They ask not only for more education spending, but also touch on affordable housing and climate resiliency.
By Kathleen Murray
Original Air Date: Jan. 3, 2024
Host: The SEE Alliance is an unusual group in Sarasota. For one, it’s run by young people. It’s also shown its mettle by playing key roles in changing outcomes at the Sarasota School Board, and in defeating a state-initiated constitutional amendment that would have made school board races partisan. Recently, the group pitched its big-picture policy ideas to Sarasota state legislators.
Kathleen Murray: Representatives of a youth-led nonprofit in Sarasota urged their local state lawmakers to strengthen public schools, combat the affordable housing crisis, and utilize federal dollars for climate resiliency when they return to Tallahassee in March.
The SEE Alliance’s Zander Moricz and Julie Forestier were among a number of diverse stakeholders who advocated for their issues or causes at the Sarasota County Legislative Delegation Meeting on Dec. 16. State Rep. Fiona McFarland chaired the meeting, which included state Sen. Joe Gruters, state Rep. James Buchanan and newly elected state Rep. Danny Nix Jr.
Zander Moricz
Moricz, founder and executive director of SEE Alliance — SEE stands for “Social Equity through Education” — said community members ranging in age from 13 to 92 helped his organization come up with the legislative wishlist, starting with the strengthening of public schools.
Zander Moricz: We ask that you increase per pupil spending, increase funding for early education, and improve voucher transparency and accountability.
KM: He was followed by Forestier, who holds a master’s degree in public policy from the Harvard Kennedy School.
She told the lawmakers that many Floridians cannot afford to live where they work. Housing unaffordability is particularly acute in Sarasota County, which has a home price-to-income ratio of about 7.4 compared to the national average of 3.5 to 4.
Julie Forestier
Julie Forestier: Specifically we ask you to appeal the Live Local Act, which is harming Sarasota residents by preempting local controls and regulatory abilities. Additionally we ask that you fully fund and protect the Sadowski Trust Fund, which is dedicated to affordable housing development. The fund has been repeatedly raided for other purposes, diverting critical resources from addressing the housing crisis.
KM: And Forestier urged the lawmakers to prioritize climate resiliency by leveraging expiring federal funds from the Bipartisan Infrastructure Law and Inflation Reduction Act.
JF: Fortify our natural defenses, improve stormwater systems, make homes and businesses stronger, modernize our energy grid, and accelerate electrification.Let’s take the resources the federal government is offering, take the burden off of Sarasota residents, and take control of our community’s future.
KM: Moricz and Forestier said the three priorities will improve quality of life in the short term and build a stronger economy for the long term. The first day of the 2025 Legislative Session is March 4.
Reporting for WSLR News, Kathleen Murray.
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