Invest in Education to Improve the Economy
Categories: Community Information, Pinecrest, Real Estate News
hiAlberto Carvalho, Miami Dade County Public Schools Superintendent, was at a candidates forum sponsored by the Palmetto Middle School PTSA last Thursday evening at the Community Center in Pinecrest. He made what I consider is probably the most important statement to Florida residents this political season: spending on education is an investment in our State’s future. He made this statement because our State’s economy is such that more cuts are coming, probably in a special session in December. He will be in Tallahassee not asking for no cuts, but rather trying to make the cuts to our district as small as possible. He knows this will be a daunting task because there are basically three main areas where you can cut: Health, Police/Prisons, and Education. He argues that although these are all important areas and the cuts are going to be difficult for all sectors, that in the long run an investment in education is going to decrease the need for increase spending in health and police/prisons.
I would take his arguement a step further and say that an investment in education is going to make Florida more attractive to businesses and will increase our ability to diversify our economy. If we create a skilled workforce and give priority to our educational system, businesses will relocate here or, if already here, stay. An article in this Sunday’s Miami Herald on the pressures on higher education in Florida states that at a time when more Florida residents are applying to in-state schools, “Funding cuts by the Legislature have led to reductions in enrollment, faculty layoffs or scuttled programs at several institutions, including the flagship University of Florida and Florida International University.” If we were to play our cards right and pump up education spending at a time when more of our students are applying, we would keep our students in-state where they are more likely to stay and work once they graduate.
Whenever I think about education and spending, I remember a quote by Derek Bok, President of Harvard University 1971-1990, “If you think education is expensive, try ignorance.”
