Teachers won't get tenure but charter schools will

From the Orlando sentine

by Dave Weber

Legislature giving apple to charter schools, rather than teachers?
Teachers in Florida will have no job security under the merit pay bill that Gov. Rick Scott signed into law last week, but charter schools can get 15 year guaranteed contracts under legislation in the works.

And both will have to do a really good job to earn their contracts – teachers for one year and charters for 15.

The House Education Innovation committee this afternoon approved changes to charter school law that would allow for creation of high-performing charter school systems. A charter operation with three or more successful schools could set up others around the state without jumping through as many hoops with local school boards as charter applicants do now. A school board would have to present “clear and convincing evidence” that an applicant should be denied, a measure that opponents said is much too high and would give the charter operations free rein to come in anywhere and set up a school. District school boards, as now, still would be left holding the bag to clean up a mess if anything goes wrong with the charter. Think Imani charter school in Orlando,where kids didn’t have books or computers this year and finances are scrambled.

But what really ticks off Chris Ott is the favoritsm shown charters over teachers.

Ott, a kindergarten teacher from Alachua County, took a day of his spring break to drive to Tallahassee and testify before the committee today that the proposal is unfair. Highly effective charters get 15 years contracts so they can plan their lives and build schools facilities, committee members pushing the bill said. Highly effective teachers will get one year contracts- and presumably apartment leases for same.

A version of the bill giving charters more rights comes before a Senate committee Wednesday

http://blogs.orlandosentinel.com/news_education_edblog/2011/03/teachers-wont-get-tenure-but-charter-schools-will.html