Tampa Bay area schools say "no thanks" to Gov. Scott's teacher debit cards

Gov. Rick Scott pitched the idea from the Panhandle to Miami: a state-funded debit card worth $250 for every teacher to spend on classroom supplies.

But with the start of school just days away, only seven of the state's 67 school districts, including Miami-Dade, have taken Scott up on the offer.

The reason?

The debit cards won't be distributed until mid or late September, well after Florida schoolchildren have returned to the classroom. Many teachers have already purchased their supplies.

"If they could have had the cards at the beginning of the school year, or even a few weeks before, it might have made more sense," said Nadine Drew, a spokeswoman for the Broward school system, which initially agreed to participate in the program, but later withdrew.

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