Education is not alone in cutbacks

Hell hath no fury like Florida residents protesting cuts in education, but are their desperate pleas actually helping the cause or have the cries signified in their speeches, signs and letters been falling on deaf ears? 

Spending on public education has always been a top priority for taxpayers and as of 2004, 84 percent have indicated that they feel education spending should be increased, according to a Florida Annual Policy Survey conducted by Florida State University.

While an argument against funding education can never be made, it is essential for Floridians to realize that they are petitioning for money that doesn't exist.

Perhaps the severity of statewide and local budget cuts will become more clear once public safety is threatened. 

 The City of Orlando just announced it is cutting more than 342 jobs.

These cuts include 15 police officers, 47 firefighters, 29 employees from Business and Financial Services, 19 positions from Families, Parks and Recreation and nine members of Mayor Buddy Dyer's staff, according to wftv.com.

This accounts for about 10 percent of the city's payroll and, according to Orlando Chief Administrative Officer Byron Brooks, the cuts are the only way the city can continue to match expenditures with revenues.

Considering Orlando has recently been rated the sixth most dangerous city in America by Forbes magazine, these numbers, however small they may seem, are extremely disconcerting.

Last year there were a record 123 murders in Orange County, according to the Orlando Sentinel, and there are currently 845 violent crimes committed per 100,000 residents of the Orlando-Kissimmee metropolitan statistical area, according to Forbes.

The last thing Orlando, or any large city for that matter, needs to be doing is saying goodbye to police officers and firefighters.

What many taxpayers often fail to acknowledge is how much the state actually does spend on education in comparison to public safety.

In the 2006-2007 fiscal year, 49 percent of the state's general revenue budget, about $28 billion, was spent on education while only 14 percent was spent on public safety, according to the Governor's Policy and Budget Recommendations.

While public safety is more of a local responsibility, local governments have had to petition the state for more financial aid since the passage of Amendment 1, which cut property taxes significantly last year.

Most state money spent on education goes to K-12 schools, but that money is funneled back into the university system as the vast majority of Florida students go to college in-state.

A statewide telephone survey that was conducted in 2006 indicates common misconceptions about how much Florida actually spends on education.

When residents were asked how much they thought the state of Florida ought to spend per student per year on K-12 public education, 20 percent said $3,000-$4,000 and 24 percent said $5,000-$6,000, while only 15 percent guessed the correct number, $7,000-$8,000, according to the James Madison Institute.

This is not to say that less should be spent or education should be cut even more than it already has been. 

It is to say that education is not the only system that is suffering in this economy and we shouldn't sacrifice our safety while the majority of our tax dollars already go to education.

The parents, teachers and students who want to save their schools should always petition their representatives, but in times like these we have to get more creative and look beyond the state to solve our problems.

In last Monday's issue of the Future, a story explained how UCF music students were able to get the funding to bring back the university's opera program, which was canceled last fall because of budget cuts.

They didn't bang down the door of Gov. Crist's office to get it. 

They went out into the community, created awareness and worked hard for the money.

By holding an opera gala and singing outside Publix, the students were able to raise about $2,400.

That $2,400 got them an article in the Orlando Sentinel, which then got them a donation from the University Club of Winter Park that provided the $5,000 needed to reinstate the program.

They learned that if the government's wallet appears to be empty, they might just need to check another pocket.