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Parents, teachers and students have sent Governor Charlie Crist more than a thousand letters and emails. The message is clear: no more education cuts. As Whitney Ray tells us, the writers may soon be asked to put their money where their mouth is, as support for a penny sales tax increase to fund schools gains ground.

Education funding in Florida is down four billion dollars since 2007. The cuts are so deep Washington is withholding federal stimulus dollars. The Florida Education Association is pushing a temporary penny sales tax increase to solve the problem.

“This buys us some time so we can have true and meaningful tax reform, so that we can develop a fair tax system for all Floridians,” said FEA President Andy Ford.

The association released a poll claiming 72 percent of registered voters in the state support the increase. House Education Appropriations Chairwoman Anitere Flores says that’s not what she’s hearing in her district.

“My constituents are telling me, we are hurting and when we are hurting, don’t ask us for more money for something as general as a sales tax,” Flores said.

But supporters of the increase have written the governor. Crist’s office has received more than a thousand letters and five hundred emails.

Some of the letters are from students as young as nine. They tell the stories of school closings, honor programs being eliminated and teachers being let go.

Senator Dave Aronberg said the state can do better.

“We need to close some of the tax loopholes and we need to continue looking at the cigarette tax and those are the ways to fund education properly,” said Aronberg.

Budgets from both chambers rely on economic stimulus dollars to fund education with no money coming for the proposed penny increase.

While the Florida Education Association Poll shows 72 percent of voters support a penny sales tax increase, only one in two offer ‘strongly support’ for the measure. 56 percent of people polled rated their local schools as good or excellent.