The Republican double speak in Tallahassee

Will Weatherford, R-Wesley Chapel, said his priorities for the upcoming legislative session would include "restoring trust and integrity into the school grading system."

Wow those are pretty damning words and can there be any doubt that he is talking about disgraced former ed commish Tony Bennett who was run out of town after inflating the grades of a charter school that was owned by a financial backer.

Well friends we have to be careful because Bennett is back and pushing his new employer’s tests as the cure to Florida’s testing ills.  

http://www.tampabay.com/blogs/gradebook/testing-firm-bills-itself-as-right-for-florida/2163231

Who wants to bet that Tony Bennett rebounds nicely and Florida’s schools foot the bill?

This however isn’t the only hypocrisy coming from the republican leadership in Tallahassee. While extolling the virtues and need for technology, Will Weatherford also wants to steal money supposed to go to public schools and instead divert it to private schools that take vouchers of which over 160 teach creationism as science.

Look I think creationism can have a role to play in education just in a religion or philosophy class but the truth is it has no business in a science class. Regardless, how can Tallahassee say how important science and technology is and how we need to channel kids into those fields while filtering money into schools that ignore and denigrate science.

http://www.tampabay.com/blogs/gradebook/weatherford-gaetz-to-focus-on-tax-credit-

Then all of this is on the heels of Scott requesting 81 million in maintenance money for charter schools and not one single solitary penny for public schools.

Finally I would like to point out that there are problems in Florida’s education system but it is the Republicans that have been completely in charge of the system here for going on 16 years now. Isn’t enough enough?  Aren’t you tired of them and their friends profiting off of public education while kids have to go without and teachers have to dig into their pockets to pay for the basics?