Marking his final bill action of the 2011 session, Gov. Rick Scott on Tuesday signed a bill that creates a state-funded, statewide boarding school for at-risk youth, but added a caveat that he was concerned about the cost to taxpayers.
The bill (SB 404) allows the State Board of Education to select a private non-profit organization to run a college preparatory boarding school for troubled youth. The students would live at the charter school Monday through Friday. The new law was heavily lobbied by two groups that stand to benefit from it, including a group that runs similar boarding schools in the Washington D.C. and Maryland.
But how the school would be funded remains unclear. The new law directs several state agencies to work together to come up with a plan to fund the school through a pool of “education and non-educational” funding streams, which could include the state’s welfare and housing programs, Medicaid, foster care and school funding.
Scott said in a letter on Tuesday that while he supports the school, his continued support will rely upon a funding plan that ensures the cost to run the school “is less than the funding currently allocated to eligible students who are currently served by these three agencies.”
To be eligible, a student has to be in grade five or six, and at risk for academic failure. The student must come from a family whose income is below 200 percent of the federal poverty level. The student also has to be either in foster care, receiving a housing voucher, have a family member in prison or live with a relative who is not a parent. Part of these guidelines is designed to attract funding sources, such as welfare and housing dollars.
Supporters were nervous Scott might veto the bill, which had to be acted upon by the end of the day Tuesday.
Scott said he will be watching how the law gets implemented and does not guarantee future support of the school.
“While I believe the intent of this legislation, based on successful models in Maryland and Washington D.C., is a worthwhile concept, it is important the (school) accomplishes its goals without placing an undue burden on Florida’s taxpayers,” Scott said.
By Lilly Rockwell
