ORLANDO, Fla. – As Florida’s new state budget channels more money toward private and charter schools, public school advocates are sounding the alarm about the future of public education — warning that already-strained classrooms could suffer further setbacks.

What we know:

Florida’s latest state budget increases funding for private school vouchers and charter schools, prompting backlash from public school advocates. 

While there was also a boost to public school funding and teacher pay, education policy experts say it does not keep pace with inflation, and many schools may still feel the financial strain. 

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Charter school growth and voucher expansion are central points of contention, especially policies allowing public-to-charter school conversions and co-locations.

The issue took center stage on Tuesday at the EDUVOTER Action Network Roundtable: Defending Public Education held in Tampa. 

What we don’t know:

The impact of the funding changes on long-term public school performance and enrollment is unclear. It’s also uncertain how much influence public education advocates will have ahead of the next legislative session in October. 

Ongoing lawsuits may delay or halt the implementation of certain charter school policies, but their outcomes remain to be seen.

The backstory:

Florida’s school voucher and charter school initiatives have expanded under Gov. Ron DeSantis, with a focus on offering parents more choice in where to send their children. Critics argue that this has come at a steep cost to the traditional public school system, which continues to face teacher shortages, resource gaps, and infrastructure needs. 

The tension has been building for years as the state increasingly funds alternatives to public education.

What they’re saying:

Speakers at this week’s roundtable in Tampa — including parents, education advocates, and policy analysts — painted a stark picture of public schools left behind. 

“Significant amounts of money leaving public education to go to private and home schools,” said Norín Dollard of the Florida Policy Institute.

Many worry that the growing role of for-profit charter operators and private schools funded by public dollars is eroding the quality and equity of Florida’s education system. 

“Public schools are in jeopardy,” said Soraya Marquez, a roundtable attendee.

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Critics emphasized that most private schools accepting vouchers are religious and unaccredited, limiting real access for many families.

“The truth of the matter is, charter schools — although on paper are public schools  — they are run by education management organizations, which are for profit,” said Crystal Etienne, President of EDUVOTER Action Network. “They get all of your tax dollars, but in addition to that, they have investors. They make money. This is a money grab at the expense of children.” 

The other side:

Gov. Ron DeSantis has defended the expanded voucher program as a way to give families more control over their children’s education. 

“Whether you are super wealthy or poor, you have options as a parent to put your child in the best learning environment,” DeSantis said.

What’s next:

The Florida Legislature will convene in October. 

STARKE, Fla. (AP) — A man who fatally shot a man and woman outside a Florida bar as part of an attempted revenge killing is scheduled to be executed on Tuesday.

Michael Bernard Bell, 54, is scheduled to receive a lethal injection at Florida State Prison near Starke, barring a last-day reprieve. He was convicted in 1995 and sentenced to death for the murders of Jimmy West and Tamecka Smith.

Bell would be the eighth person put to death in Florida this year, with a ninth scheduled for later this month. The state executed six people in 2023, but carried out only one execution last year.

Twenty-five men have already been executed in the U.S. this year, tying last year’s total.

Florida has executed more people than any other state this year, while Texas and South Carolina are tied for second place with four each. Alabama has executed three people, Oklahoma has killed two, and Arizona, Indiana, Louisiana, Mississippi and Tennessee each have killed one.

In December 1993, Bell spotted what he thought was the car of the man who fatally shot his brother earlier that year, according to court records. Bell was apparently unaware that the man had sold the car to West.

Bell called on two friends and armed himself with an AK-47 rifle, authorities said. They found the car parked outside a liquor lounge and waited. When West, Smith and another woman eventually exited the club, Bell approached the car and opened fire, officials said.

West died at the scene, and Smith died on the way to the hospital. The other woman escaped injury. Witnesses said Bell also fired at a crowd of onlookers before fleeing the area. He was eventually arrested the next year.

Bell was later convicted of three additional murders. He fatally shot a woman and her toddler son in 1989, and he killed his mother’s boyfriend about four months before the attack on West and Smith, officials said.

Attorneys for Bell have filed appeals with the Florida Supreme Court and the U.S. Supreme Court.

The lawyers argued in their state filing that Bell’s execution should be halted because of newly discovered evidence about witness testimony. But justices unanimously rejected the argument last week and pointed to overwhelming evidence of Bell’s guilt in a 54-page opinion.

Bell’s attorneys filed a similar petition with the U.S. Supreme Court on Thursday, but the panel has not yet issued a ruling.

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TAMPA, Fla. – Heavy rain and storms are expected across the Tampa Bay area this week as an area of low pressure moves over Florida.

FOX 13 meteorologists say the wet pattern will last at least two or three days with elevated rain chances each day.

Monday forecast

FOX 13 Meteorologist Dave Osterberg says rounds of rain already began early Monday and more are expected during the afternoon and evening, with deep tropical moisture bringing a slight risk of excessive rain.

Locally heavy rain and minor flooding could occur, according to Osterberg.

There’s a chance of locally heavy rain and minor flooding on Monday, meteorologists say.

It will be a similar setup through midweek, as well, with some areas possibly getting several inches of rain over the next seven days.

Several inches of rain could be possible over the next week, meteorologists say.

“No individual day over the next two or three days will be a washout,” Osterberg said. “But every day, we have a chance of some heavy rain.”

Will there be development in the tropics?

The National Hurricane Center is giving the area of low pressure a 30% chance of development in the next seven days.

The National Hurricane Center is giving an area of low pressure a 30% chance of development in the next seven days.

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Osterberg says it will not develop over Florida as it likely moves due west. Once it moves into the Gulf, though, conditions are more favorable for development.

“As it’s developing, it’s also going to be moving away from our state,” Osterberg said. “So Southeast Louisiana might have to contend with a tropical depression or a tropical storm by the end of the week.”

In the Bay Area, rain chances will slowly decrease from 70% Monday-Wednesday to 40% by this weekend.

Rain chances will slowly drop later this week into this weekend, meteorologists say.