FSU center spent public money to tout feds' policies

FSU center spent public money to tout feds' policies: "FSU center spent public money to tout feds' policies | By Kimberly Miller | Palm Beach Post Staff Writer | Wednesday, February 02, 2005

A Florida State University center has used more than a half-million in education tax dollars to put a positive spin on President Bush's key school policies, including hiring a public relations firm to teach charter schools to be more media-savvy.

Despite conflicting studies on the success of charter schools and other alternative education programs, the School Choice Center at FSU touts them as ways to 'increase student achievement, increase parental involvement, promote school improvement through constructive competition, and accomplish racial and ethnic diversity.'
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Since 2003, taxpayers have given the center $627,567 as part of a 5-year, $1.2 million federal grant made available through the No Child Left Behind Act, which promotes school choice as a fix for failing public schools. ...
For example, a link to private-school voucher articles includes nine entries that provide positive news on the voucher movement, but no mention of the problems in Florida's three programs that have allowed hundreds of thousands of taxpayer dollars to be misused or stolen. ...