In the race for governor, Democratic nominee Charlie Crist picked the top teacher's union representative in Florida's largest public school district as his running mate. The challenge ahead appears to be raising her statewide name identification.

Karla Hernández-Mats is a special-education teacher and first-generation American born to Honduran immigrants.

Despite being well known in education circles, her pick as a running mate is seen as a wildcard, according to Susan MacManus PhD - University of South Florida Professor Emerita of Political Science.

"The difficulty is that she is just not getting a lot of exposure and people don't know who she is," said MacManus. "And she may be well-known down in South Florida, but she is not well-known in the rest of the state."

However, teachers are rallying to change that, and think her background will impress the large Hispanic voting bloc in the state.

MacManus said that tactic worked for Gov. Ron DeSantis when he picked Lieutenant Gov. Jeanette Nuñez. Education issues - such as parental rights, the place of school boards and the role of teachers unions - have become a focus in the race between DeSantis and Crist.

Ingrid Robledo taught advanced-placement Spanish and worked with Hernández-Mats for many years - even through her three terms as president of United Teachers of Dade.

Robledo said fellow educators are excited that a teacher could represent them in the governor's office, and touted Hernández-Mats as a leader.

"She has an active role when it comes to activism and, you know, solving problems," said Robledo. "So it is true that there is a segment of this community that may not know her but at the same token, she is having a personal approach to people."

Janice Poirier, president of the Florida Education Association's retiree chapter, described Hernández-Mats as "in it to win it."

"Since Charlie Crist chose her, I see her more than I see him," said Poirier. "She is all over the place. She is visiting our local unions. She is visiting the retired local unions, and that's where I see her the most. She is a people person."

The Republican Party of Florida didn't waste time in going after Hernández-Mats, labeling her as an "extremist" and "a slap in the face to Florida parents."

She attended Miami-Dade public schools, earned a bachelor's degree at Florida International University and a master's degree in business administration from St. Thomas University. If successful, this would be her first time holding public office.




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A new bill in Sacramento would dramatically raise K-12 school funding targets by 50% over ten years. Assembly Bill 477 is intended to help districts raise educators' pay, to attract more people to the profession and keep them there.

Grace Consentino is a middle-school science teacher in Novato.

"My commute every day is a total of one hour and 30 minutes. I would love to be able to live in the town that I work in, but I live in a separate county because the cost of living is so high," she said. "This is why teachers leave."

A recent study on the state of education in California found one in three new educators is seriously thinking about leaving, mostly because of low pay. The bill would hike the local control funding formula.

Opponents say they are concerned about cost. The Assembly Appropriations Committee has not yet completed a fiscal analysis.

Dannel Montesano is a longtime attendance clerk in the Galt Joint Union School District.

"Starting paraprofessional pay in my district is $18.63 an hour, while down the street at McDonald's, the starting pay is over $20 an hour. So, our schools are suffering from constant turnover and staffing issues," Montesano said.

California is bracing for a big hit to the state budget, as tax receipts are expected to be lower. In addition, Congress has proposed billions in cuts to Medi-Cal. And the administration has threatened to pull federal funding from schools that promote diversity, equity and inclusion.

Assemblymember Al Muratsuchi, D-Torrance, sponsored the bill, which went before the Assembly Education Committee on Wednesday.

"The Trump administration is attempting to dismantle public education and defund our schools. California must fight back to defend public education," he said.


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After several weeks of public comment, bills addressing school finance in Texas will be presented to the House of Representatives.

House Bill 2 is the public school funding bill and Senate Bill 2 is the voucher proposal, along with its companion bill, House Bill 3.

Chandra Villanueva, director of policy and advocacy for the group Every Texan, said the proposed voucher initiative, which would provide students $10,000 to help pay for private school, would hurt public schools and low-income families.

"Our schools are funded based on attendance, so when kids leave the system, the schools will get less money," Villanueva explained. "Until you can actually close a campus, you still have all of your same fixed costs around utilities, teachers. You'll see more overcrowded classrooms."

Backers of school vouchers, including Gov. Greg Abbott, have said public schools will not be negatively affected. This is the second legislative session where Abbott has made a voucher program his top priority.

Teachers, advocacy groups and even members of the Republican Party have spoken out against vouchers. Many Texas teachers spent their spring break testifying before the legislative committee. Villanueva emphasized although the proposal is out of committee, they are not giving up.

"Members need to hear from their constituents," Villanueva stressed. "The public education committee has been targeted the most -- but even now, if your member is not on that committee, they're going to be the ones who are hearing this bill. And a lot of amendments are going to be offered up on the House floor. So that's an opportunity to try to limit the voucher, try to put more guardrails on it."

Both bills are expected to be brought to the House floor at the same time, but a date has not been set.


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Nearly 22,000 Florida college students could lose critical tuition help under a state House budget proposal.

The plan would cut $3,500 annual grants for students at 15 private schools throughout the state, including three historically Black universities and Embry-Riddle, the nation's top civilian flight school.

House lawmakers tied eligibility for Florida's Effective Access to Student Education (EASE) program to five performance metrics, including a 54% graduation rate and affordability benchmarks.

Bob Boyd, president of Independent Colleges and Universities of Florida, warned of fallout.

"It's going to really devastate our sector," he said. "These are students pursuing nursing degrees, becoming pilots, teachers, and they are going to - a lot of them will drop out of their high-demand degree fields because they're not getting this voucher."

House leaders have said their new performance metrics ensure accountability - affecting just 1.2% of Florida's higher-ed students. But Boyd noted that his schools produce 30% of Florida's nurses while getting just 2% of state funding.

Keiser University Vice Chancellor Belinda Keiser said the cuts would hit non-traditional students hardest - working adults, single parents and first-generation college-goers who rely on these grants.

"Thirty-five hundred dollars a year over the next four years will be taken away," she said. "That might cause some of those students pursuing nursing, pursuing Homeland Security, pursuing cyber - and we offer all those degrees - to drop out. And to me, talent should always be one of your best investments."

The Senate's budget fully funds EASE without new metrics, setting up a clash in the conference committee. Lawmakers must reach a deal by April 29 to allow the constitutionally required 72-hour budget review before the May legislative deadline.

Support for this reporting was provided by Lumina Foundation.


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