Isn’t Every Student Worth a Penny?
Photo by David Clark,
Florida Education Association
Student members of the Florida Education Association (SFEA) joined more than 2,400 educators, school administrators, and parents in Tallahassee March 18 to protest proposed education cuts.
SFEA members and other marchers brought 2.6 million pennies—in jugs, plastic bags, and boxes to the state capital to encourage legislators to consider a three-year, one penny increase in the Florida sales tax.
The funds would be dedicated to all levels of public education from kindergarten through higher education.
Each penny represented a student attending a public school or university in the state. Demonstrators asked, “Isn’t every student worth a penny?”
According to the “Tallahasee Democrat,” State Rep. Alan Williams, D-Tallahassee said “lawmakers need to seriously reconsider lifting sales-tax exemptions, close corporate tax loopholes and support a penny tax increase if public education has a chance for survival.”
- How far can pennies go for education? We’ll show you.
- Find out how fair taxation—both personal and corporate—and economic development can bolster education funding, not cripple it.
- Also, follow the efforts of our SFEA members. In addition to this education funding rally, they were key supporters of a March 4 candlelight vigil to protest closing the University of Florida college of education.
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