John Romano raises some concerns about Gov. Rick Scott’s push to increase the number of jobs in Florida. He claims, for instance, that Scott’s efforts to make the state more business-friendly are coming at the expense of Florida’s schoolchildren.I disagree. Granted, Romano notes that “Florida doesn’t spend as much money investing in students as a lot of states. That would be 37 states.” He’s correct for 2010-11. However, spending less per pupil doesn’t necessarily mean that Florida is providing its students an inadequate education.Even though Florida spent an average of “only” $8,887 on each public school student in 2010-11, its schools were ranked sixth-best in the nation by Education Week in the 2013 Quality Counts Report. Moreover, the American Legislative Exchange Council’s annual “Report Card on Education” ranked Florida second when comparing state spending to test results.There’s more good news: The rankings of state spending that Romano cited came out before the state’s economic recovery — arguably fueled at least in part by Scott’s jobs-friendly policies — allowed more than a billion dollars (about $400 per student) to be put back into education in the budget the governor signed this year.Scott is certainly pro-business, perhaps at the expense of certain other priorities, but Florida’s teachers are getting results where they count: in the classroom.Keith Leslie, Associate at The James Madison Institute, Tallahasseehttp://www.tampabay.com/opinion/letters/wednesdays-letters-numbers-on-amazon-show-lousy-deal/2127323
