There are 350 charter schools and around 3,000 traditional schools in Florida. The state budgeted $55 million for school construction and maintenance this year.
None of that $55 million is going to the 3,000 traditional schools. It's all going to the 350 charter schools.
According to Republican legislators, traditional schools just don't need the money:
"We did a whole lot of building a few years ago," Simmons said. "Growth has stagnated, and there has been some overbuilding of schools in some areas."
He pointed to Seminole, which has more than 9,000 vacant seats after a decade of school construction. The School Board recently closed Longwood Elementary in an economy move and is considering closing other schools next year.
But Seminole Superintendent Bill Vogel counters that Seminole and other districts still need cash for roofing and air conditioner repairs, painting, plumbing work, carpeting and other maintenance projects.
While traditional schools do have access to some local tax money that charter schools do not, those sources are under strain.
Now, charter schools will have additional money for well-kept facilities—though not always ones built to strict school construction codes—while the many, many more students served by traditional schools will deal with failing air-conditioning systems and unrepaired roofs. And it's not that charter schools are being rewarded for high performance:
Statewide, however, charter schools’ performance continues to be dicey. Of the 31 F grades the state handed down to schools this year, 15 went to charters.
The data also show the state’s 348 charters, which are exempt from many of the regulations governing traditional public schools, are more likely to earn D grades and got fewer As and Bs, proportionately.
Yet in addition to giving charters all the school maintenance money, Florida's legislature is also making it more difficult for school districts to turn down applications for new charter schools, or close ones that are performing badly.