal the Unconstitutional Charter Schools of Excellence Board.

• Amend appeals of school board denials of charter applications to the State Board of Education (SBE) so that SBE rulings are no longer
  binding.

• Maintain current school board authority over all local property taxes and impact fees.

Amend Statutes to Improve Instruction and Accountability

We respectfully request that the Legislature:

• Change the school grading system to remove scores of new district students for the first year of testing until both performance scores
  and learning gain scores are available for these students.

• Update the system for determining graduation rates and drop-out rates to more accurately calculate the true graduation rates in Florida.

• Allow practical arts courses to substitute for fine arts requirements for high school graduation.

Assist with Classroom Space Needs for Class Size Reduction, Growth in Students and Replacement of Aging Facilities

We respectfully request that the Legislature:

• Create a high growth capital outlay fund and allow any district that experiences high growth to share in the program.

• Maintain school impact fees for the purpose they were collected.

• Fund all of the capital costs of class size reduction.

• Preserve the distribution formula for class size reduction where district growth is a major factor.

Improve the State Pre-Kindergarten Program

We respectfully request that the Legislature:

• Provide per student funding that will reflect the desire for a high quality program as outlined in the recommendations of the
  2003 Universal Pre-Kindergarten Education Advisory Council Report.

• Plan for a Universal Pre-Kindergarten system that will ultimately provide certified teachers for the program.

• Provide for transportation costs associated with the Pre-Kindergarten program.