At the end of a 15-minute hearing on Tuesday to approve Flagler County schools’ tentative property tax and budget for the coming fiscal year–a budget that includes the siphoning of $17 million to subsidize private school “vouchers” for almost 2,000 students, with the district’s dollars–School Board member Janie Ruddy delivered a brief speech decrying the erosion of public dollars for public schools, and addressing its consequences.
In reply, Will Furry, who chairs the board, delivered a rejoinder in defense of vouchers and “parental choice.” The two points of view encapsulated the tension pulling at school budgets in Flagler County and the rest of Florida since 2023. That year, then-Speaker of the House Paul Renner’s initiative expanded private-school vouchers to all students regardless of income passed the legislature and was signed by Gov. DeSantis.
The program is rapidly eroding public school enrollment and diminishing public school funding. The voucher program accounts for $4 billion in public dollars shifted to private hands this year, $17 million in Flagler County.
Ruddy’s and Furry’s statements follow, unedited but for minor stylistic adjustments. School Board members Derek Barrs, Christy Chong and Lauren Ramirez remained silent. The statements are available on video here or below..
Janie Ruddy’s statement:
While our local millage [or property tax rate] has been now set at the lowest in our county’s history, on the surface, that may seem like a win for us taxpayers. But the reality is more complex and concerning. While our schools face inflationary cost increases, higher employer contributions to [the Florida Retirement System] and the challenge of educating students across diverse pathways, we are simultaneously being asked to do more with fewer resources.
Additionally, the expansion of vouchers now allows families to direct the same level of per- student funding to private or home-schooling settings, even though those settings do not provide the same level of accountability or services as public schools. As public school enrollment declines due to the shift, we lose funding and economies of scale while still being required to maintain staffing, facilities and programs for the children who remain.
This is not more efficient. It’s actually more expensive for the taxpayer over time. This program marketed as parental choice, expends massive amounts of taxpayer money to support a choice that was never at risk. Parents have always had the choice for private school, and in recent decades, the choice to home school. We’ve also openly encouraged school choice to other public schools if a child’s local school was not meeting the academic standards set forth by the state.
Never has a government entity program spent so much on a program to provide a right that had already existed.
There’s another layer to consider that many of my community members value deeply, and that is local control. With the state taking a greater role in school funding and policy, we lose the ability to tailor decisions to our own community needs. Our local tax dollars are being redistributed across the state, supporting voucher recipients and private institutions in other counties, rather than directly benefiting the students and families here in Flagler. This shift undermines the self governance and fiscal accountability at the local level.
Public education remains one of the most critical public services we offer as a community. I hope we can agree that transparent funding, local decision-making and strategic investment in our children are values we all share. These changes affect not only our schools but the future of our entire community. And I urge every citizen, whether you’re retired or currently raising families, to stay engaged and informed as we navigate these critical issues.
A strong public education system opens opportunities for children to change the trajectory of their life, creates a skilled workforce that we all rely upon, and great schools increase property values and reduce crime. At the end of the day, public education and the use of taxes affects all of us, but the state is failing to spend money in line with our values.
Will Furry’s statement:
One thing that I do want to highlight is that, yes, we are seeing an increase in vouchers, but basically what that means is that the school choice program is working for parents, and that’s something that we have to take into consideration. Parents are in control of their educational dollars now, and public schools are no longer the monopoly, and the onus is on us as an organization to present to parents that we are the best choice, if we are the best choice.
And Flagler schools is a choice, and we have resources and programs and great things to offer that homeschooling and private school just can’t compete with. And I think it’s important for our organization to message that to the parents out there and show them that there are options at our schools, whether they are full-time, hybrid, part-time. There are different models of the way education is going to look right now.
But for those communities that are struggling with their schools and educational outcomes, no longer does a zip code determine the education of a child. Now, I think this is the most equitable effort that has been put out there, because now even students that are in impoverished neighborhoods can go to private schools. So they may not have had that option if they had the financial constraints. So if that is the best choice for them, the parents decide that.
But in Flagler, we have an amazing organization here. We have amazing educators. We have an amazing leadership team, and I believe that we are the best choice in Flagler, and I think parents are going to see that as time goes on.
