31-07-2025
Jeb Bush is wrong about charters. They are gutting Florida's public schools
Former Gov. Jeb Bush recently praised, in a Miami Herald opinion article, Florida's expanding charter school and 'Schools of Hope' programs as bold education reform.
But what he describes as courageous and innovative is, in truth, part of a coordinated, well-funded campaign to defund and depopulate traditional public schools — not to improve them, but to replace them with privately managed institutions operating with public dollars.
As a Miami-Dade school teacher, I believe that behind the narrative of 'choice,' 'accountability' and 'innovation' lies a troubling reality: a strategy to dismantle public education and convert it into a profit-driven marketplace.
These outcomes in Florida are not accidental — they result from deliberate policy choices designed to shift control away from democratically governed schools and into the hands of private operators.
While traditional public schools follow strict transparency laws and financial reporting standards, charter schools are exempt from many of these requirements — even though they receive public funds. This double standard allows charter operators to profit from taxpayer dollars while shielding their operations from scrutiny. Bush points to 'persistently low performing' schools in Florida as justification for charter takeovers. But he ignores the fact that many traditional schools in low-income communities — despite chronic underfunding — have earned consecutive 'A' grades under Florida's punitive grading system.
Rather than celebrate these successes, the Florida Legislature has withheld resources, expanded vouchers and rewritten rules to tip the scales against public schools.
This is not reform — it's a campaign of forced failure, designed to create a false narrative that public schools are broken and must be handed over to private actors.
It is nothing but a hostile takeover of a vital public good for private gain. Bush also cites declining public school enrollment as a reason to grant charters access to taxpayer-funded buildings. But this trend is no accident. It's the result of deliberate policies: Florida's universal voucher scheme, for-profit virtual schools and aggressive charter expansion have siphoned students and dollars out of public schools.
When enrollment drops by design, schools are labeled 'underutilized' or 'surplus,' paving the way for their buildings to be handed over to private entities. It's a manufactured crisis with real consequences.
Public schools also serve critical community functions that charters do not. They act as hurricane shelters, polling sites and hubs for vital services. These are not just schools — they are the backbone of community life. What's too often ignored is that many charter schools in Florida are run by for-profit Education Management Organizations (EMOs). These companies receive public tax dollars but operate with little accountability. Though labeled as public, they are privately managed, profit-driven institutions.
Their goal isn't to serve every child — it's to reduce costs, maximize revenue and grow market share. Public dollars are flowing into private hands while communities lose control. Charter expansion is often marketed as 'parental choice.' But without information, there is no real choice — only manipulation.
Many families are selecting schools without knowing whether they meet standards for safety, certified staff, special education or curriculum.
Despite charter schools push to divert students, most Florida families still choose traditional public schools, including magnet and choice programs. That speaks volumes: families still believe in public education. It's up to policymakers to stop undermining it. This isn't just a Florida issue — it's part of a global playbook: starve public schools, declare them broken, then privatize under the banner of 'reform.' The winners are corporations, investors and real estate developers.
Florida is the model. If we don't push back, the rest of the nation could follow. Here are some suggestions: Florida needs to tie public funds to public oversight, ban for-profit school operators, preserve public ownership of school buildings and protect the civic role of public schools.
Crystal Etienne is a Miami-Dade school teacher and president of EDUVOTER, a nonprofit organization committed to protecting and strengthening Florida's traditional public schools.
