As a United States Senator, Charlie Crist will take the message to Washington that we are fed up with the partisan gridlock and work to provide common-sense solutions to the issues important to the people of Florida. Charlie Crist will always do what is right for the people he proudly serves.
As a former Commissioner of Education, Charlie Crist understands the need to provide a year’s worth of knowledge in a year’s worth of time.
Recently Governor Crist vetoed SB 6, a flawed education reform bill which would have hurt Florida’s schools, its teachers, our parents and our school children. Governor Crist recently created a Commission which brought all stakeholders to the table to work together on education reforms. His leadership in creating this unparalled cooperation is essential in Florida’s effort to seek some $700 million dollars for our education system through the Race to the Top Program.
Governor Crist believes strongly in school choice. As the State Senator who co-sponsored the charter school legislation, Charlie Crist believes in the work of Florida’s charter school communities. Due to the existing laws on the books, charter schools have seen a steady rise in their student population over the last three years. Today, the charter school population is well over 117,000 with a total number of 389 schools across the state.
Florida’s tax credit scholarship program is providing a record number of scholarships to students throughout the state. At inception, the program provided 15,585 scholarships. Today, the program has more than 24,800 students enrolled in participating private schools with Hispanic and African-American students comprising 63 percent of the total enrollment.
Charlie Crist will be a U.S. Senator who will fight to bring accountability to our nation’s public schools. American students deserve an American educational system that readies them to compete against their international counterparts. The future of America hinges on an educational system that is progressive. A system that provides accountability of students and teachers. A system that provides school choice to families across America regardless of socio-economic background. A fair and equitable system that rewards quality teachers through merit based pay. Governor Crist is proud to have the endorsement of the Florida Education Association.
Paid for by Charlie Crist for U.S. Senate.