Congressman Adam Putnam today commended a decision by Polk County School District officials to cancel a plan to spend federal taxpayer funds on iPods for families of disabled children.  According to the School Board, the iPods would have been used as an incentive to gain greater participation in a federally required survey.  

“I was taken aback when I read about it in the paper,” said Putnam. “Giving an iPod in exchange for a few questions being answered certainly is extravagant in these tough times. These programs are important to disabled students and there is a survey requirement for the funds, but wouldn't doughnuts and coffee work? I appreciate the board reconsidering this and I will inquire whether this practice has taken place in other districts across the nation using federal monies.”

Since 2001, Putnam has represented Florida’s 12th Congressional District, which includes most of Polk County and portions of Hillsborough and Osceola counties.