http://www.sptimes.com/2006/03/17/State/Senate_plan_redirects.shtmlMore than $500-million slated by Gov. Jeb Bush for property tax cuts would instead go to schools - giving districts their biggest boost in a decade.
By JONI JAMES
Published March 17, 2006
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TALLAHASSEE - In a surprise move, leaders of Florida's Republican-controlled Senate have rejected Gov. Jeb Bush's call for a more than $500-million reduction in next year's property taxes, saying instead they want to spend the money on public schools.
The Senate position - quietly hammered out in a committee meeting this week and backed by some of the chamber's more-fiscally conservative members - would provide the biggest increase in operational funds for Florida schools in at least a decade.
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But the hike runs afoul of Bush and other Republicans who have been determined to further cut Floridians' taxes. It would shave more than a third off of Bush's $1.5-billion tax cut plan, which has received a sympathetic reception in the Florida House.
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Under the Senate plan, Pinellas would receive $20-million more than Bush had proposed, for a total of $54-million in "new money" from the state. That, at least in theory, would wipe away the district's budget crisis. District officials declined to comment Thursday.
...sorry Jeb, I know it must hurt terribly.