Among the savings cited: $220-million to schools because fewer students repeat grades and there is less need for special education; $584 million less for programs for juvenile corrections, child abuse, welfare and unemployment, and more work productivity when the children enter the workforce; and $347 million less in social costs as a result of less crime and substance abuse, and more income for their parents. Read more>>

In recent days the topic of debate in regards to public education has been Senate Bill 6.

We dedicate this space for healthy dialogue on your thoughts about the bill and its impact on the future of Florida's children. Click here to submit your comments.

Today, almost one year from the start of the statewide Worst To First campaign, Bud Chiles, President of The Lawton Chiles Foundation and founder of Worst To First, marched down Adams Street in Tallahassee with one target in mind, the state Capitol. With over 1,000 parents, teachers, school superintendents, community leaders, advocates and students gathered at the Capitol for the second annual Florida PTA co-sponsored Rally in Tally, the Worst To First group was greeted by a very enthusiastic crowd upon their arrival there.

As the group of marchers inched their way toward the Capitol, Bud was joined by Leon County's own Rickards High School Drumline, National PTA President, Chuck Saylors, Florida PTA President, Karin Brown, Dave Lawrence, President of the Early Childhood Initiative Foundation and a host of other dedicated advocates unified for one reason, to stand up and speak out for Florida's children.

In addition to Florida PTA, rally co-sponsors included: Fund Education Now, Marions United, 50th No More, Save Duval Schools, Citizens for Strong Schools and Worst To First.

Nancy Noonan, President of Marions United for Public Education, is speaking out for education. In an article on Ocala.com, Ms. Noonan responds to an editorial written by House Speaker, Larry Cretul, in which he says hard choices will have to be made regarding Florida's budget shortfall. Ms. Noonan, focused on a real solution instead of the continued slash and burn budget practices of legislators past and present, asks our state leadership a question. Will the hard choices made continue as they have been, balancing Florida's budget on the backs of children, teachers and schools? Or, will our leadership do what we elected them to do, lead?

To Ms. Noonan, and a host of others including myself, the solution is simple. Florida must generate revenue. One way to accomplish this is to close major tax loopholes and crack down on special interest groups. But, will those be the hard choices made or will 50th in per capita funding for education continue to be acceptable to our leadership? Without stimulus funding, Florida can't get any lower than it already is.

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This week the public got a stark affirmation that the needs of average families and children don't count with legislatators. One of their first acts was to pass a law to protect the trust that funds handguns and other weapon purchases. Now that's amazing. They are the ones who authorized in law all these State Trust Funds: the Lawton Chiles Endowment for Children and Elders, the Sadowski Fund for affordable housing, environmental trust funds, etc. They don't even pause when it comes to invading these important safety net funds rather than make tough budget decisions. But the gun fund. That's a whole different matter. Why? Because the gun lobby has bought the votes of the legislature with the coin of the realm. Too bad the kids couldn't afford to pay to play.

Miami has a rich tradition of powerful community leadership. Over the years, advocates have successfully tackled homelessness, education, health care and community safety. Additionally, the magic city has led the way in establishing a Children’s Trust, a special district supported by local taxes and entirely dedicated to children.

During our time in South Florida, the Worst To First team toured a world class facility, the United Way Center For Excellence in Early Education. This center is a phenomenal laboratory for cutting edge early learning and has partnerships with fourteen universities including Harvard. On top of running their own exemplary early learning school, the staff trains, certifies and provides resources to early learning schools throughout the region as well.

Visiting the center helped me understand the challenges and opportunities for early learning in South Florida and also underlined the need, statewide, to leverage this marvelous resource and all that they have learned about how to prepare our kids for success in school and life.

"Walking across the state can be tiring," said Bud Chiles, as he continued putting one foot in front of the other on his walk through Miami today. When asked about what keeps him marching on, he states, "Florida's kids." At the teams first stop, the Miami Children's Museum, he had ample opportunity to spend time with that motivation; about 50 young children. He bumped into someone special as well, The Cat in the Hat. As one of Dr. Seuss's most beloved storybook characters, The Cat in the Hat stopped by the museum to celebrate his creator's birthday and interact with the children present.

Geoff Chiles, Bud's son and a Worst To First team member, said, "The museum was an inspiration to me. To see the incredible exhibits for kids and spend time celebrating Dr. Seuss's birthday, a man who has inspired so many young minds, was fantastic. Dave Berry, a famous author, was also in attendance and he read to all the kids gathered there."

In addition to the Dr. Seuss celebration, the Worst To First team got a tour of the museum and learned that the museum is also a charter school to about 270 children. All in all, the day was special and the company purrr-fect!