Mario Artecona Principal for the Day at George Washington Carver Elementary, Sings to a Class! By Geniusofdespair

I bet you didn't know the Executive Director of the Miami Business Forum, Mario Artecona, could sing? His group is working on a statewide early educational program, I guess that is how he got roped into this gig. It is amusing to see him singing a song he wrote chock full of rhyming facts about George Washington Carver. As Mario said to me, he is no Rufus Wainwright but at least he sang for free!

State Legislature Under-Funds Miami-Dade Schools: Let’s Blame it on Marco Rubio. By Geniusofdespair

Mario Artecona of the Miami Business Forum, in a Op Ed in the Miami Herald, said we can blame the Florida Legislature for a $50 million loss per year to our schools.

He said that the constitution mandates each student get the same allocation from the State, however there was a District Cost Differential (DCD) because it is more expensive to live in urban areas, and Miami Dade received extra funds. In 2004 the legislature cut the DCD funding according to Artecona, resulting in a loss of $25 million to our schools in one year (loss of cumulative funding of $300 million). Wasn’t that when our wonder-boy, Marco Rubio, was dispensing his magic in Tallahassee?

He outlines another $25 million loss from a legislative change. He says it unfair of the UTD and the public, only blaming the school district for budget woes (plenty of blame to go around Mario?):

“...the UTD and the general public would be well served to direct their frustration toward the Legislature...”