Monday night state lawmakers are expected to vote on a controversial budget bill that could slash funding for Florida schools.
Backlash on the bill, which was hastily thrown together late Friday night, started to reverberate on social media over the weekend.
Parents, educators, and even lawmakers felt blind sighted about how quickly it was going to a vote.
For Hillsborough County, the education bill would slash funding by about $27 per student, or about 5.8 million dollars next year.
“One word is frustrating,” said Jeff Eakins, Superintendent for Hillsborough County Schools. “This was done behind closed doors without a number of people and then at the last minute put on everybody’s desks.”
Hillsborough is not alone. Over the weekend the Polk County Superintendent put out an urgent post on Facebook saying she’s “appealing to the public like never before”.
Polk stands to be one of the lowest funded districts in the state, under the proposed bill.
Perhaps most maddening to educators is how this came together and the manner in which it can pass.
All it takes is a single up or down vote — yay or nay for the whole budget bill.
And most lawmakers had less than 72 hours to read it.
The vote is expected late Monday.
