Rick Scott and John Thrasher: let's wreck public schools

According to Florida’s Race to the Top Application which netted the state hundreds of millions of dollars, Florida ranks eighth in the nation in the 2010 Quality Counts report, up from 31st in 2006, it's tied for No. 1 with New York for closing the math poverty gap in the last seven years, it's No. 4 for the teaching profession, it's No. 5 for standards, assessment and accountability. Which if correct, all this begs the question why are John Thrasher and Rick Scott seeking to dismantle our public school system.

John Thrasher whose hatred of teacher unions seems to boarder on the pathological recently told the crowd at the third annual education conference organized by former Florida Gov. Jeb Bush; “There is no way in our state right now that the dadgum unions are going to agree with this kind of stuff, so you either bring them to the table and tell them what you're going to do, or you run over them." His statement doesn’t sound like Mr. Thrasher is inviting teachers to the table to discuss ways to improve education. This sounds more like a man on a power trip power, who has never taught in a classroom by the way, ramming his misinformed opinions down teachers throats.

Mr. Thrasher according to your application, the state of Florida has improved dramatically and is headed in the right direction. What warrants your statement above and the punitive towards teacher measures you seek to push through. What makes you want to run over the teachers unions and the teachers they represent? How is that going to help kids be successful?

Mr. Thrasher is probably feeling so confident because he now believes he has a governor, Rick Scott, who will rubber stamp anything put in front of him. Mr. Thrasher sadly is probably right because some of Rick Scott's ideas are even, if you can believe it, more radical than John Thrashers.

He is proposing giving every child a voucher regardless of where they live, what school they attend or how much money their family makes. This thinly veiled attempt to deliver a death blow to public education will further handicap our already cash starved schools. It also amounts to welfare for the rich. Families just making it will still not have enough money to send their children to most private schools and will still have to rely on their neighborhood schools, which if this passes will now have been made poorer and have fewer resources for their children's education. The well off however will now receive thousand of dollars further filing their pockets.

I have no doubt Mr. Scott will be able to spin his welfare for the well off program to make it sound favorable to all of Florida's citizens not just those immune to the economic down turn. After all he was able to spin rampant fraud and mismanagement in his health care company into accounting errors but how like many sick and old people suffered in that case, children and teachers will suffer in this one. People might see "free money" and buy into it but what they will really be purchasing is welfare for the well off and hard times for Florida's public schools and the general public.

So let's examine things. On one hand our political leaders are saying look at Florida, it has improved greatly over the years and is headed in the right direction and on the other they are saying, we’re going to run over teachers unions and the teachers they represent and here rich citizens, here is more money for you.

How is this the right thing for Florida’s children and its teachers and is this what you voted for?