Seems wishful thinking is Miami-Dade schools' chief Alberto Carvalho's forte. His latest? Bailout the public school system. With myriad companies going hat-in-hand to the feds, Carvalho thinks schools should be given a slice of the bailout pie, too. Florida is facing a potential $1.4 billion tax shortfall, which Carvalho believes could translate into a $65 million cut for the Miami-Dade school system. The district has already trimmed $289 million from its $5.5 billion budget. Times are certainly arduous; both public and private institutions--including those in the Sunshine State--are feeling the pinch. Unfortunately, it's Carvalho who needs to be pinched--to wake him out of this quixotic (and incorrect) grasp of economics. We'll let University of Miami economics professor Michael Connelly clarify: public schools have "already been bailed out because they are public. They don't need...another bailout. They aren't private." Well put, Mr. Connelly. But he's not stopping there. "If the Florida school system goes down the drain, it will make no difference to the U.S. economy," Connelly explains. "If we have AIG or Citicorp fail, they we have a systemic failure in our financial system." Yikes. We're not sure we'd go that far, but Carvalho: Take note. These cockamamie schemes are just not cutting it.
"Miami-Dade schools chief Alberto Carvalho: Schools deserve bailout, too," by Kathleen McGrory, Miami Dade Herald, November 25, 2008