Governor DeSantis recently announced his plan to expand Florida's private school voucher system by taking hundreds of millions of dollars from the public education budget. Bills to do so have passed in the education committees of both the Florida Senate and House of Representatives. Already, Florida ranks 44th in per-pupil public education funding, and this proposal would further endanger support for our students. While it is unlikely that the expansion of school choice vouchers can be prevented, we owe it to Florida’s children to ensure that they have the resources and funding they need to learn and thrive. For every dollar spent on private school vouchers, we propose that the same amount be added to the public education budget. Florida private schools are not held to the same standards as public schools, and voucher programs in other states have been shown not to improve students’ education; while public schools remain underfunded, taking away their existing money to support a program that does little to help Florida residents is unconscionable. Read more about why using public school funds to help private schools is so dangerous at https://www.themuseatdreyfoos.com/opinion/2019/04/28/an-open-letter-to-ron-desantis/ and sign to give Florida’s 2.8 million public school students the future they deserve.