Florida is a far cry from a leader in education spending. The Legislature recently cut school funding for the first time in decades. And more cuts are ahead. But Board of Education member Akshay Desai doesn’t think that necessarily means a bad outcome.

Just look at the World Series-bound Tampa Bay Rays, he said at a board meeting in Tampa this morning.

"They have one of the least payrolls compared to all the other teams in the nation. And they still were able to give the outputs,” said Desai, a St. Petersburg doctor and businessman who was appointed by Gov. Charlie Crist. “In other words, efficiency and the whole output coming out of the Devil Rays has nothing to do with the amount of resources invested in them.”

Desai’s remarks came after two community college presidents and Volusia County superintendent Margaret Smith told the board how budget cuts had forced them to freeze salaries, lay off staff members and slice into academic programs. “We’re at the tipping point,” Smith said. “We can’t maintain that quality without adequate resources.”

“Let me try to cheer up the superintendent about this gloom and doom budget,” Desai said. He continued the Rays analogy by saying, “We can achieve better performance with better education, better commitment to the team and better leadership.”

Fellow board member Roberto Martinez of Miami offered a swift response.

“Our approach to education has been very research-based, it’s been thoughtful, it’s been comprehensive, it’s been reform-minded. But we need money to make those things work,” he said. “And frankly, what you need to do is go to a classroom in the state of Florida, and you will see that these people are getting by with the minimum.

“The analogy to the Tampa Bay Rays baseball team is cute,” Martinez continued, “but it’s not realistic.”

For what it’s worth, the Rays payroll ranks 29th of 30 teams. It increased from $24.1-million last year to $43.8-million currently, an 82 percent jump.

Ron Matus, state education reporter

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