From the St. Petersburg Times
by Ron Matus
Opposition is heating up statewide as the Florida Legislature closes in on monumental changes to the teaching profession.
On popular blogs, some teachers are even pushing for Florida to follow Wisconsin, where tens of thousands of protesters have descended on the state Capitol.
If some of the current legislative proposals don't change, "Do I believe public employees will descend on Tallahassee? Yes," said Kim Black, president of the Pinellas teachers union. "It could be a hurricane, we just don't know what category yet. People are organizing."
The Pinellas teachers union has scheduled a "save our public schools rally" in Pinellas on March 4, the Friday before the legislative session begins on March 8, while other local teachers unions are planning similar events. Rallies to support teachers, firefighters and police officers are being organized around the state for March 8.
"Our students don't understand the constant bullying of their teachers and quite frankly, neither do we," says a flier for the rally in Pinellas, which is slated for the same intersections that hundreds of teachers flocked to last year to protest Senate Bill 6.
SB 6 — passed by the Legislature and vetoed by former Gov. Charlie Crist — would have dramatically changed how teachers are hired, fired, paid and evaluated. Gov. Rick Scott has said he would have signed it, and a new version is moving fast through legislative committees.
Lawmakers will also consider requiring teachers, police officers and other state and county workers to chip in up to 5 percent of their pay towards their pensions.
Florida teachers are closely watching events in Wisconsin. Many Wisconsin schools have closed because teachers are attending the rallies. Schools in Madison closed last week after 1,000 teachers called in sick.
So far, legislation to curb collective bargaining rights has not surfaced in Florida. But in a 20-page list of proposals, Scott's education transition team recommended that teacher evaluations be removed from the bargaining process, and that bargaining be limited to salaries and benefits.
The Florida Constitution recognizes the right of employees to bargain collectively.
Ron Matus can be reached at matus@sptimes.com or (727) 893-8873.
http://www.tampabay.com/news/education/k12/with-eye-on-wisconsin-florida-teachers-gear-up-for-rallies/1152921
Showing posts with label florida public schools. Show all posts
Showing posts with label florida public schools. Show all posts
Monday, February 21, 2011
Saturday, February 19, 2011
Senate Bill 736 hurts not helps schools
From the Examiner.com
by Jennie Smith
I have watched the evolution of what is now Senate Bill 736 from the monstrosity described in my last article on the subject to the present, and I will admit that there have been changes made, mostly positive ones...at first glance.
The reality, however, is that most of what educators (and many parents) loathed about last year's Senate Bill 6 is still present in SB 736...just a bit more cleverly veiled.
When I read last week the most recent version of the bill, my first reaction was pleasant surprise to find some of the more odious features conspicuously absent, and certain red-flag language modified. For instance, I noticed that the words "Professional Performance Contract" had been changed to "Professional Service Contract" (the term for the contract we currently hold). Intrigued, I read further and scrutinized the details to see if we were indeed still talking about a Professional Service Contract, like the one I have now, or if it was just putting the old name on the new product.
(For the sake of clarification, the language in the earlier version of the bill allowed teachers currently holding a Professional Service Contract, or PSC--which simply means that teachers have an expectation of continued employment and a right to due process--to "opt out" of the annual contract with its Performance Salary Schedule and choose a "Professional Performance Contract," in which teachers would be awarded a contract of three years, after which they could be renewed or non-renewed, with or without cause. They could also be terminated for a number of reasons, including test scores, during their three-year contract. Essentially, the only difference between the Professional Performance Contract and their annual performance contract was that those choosing the former would be ineligible for performance bonuses.)
To my understanding, according to the newest version of the bill, only new hires after July 1, 2011, would be necessarily subject to the annual contract. Those of us who currently hold a PSC would be "grandfathered in" and allowed to keep it. (Personally, I do not know a single teacher who would trade his or her PSC for an annual performance contract where his or her employment was dependent upon the results of students on a standardized test.) However, the contract is still vulnerable: if he is to transfer to another district, he would lose eligibility for that PSC. Same scenario if he were laid off and rehired. If the anti-union legislation in the works effectively decertified unions and nullified existing contracts, entire districts could find themselves without the choice supposedly built into the legislation. Further, the bill's sponsor, state senator Stephen Wise (R-Jacksonville) testified during committee meetings that teachers on a PSC could be terminated for student test scores during their contract, as 50% of their evaluation would be based on test scores.
If Professional Service Contracts are indeed the devil Florida Republicans claim they are, and would in effect be phased out through the implementation of SB 736, then why even allow those of currently holding PSCs to be grandfathered in? I would argue that it is to keep teachers quiet and complacent. If most teachers perceive that their own employment is not threatened by the new legislation, they will be less likely to create the uproar of last year over SB 6 or resort to more drastic measures such as sick-outs or strikes.
While I will admit that I at first breathed a sigh of relief to see that I would be able to keep my contract, upon reflection I feel that this bill is just as dangerous as SB 6, if not even more so, in part because of its subtlety--it is designed to provide a false sense of security.
But I will be more specific, and ennumerate the respects in which this legislation is bad news for public education in Florida.
Where's the money?
Let's just assume for a moment that we agreed with the main tenets of the legislation, found its evaluation system and compensation system fair and equitable to teachers, schools, districts and students, and believed that its implementation would improve education in Florida. (Obviously this is not the case, but we shall suspend disbelief for a second.)
Where is the money?
The new governor's proposed budget would reduce per-pupil spending by as much as $708. The overall loss to public education in Florida is $3.3 billion--72% of the proposed budget cuts, while education only comprises 29% of the overall state budget. Rick Scott and other Republicans have argued that these are not really "cuts" since a large part of the shortfall is a result of the end of ARRA (a.k.a. stimulus) funds, which were not there before. However, the ARRA funding filled a gap left by budget cuts that occurred before and at the time of the release of the stimulus funding--so the failure to replace those funds still constitutes a cut, even if it means only that we are seeing the results of an earlier cut with a couple years' delay.
Nowhere in the SB 736 legislation is there an obligation (or even an expectation) for the state to pay for the creation, implementation, scoring, reporting or storing of the hundreds of thousands, if not millions, of new standardized tests that would necessarily be created by the enactment of the bill. (In order to evaluate teachers by test scores, they would need test scores for every subject; currently the FCAT only tests reading, math, writing and science.) This means a lot of new tests will be needed. Tests are expensive and divert precious resources away from the classroom--from books, technology, building maintenance and, yes, teacher's salaries. When the Miami-Dade County school district is facing up to $214 million in lost funding, and already anticipating layoffs, programs cuts and salary cuts, where should they find the money to create, administer, score, analyze and report thousands of new end-of-course exams? By packing more kids into classrooms, in violation of the Class Size Amendment (and common sense)? By cutting arts, music, vocational and physical education programs? By allowing outdated schools to crumble and mildew? Remind me how this will benefit the children taking those tests to determine their teacher's income and employment?
Moreover, nowhere in SB 736 is it said how the performance bonuses will be funded. Indeed, no funding is allotted for them. This means that current salaries--already below the national average, especially considering the cost of living in South Florida--will stagnate, at best, or be cut, in order to leave money for the bonuses. It does not make sense to cut what are already deficient salaries in order to allow some teachers to be given bigger bonuses. Once the base salary is adequate to account for the cost of living differential, then we can talk about merit bonuses. Until then, it will only weaken incentive for anyone to choose to be an educator in the state of Florida.
Teachers are not interested in working on commission, and those whose primary motivation is cashing in are arguably not those best suited for the teaching profession.
Education is not a field that attracts the salesman type of person interested in a commission job. Those who choose to become teachers do so because they want to touch lives and help children learn, grow and become responsible citizens; they want to know that, regardless how their students do on a test they did not write and indeed did not even see, they will be paid enough to live comfortably if not extravagantly.
And let us be clear: when a car salesman sells a car, he is selling it to someone who was interested enough in buying a new car to come to the dealership and have a look around. When we teach students, we are as often as not teaching kids who would rather be somewhere, anywhere else, doing something, anything else, and who see what we are teaching them as totally irrelevant and without any substantive value, especially compared to boyfriends/girlfriends, their new iPhones, video games, Facebook, etc. Yes, a good teacher can successfully convince a majority of his or her students, at least for an hour at a time, that what he or she is teaching is important enough to be paid attention to. But that doesn't mean the student will concentrate on that material once he is out of the classroom. It doesn't mean he will choose to do homework or study for a test when he is surrounded by friends, technology, other influences, interests and sometimes other basic needs, particularly when there is no parent pushing him to do it. As a frustrated teacher blogger I read very accurately put it: "It’s not like dropping into a desert and giving people water…where they are all grateful and think you are awesome. It’s more like giving cough medicine to a hysterical three-year old with a fever and diarrhea; they’ll fight it to the death and hate you afterward." Obviously this is a bit exaggerated in many cases, but nonetheless, it is a basic truth that we are competing against a million other things for children's attention and we often lose, especially when the motivation is not there at home.
A good educator embraces the challenge of getting and keeping distracted children's attention, convincing them that the material is useful and relevant to their lives, and, perhaps more importantly, of engaging them on a personal level and helping instill in them the intrinsic value of education. But we know full well that we will not be successful in that mission with every single child. It doesn't mean we don't try; it just means that we are realistic and we know that, just as the car salesman will sell a car to perhaps only one out of every thirty prospective buyers who walks onto the lot, we will not manage to convince every single child who walks into our classroom that what we are teaching is worth knowing, or even that education is worth anything. But we still try.
The more difficult the circumstances facing the students we teach, the harder it is to convince them.
It can be discouraging, but for those of us with the vocation, we take heart in those who do end up caring. Depending on the school we work in and the student population we work with, we may end up with a lot of those or just one or two a year. Either way, they are the ones who keep us going, keep us coming in to work every day at least feigning positivity when we don't feel it (usually because of what's coming down on us from above), keep us motivated to keep doing what we do even when it feels like we're beating our heads against a brick wall.
Even those kids we do reach may fail a standardized test miserably, despite our efforts and despite their own, for any number of reasons--starting out incredibly far behind, being a poor test-taker, having mitigating circumstances at the moment of testing, etc., etc. Add to that the group of kids who do not care whatsoever--which will be a larger group the tougher the neighborhood--and you could end up with a really great teacher who works really hard and exceeds all expectations (and undoubtedly puts in a lot of unpaid time outside the classroom) who gets denied a bonus--or, more dangerously, loses his job--primarily because he chose to work with underprivileged kids.
There is nothing in this legislation to encourage anyone to go into teaching...those looking for a spectacular payday will find a thousand better options (and I would argue that anyone who views children as cash cows should not be in front of a classroom in the first place), and those with a true vocation, a true desire to educate and help kids grow and help shape a future generation of responsible citizens, will be scared away by the prospect of effectively being punished (by lower pay and non-renewal) for working with the kids whose "learning gains" will be the hardest to predict.
SB 736 has the exact same shortcomings in this respect as SB 6 did. Even when the legislation calls for paying more to those who teach in Title I (high-poverty) schools, this does not offset the fear of losing one's job due to poor student test scores. Only someone who intends to teach for a very short period of time--perhaps one, two, three years--would be willing to take that risk. Anyone planning on making a career of teaching will lean toward the option of a "safer" school--i.e., a more affluent school. Perhaps they won't receive the Title I bonus, but they have a better chance of keeping their job.
Indeed, where merit pay has been tried in American public schools it has not produced the desired results. In Hillsborough County, 97% of teachers receiving merit bonuses the first year worked in affluent schools; only 3% worked in low-income schools. A recent Vanderbilt University study found that merit pay did not affect student achievement; teachers receiving up to $15,000 bonuses produced the same results as teachers not receiving the bonuses, and the general feeling among bonus-recipients and non-recipients was that the recipients were no more effective than the non-recipients.
If merit pay is so effective, shouldn't we hold police accountable for the level of crime in a neighborhood? If the number of violent crimes stays low or decreases, they should get a raise. Those working in zones where the violent crime rate stays high or increases should be fired. Right? Only they know better...they know if they were to do that, they would have no one left to patrol the rough parts of town. It is already hard enough to find people willing to put their lives on the line every day to be police, especially in high-crime areas. If they knew they could be fired for the crime rate not going down, would they be willing to do that job? Especially when the pay was inferior to most other jobs they were qualified for, and the benefits they had had were being eroded to fill state budget deficits? Of course not. They would only apply for positions in Coral Gables, or they would choose another career.
Perhaps teachers in high-poverty schools do not face the same physical risks on a daily basis that beat cops do, but the analogy works nonetheless. Nothing in the formula reassures the one who wants to make a difference in a bleighted area. And if the "performance pay" component were modified so that police were paid, for example, by how many arrests they made, one could reasonably expect a surge in questionable arrests...and a surge in frustrated, burned-out cops.
Teacher of the Year: Fired?
Despite the bill's claim to want to reward outstanding teachers, it would still allow those same outstanding teachers to be fired for any or no reason. With the annual contracts, a teacher who received "highly effective" evaluations for years could still be let go without cause at the end of a school year.
This is one of the primary concerns of teachers regarding this legislation, and it is a concern that is far too often met with, "Well, in the private sector, an employee can get fired without cause, too. That's just the way it is." But we're not talking about the private sector; we're talking about taxpayers' money, including the money of the teacher being fired without cause. Should we not hold public institutions to a higher standard? Private corporations are given more freedoms in the U.S. than ordinary citizens are; of course they can make their own rules and fire indiscriminately, especially in ultraconservative, anti-labor states like Florida. Does that make it right? Does that mean that we should import that practice into the public sector, which is paid for not with private money and sales of a good or service, but with the taxes of the very people affected by those rules?
As a teacher, I do not feel I have any kind of "God-given right" to my job. However, I do feel that as long as I am doing my job effectively, and am not the lowest on the totem pole if layoffs become necessary (or required), a principal should not be able to fire me without giving a (very good) reason that can be proven. Some principals, like my current one, are very good, fair people who see the big picture. But many others are not; many are micromanaging, authoritarian and take personal offense to anyone who dares speak up when he sees that something is not working. Just because if, in the private sector, this were a boss being paid with private dollars, he could fire anyone for any reason or no reason at all, does not mean that when taxpayer dollars are involved the same injustice should be permitted.
The current system does not, as opponents argue, provide tenure to teachers, at least not in Miami-Dade County. There is a ninety-day procedure in place to remove incompetent teachers from the classroom. If it is not being done, it is because administration is not doing it; and there are several reasons why this can happen. 1) Many administrators are unwilling to do the observations and follow the procedures to remove the ineffective teachers. 2) Sometimes administrators need those ineffective teachers to fill other roles in the school (namely, to coach sports), and are therefore very reluctant to push an incompetency case on them. 3) Far too often, there is simply no one better qualified to fill the position. If the principal removes that teacher, he will have to find a replacement, hopefully better than the last; the class cannot be left unattended; and especially in critical shortage areas, or highly specialized content areas, it can be a lengthy process to find someone well-qualified to teach. Quite simply, if an administrator does not feel that he has a pool of highly qualified candidates to choose from to replace an ineffective teacher, he is unlikely to follow through with terminating one.
There is a recession right now, so the pool of candidates is undoubtedly larger than it would be in flush times; but it does not mean that there is an abundance of candidates who are experienced enough or well-trained enough in pedagogy to be immediately effective teachers. Teaching is part art, part science; generally people love it or hate it; it also requires a certain amount of training (as a beginner) and a certain amount of experience before anyone can really become a good teacher, much less a great teacher. Once the economy recovers, even without the education reform legislation being pushed through at the moment, it is unlikely that we will see an abundance of highly qualified, well-trained (or experienced) prospective teachers. Those who would teach, who want to live in Florida, will choose other careers; and those who must teach, but are not particularly attached to Florida, will go teach in states that respect their teachers and pay them fairly. If the legislation passes as is, and is fully implemented, we can expect to see this pool of talent shrink even further, back to having real teacher shortages--as there were when I moved here five years ago--where schools basically have to accept what they can get, and will be hesitant to remove ineffective ones, for lack of anyone better to fill their positions.
But one cannot help but cynically wonder if this is not, ultimately, the politicians' deepest wish. High turnover of teachers means fewer teachers using maternity leave, costly health insurance and pensions. And making all teachers at-will employees means they will work in such fear for their jobs that they will not question what they are told to do, even when they know it is not good for children, and they will not fight for their salary, benefits or pension. It will effectively dissolve unions, gradually phasing them out; once a majority of teachers are on annual contracts, where they have no right to due process, and where their compensation is determined by student test scores, they will have no more need or use for a union to collectively bargain their salaries. And once there are no more unions, there will be no one making demands for salary or benefits or pension; there will be no one advocating for the funding of public education, advocating against policies that are bad for children, or helping elect officials who will prioritize public education. In other words, it will save the state money. And if it saves them money (money they would like to put into corporate tax cuts, or into the hands of their cronies running private schools and charter schools) then to hell with the children who are being robbed of a quality education through their refusal to respect the teaching profession.
Continue reading on Examiner.com: 2+2=5...SB 736 doesn't add up. - Miami Dade County Education Policy | Examiner.com http://www.examiner.com/dade-county-education-policy-in-miami/sb-736-sb-6-nip-tuck#ixzz1EQmh7jUR
by Jennie Smith
I have watched the evolution of what is now Senate Bill 736 from the monstrosity described in my last article on the subject to the present, and I will admit that there have been changes made, mostly positive ones...at first glance.
The reality, however, is that most of what educators (and many parents) loathed about last year's Senate Bill 6 is still present in SB 736...just a bit more cleverly veiled.
When I read last week the most recent version of the bill, my first reaction was pleasant surprise to find some of the more odious features conspicuously absent, and certain red-flag language modified. For instance, I noticed that the words "Professional Performance Contract" had been changed to "Professional Service Contract" (the term for the contract we currently hold). Intrigued, I read further and scrutinized the details to see if we were indeed still talking about a Professional Service Contract, like the one I have now, or if it was just putting the old name on the new product.
(For the sake of clarification, the language in the earlier version of the bill allowed teachers currently holding a Professional Service Contract, or PSC--which simply means that teachers have an expectation of continued employment and a right to due process--to "opt out" of the annual contract with its Performance Salary Schedule and choose a "Professional Performance Contract," in which teachers would be awarded a contract of three years, after which they could be renewed or non-renewed, with or without cause. They could also be terminated for a number of reasons, including test scores, during their three-year contract. Essentially, the only difference between the Professional Performance Contract and their annual performance contract was that those choosing the former would be ineligible for performance bonuses.)
To my understanding, according to the newest version of the bill, only new hires after July 1, 2011, would be necessarily subject to the annual contract. Those of us who currently hold a PSC would be "grandfathered in" and allowed to keep it. (Personally, I do not know a single teacher who would trade his or her PSC for an annual performance contract where his or her employment was dependent upon the results of students on a standardized test.) However, the contract is still vulnerable: if he is to transfer to another district, he would lose eligibility for that PSC. Same scenario if he were laid off and rehired. If the anti-union legislation in the works effectively decertified unions and nullified existing contracts, entire districts could find themselves without the choice supposedly built into the legislation. Further, the bill's sponsor, state senator Stephen Wise (R-Jacksonville) testified during committee meetings that teachers on a PSC could be terminated for student test scores during their contract, as 50% of their evaluation would be based on test scores.
If Professional Service Contracts are indeed the devil Florida Republicans claim they are, and would in effect be phased out through the implementation of SB 736, then why even allow those of currently holding PSCs to be grandfathered in? I would argue that it is to keep teachers quiet and complacent. If most teachers perceive that their own employment is not threatened by the new legislation, they will be less likely to create the uproar of last year over SB 6 or resort to more drastic measures such as sick-outs or strikes.
While I will admit that I at first breathed a sigh of relief to see that I would be able to keep my contract, upon reflection I feel that this bill is just as dangerous as SB 6, if not even more so, in part because of its subtlety--it is designed to provide a false sense of security.
But I will be more specific, and ennumerate the respects in which this legislation is bad news for public education in Florida.
Where's the money?
Let's just assume for a moment that we agreed with the main tenets of the legislation, found its evaluation system and compensation system fair and equitable to teachers, schools, districts and students, and believed that its implementation would improve education in Florida. (Obviously this is not the case, but we shall suspend disbelief for a second.)
Where is the money?
The new governor's proposed budget would reduce per-pupil spending by as much as $708. The overall loss to public education in Florida is $3.3 billion--72% of the proposed budget cuts, while education only comprises 29% of the overall state budget. Rick Scott and other Republicans have argued that these are not really "cuts" since a large part of the shortfall is a result of the end of ARRA (a.k.a. stimulus) funds, which were not there before. However, the ARRA funding filled a gap left by budget cuts that occurred before and at the time of the release of the stimulus funding--so the failure to replace those funds still constitutes a cut, even if it means only that we are seeing the results of an earlier cut with a couple years' delay.
Nowhere in the SB 736 legislation is there an obligation (or even an expectation) for the state to pay for the creation, implementation, scoring, reporting or storing of the hundreds of thousands, if not millions, of new standardized tests that would necessarily be created by the enactment of the bill. (In order to evaluate teachers by test scores, they would need test scores for every subject; currently the FCAT only tests reading, math, writing and science.) This means a lot of new tests will be needed. Tests are expensive and divert precious resources away from the classroom--from books, technology, building maintenance and, yes, teacher's salaries. When the Miami-Dade County school district is facing up to $214 million in lost funding, and already anticipating layoffs, programs cuts and salary cuts, where should they find the money to create, administer, score, analyze and report thousands of new end-of-course exams? By packing more kids into classrooms, in violation of the Class Size Amendment (and common sense)? By cutting arts, music, vocational and physical education programs? By allowing outdated schools to crumble and mildew? Remind me how this will benefit the children taking those tests to determine their teacher's income and employment?
Moreover, nowhere in SB 736 is it said how the performance bonuses will be funded. Indeed, no funding is allotted for them. This means that current salaries--already below the national average, especially considering the cost of living in South Florida--will stagnate, at best, or be cut, in order to leave money for the bonuses. It does not make sense to cut what are already deficient salaries in order to allow some teachers to be given bigger bonuses. Once the base salary is adequate to account for the cost of living differential, then we can talk about merit bonuses. Until then, it will only weaken incentive for anyone to choose to be an educator in the state of Florida.
Teachers are not interested in working on commission, and those whose primary motivation is cashing in are arguably not those best suited for the teaching profession.
Education is not a field that attracts the salesman type of person interested in a commission job. Those who choose to become teachers do so because they want to touch lives and help children learn, grow and become responsible citizens; they want to know that, regardless how their students do on a test they did not write and indeed did not even see, they will be paid enough to live comfortably if not extravagantly.
And let us be clear: when a car salesman sells a car, he is selling it to someone who was interested enough in buying a new car to come to the dealership and have a look around. When we teach students, we are as often as not teaching kids who would rather be somewhere, anywhere else, doing something, anything else, and who see what we are teaching them as totally irrelevant and without any substantive value, especially compared to boyfriends/girlfriends, their new iPhones, video games, Facebook, etc. Yes, a good teacher can successfully convince a majority of his or her students, at least for an hour at a time, that what he or she is teaching is important enough to be paid attention to. But that doesn't mean the student will concentrate on that material once he is out of the classroom. It doesn't mean he will choose to do homework or study for a test when he is surrounded by friends, technology, other influences, interests and sometimes other basic needs, particularly when there is no parent pushing him to do it. As a frustrated teacher blogger I read very accurately put it: "It’s not like dropping into a desert and giving people water…where they are all grateful and think you are awesome. It’s more like giving cough medicine to a hysterical three-year old with a fever and diarrhea; they’ll fight it to the death and hate you afterward." Obviously this is a bit exaggerated in many cases, but nonetheless, it is a basic truth that we are competing against a million other things for children's attention and we often lose, especially when the motivation is not there at home.
A good educator embraces the challenge of getting and keeping distracted children's attention, convincing them that the material is useful and relevant to their lives, and, perhaps more importantly, of engaging them on a personal level and helping instill in them the intrinsic value of education. But we know full well that we will not be successful in that mission with every single child. It doesn't mean we don't try; it just means that we are realistic and we know that, just as the car salesman will sell a car to perhaps only one out of every thirty prospective buyers who walks onto the lot, we will not manage to convince every single child who walks into our classroom that what we are teaching is worth knowing, or even that education is worth anything. But we still try.
The more difficult the circumstances facing the students we teach, the harder it is to convince them.
It can be discouraging, but for those of us with the vocation, we take heart in those who do end up caring. Depending on the school we work in and the student population we work with, we may end up with a lot of those or just one or two a year. Either way, they are the ones who keep us going, keep us coming in to work every day at least feigning positivity when we don't feel it (usually because of what's coming down on us from above), keep us motivated to keep doing what we do even when it feels like we're beating our heads against a brick wall.
Even those kids we do reach may fail a standardized test miserably, despite our efforts and despite their own, for any number of reasons--starting out incredibly far behind, being a poor test-taker, having mitigating circumstances at the moment of testing, etc., etc. Add to that the group of kids who do not care whatsoever--which will be a larger group the tougher the neighborhood--and you could end up with a really great teacher who works really hard and exceeds all expectations (and undoubtedly puts in a lot of unpaid time outside the classroom) who gets denied a bonus--or, more dangerously, loses his job--primarily because he chose to work with underprivileged kids.
There is nothing in this legislation to encourage anyone to go into teaching...those looking for a spectacular payday will find a thousand better options (and I would argue that anyone who views children as cash cows should not be in front of a classroom in the first place), and those with a true vocation, a true desire to educate and help kids grow and help shape a future generation of responsible citizens, will be scared away by the prospect of effectively being punished (by lower pay and non-renewal) for working with the kids whose "learning gains" will be the hardest to predict.
SB 736 has the exact same shortcomings in this respect as SB 6 did. Even when the legislation calls for paying more to those who teach in Title I (high-poverty) schools, this does not offset the fear of losing one's job due to poor student test scores. Only someone who intends to teach for a very short period of time--perhaps one, two, three years--would be willing to take that risk. Anyone planning on making a career of teaching will lean toward the option of a "safer" school--i.e., a more affluent school. Perhaps they won't receive the Title I bonus, but they have a better chance of keeping their job.
Indeed, where merit pay has been tried in American public schools it has not produced the desired results. In Hillsborough County, 97% of teachers receiving merit bonuses the first year worked in affluent schools; only 3% worked in low-income schools. A recent Vanderbilt University study found that merit pay did not affect student achievement; teachers receiving up to $15,000 bonuses produced the same results as teachers not receiving the bonuses, and the general feeling among bonus-recipients and non-recipients was that the recipients were no more effective than the non-recipients.
If merit pay is so effective, shouldn't we hold police accountable for the level of crime in a neighborhood? If the number of violent crimes stays low or decreases, they should get a raise. Those working in zones where the violent crime rate stays high or increases should be fired. Right? Only they know better...they know if they were to do that, they would have no one left to patrol the rough parts of town. It is already hard enough to find people willing to put their lives on the line every day to be police, especially in high-crime areas. If they knew they could be fired for the crime rate not going down, would they be willing to do that job? Especially when the pay was inferior to most other jobs they were qualified for, and the benefits they had had were being eroded to fill state budget deficits? Of course not. They would only apply for positions in Coral Gables, or they would choose another career.
Perhaps teachers in high-poverty schools do not face the same physical risks on a daily basis that beat cops do, but the analogy works nonetheless. Nothing in the formula reassures the one who wants to make a difference in a bleighted area. And if the "performance pay" component were modified so that police were paid, for example, by how many arrests they made, one could reasonably expect a surge in questionable arrests...and a surge in frustrated, burned-out cops.
Teacher of the Year: Fired?
Despite the bill's claim to want to reward outstanding teachers, it would still allow those same outstanding teachers to be fired for any or no reason. With the annual contracts, a teacher who received "highly effective" evaluations for years could still be let go without cause at the end of a school year.
This is one of the primary concerns of teachers regarding this legislation, and it is a concern that is far too often met with, "Well, in the private sector, an employee can get fired without cause, too. That's just the way it is." But we're not talking about the private sector; we're talking about taxpayers' money, including the money of the teacher being fired without cause. Should we not hold public institutions to a higher standard? Private corporations are given more freedoms in the U.S. than ordinary citizens are; of course they can make their own rules and fire indiscriminately, especially in ultraconservative, anti-labor states like Florida. Does that make it right? Does that mean that we should import that practice into the public sector, which is paid for not with private money and sales of a good or service, but with the taxes of the very people affected by those rules?
As a teacher, I do not feel I have any kind of "God-given right" to my job. However, I do feel that as long as I am doing my job effectively, and am not the lowest on the totem pole if layoffs become necessary (or required), a principal should not be able to fire me without giving a (very good) reason that can be proven. Some principals, like my current one, are very good, fair people who see the big picture. But many others are not; many are micromanaging, authoritarian and take personal offense to anyone who dares speak up when he sees that something is not working. Just because if, in the private sector, this were a boss being paid with private dollars, he could fire anyone for any reason or no reason at all, does not mean that when taxpayer dollars are involved the same injustice should be permitted.
The current system does not, as opponents argue, provide tenure to teachers, at least not in Miami-Dade County. There is a ninety-day procedure in place to remove incompetent teachers from the classroom. If it is not being done, it is because administration is not doing it; and there are several reasons why this can happen. 1) Many administrators are unwilling to do the observations and follow the procedures to remove the ineffective teachers. 2) Sometimes administrators need those ineffective teachers to fill other roles in the school (namely, to coach sports), and are therefore very reluctant to push an incompetency case on them. 3) Far too often, there is simply no one better qualified to fill the position. If the principal removes that teacher, he will have to find a replacement, hopefully better than the last; the class cannot be left unattended; and especially in critical shortage areas, or highly specialized content areas, it can be a lengthy process to find someone well-qualified to teach. Quite simply, if an administrator does not feel that he has a pool of highly qualified candidates to choose from to replace an ineffective teacher, he is unlikely to follow through with terminating one.
There is a recession right now, so the pool of candidates is undoubtedly larger than it would be in flush times; but it does not mean that there is an abundance of candidates who are experienced enough or well-trained enough in pedagogy to be immediately effective teachers. Teaching is part art, part science; generally people love it or hate it; it also requires a certain amount of training (as a beginner) and a certain amount of experience before anyone can really become a good teacher, much less a great teacher. Once the economy recovers, even without the education reform legislation being pushed through at the moment, it is unlikely that we will see an abundance of highly qualified, well-trained (or experienced) prospective teachers. Those who would teach, who want to live in Florida, will choose other careers; and those who must teach, but are not particularly attached to Florida, will go teach in states that respect their teachers and pay them fairly. If the legislation passes as is, and is fully implemented, we can expect to see this pool of talent shrink even further, back to having real teacher shortages--as there were when I moved here five years ago--where schools basically have to accept what they can get, and will be hesitant to remove ineffective ones, for lack of anyone better to fill their positions.
But one cannot help but cynically wonder if this is not, ultimately, the politicians' deepest wish. High turnover of teachers means fewer teachers using maternity leave, costly health insurance and pensions. And making all teachers at-will employees means they will work in such fear for their jobs that they will not question what they are told to do, even when they know it is not good for children, and they will not fight for their salary, benefits or pension. It will effectively dissolve unions, gradually phasing them out; once a majority of teachers are on annual contracts, where they have no right to due process, and where their compensation is determined by student test scores, they will have no more need or use for a union to collectively bargain their salaries. And once there are no more unions, there will be no one making demands for salary or benefits or pension; there will be no one advocating for the funding of public education, advocating against policies that are bad for children, or helping elect officials who will prioritize public education. In other words, it will save the state money. And if it saves them money (money they would like to put into corporate tax cuts, or into the hands of their cronies running private schools and charter schools) then to hell with the children who are being robbed of a quality education through their refusal to respect the teaching profession.
Continue reading on Examiner.com: 2+2=5...SB 736 doesn't add up. - Miami Dade County Education Policy | Examiner.com http://www.examiner.com/dade-county-education-policy-in-miami/sb-736-sb-6-nip-tuck#ixzz1EQmh7jUR
Florida's education reforms questioned
From the MinnisotaPost.com
by Beth Hawkins
There are lots of great uses for data in education, many of them aimed squarely at helping to close the achievement gap. Data can help teachers identify which skills struggling students are missing, where their lesson plans need tweaking and — provided we ever got away from using data in punitive ways — to identify practices worthy of replicating.
You’d think, given the reams of data generated by all of the tests administered to the modern American schoolchild, that education policymakers might occasionally be able to point to a few objective, capital-T truths.
On Sunday, the Star Tribune carried a column by Katherine Kersten in which she suggested Minnesota look to Florida as a model for education reform. I admit I started reading mostly to find out whether Kersten would make it all the way to the end of the item without name-checking her erstwhile colleague, Cheri Pierson Yecke.
Kersten and Yecke both advocated various conservative education reforms as fellows at the Center for the American Experiment in the middle of the last decade, following the Minnesota Legislature’s failure to confirm Yecke as Gov. Tim Pawlenty’s education commissioner. Among the sticking points: Yecke’s belief that creationism had a place in Minnesota’s science standards.
Examples from Gov. Bush's era
In fact Kersten’s column did not mention Yecke, who served as Florida’s chancellor of K-12 education from 2005-2007, but she did toss out some impressive examples of progress made under the leadership of former Gov. Jeb Bush, who left office in 2007, on boosting test scores and closing the achievement gap.
“In 1998, almost half of all Florida fourth-graders were functionally illiterate,” Kersten reported. “Today, 72 percent can read.” She went on to detail impressive progress on narrowing the gap among African-American and Latino fourth-graders, who she reported now outperform their Minnesota counterparts.
“Since 2000, we’ve doled out about $4 billion in compensatory aid for low-income students and for ‘integration’ revenue,” she wrote of Minnesota. “We’ve got next to nothing in the way of academic improvement to show for it.”
Minnesota, she counseled, would do well to consider Florida’s bold reforms, which include an end to social promotion, a school-grading system, financial incentives for schools and teachers, alternative teacher certification and — wait for it — vouchers.
Florida and the achievement gap
Leaving aside for the moment the fact that Minnesota and lots of other states rate schools and have experimented with merit pay with mixed results, I was curious about Kersten’s argument that Florida, where racial and ethnic minorities make up the majority of students, was ahead of much of the nation in terms of closing the gap.
After all, as she put it, “Florida’s challenges dwarf ours.”
I wish I could tell you it took days of dogged sleuthing to pull the rug out from under her argument, but Jeb Bush’s campaign to spread the good word about his reforms throughout the country has already drawn criticism from a number of fact-checkers.
Since the late 1990s, Florida’s African-American and Latino fourth-graders have made impressive strides in closing the gap, particularly in reading. But at the eighth grade, the picture is decidedly mixed. According to Education Week, the state's math scores lag slightly behind national averages and are slightly ahead in reading.
It seems the impressive fourth-grade data can be credited to the same social-promotion policy Kersten cited as an effective reform. In 2002, Florida began holding back third-grade students who performed poorly on the state reading test, including 14 percent to 23 percent of Africa-Americans and Latinos.
“This policy of screening out the weakest readers, along with the presence of unknown numbers of older grade-repeaters in the grade four samples, changes the composition of the students tested in grade four and invalidates comparisons concerning student performance as a whole as well as results concerning ethnic group achievement gaps," Madhabi Chatterji of Columbia University’s Teachers College concluded in a report released last November.
“The evidence on Florida’s … achievement trends and gaps is mixed when other grade levels and subject areas are examined between 2002 and 2009,” the report noted. “A cursory review … shows that these gap patterns are neither consistent nor as impressive as one would think if one looked only at reading in grade four.”
Grad rates and college-entrance test scores
It gets worse. Florida's graduation rate and college-entrance test scores remain among the worst in the country. State officials put the graduation rate at 71 percent, while other assessments put it below 60 percent. Small wonder: In 2004 only 42 percent of Florida high-school students were taking upper-level math courses and only 27 percent were taking upper-level science courses.
The vouchers? Tossed out by the Florida Supreme Court in 2006. Bush subsequently tried to push two constitutional amendments through the Florida statehouse, but lawmakers rejected them.
Bush’s two Republican successors have, of course, gone on to promote their own reform agendas, with talk of merit pay, voucher-like educational choice funding schemes and challenges to teachers’ unions.
Charlie Kyte, executive director of the Minnesota Association of School Administrators, pointed out that Florida’s school system has long been regarded as terrible. State leaders do deserve credit for instituting changes that sparked progress, and some of those changes probably hold lessons for Minnesota’s struggling schools. But Florida schools, he’s quick to add, still are not as good as Minnesota’s.
http://www.minnpost.com/learningcurve/2011/02/17/25870/floridas_touted_education_data_wither_under_scrutiny
by Beth Hawkins
There are lots of great uses for data in education, many of them aimed squarely at helping to close the achievement gap. Data can help teachers identify which skills struggling students are missing, where their lesson plans need tweaking and — provided we ever got away from using data in punitive ways — to identify practices worthy of replicating.
You’d think, given the reams of data generated by all of the tests administered to the modern American schoolchild, that education policymakers might occasionally be able to point to a few objective, capital-T truths.
On Sunday, the Star Tribune carried a column by Katherine Kersten in which she suggested Minnesota look to Florida as a model for education reform. I admit I started reading mostly to find out whether Kersten would make it all the way to the end of the item without name-checking her erstwhile colleague, Cheri Pierson Yecke.
Kersten and Yecke both advocated various conservative education reforms as fellows at the Center for the American Experiment in the middle of the last decade, following the Minnesota Legislature’s failure to confirm Yecke as Gov. Tim Pawlenty’s education commissioner. Among the sticking points: Yecke’s belief that creationism had a place in Minnesota’s science standards.
Examples from Gov. Bush's era
In fact Kersten’s column did not mention Yecke, who served as Florida’s chancellor of K-12 education from 2005-2007, but she did toss out some impressive examples of progress made under the leadership of former Gov. Jeb Bush, who left office in 2007, on boosting test scores and closing the achievement gap.
“In 1998, almost half of all Florida fourth-graders were functionally illiterate,” Kersten reported. “Today, 72 percent can read.” She went on to detail impressive progress on narrowing the gap among African-American and Latino fourth-graders, who she reported now outperform their Minnesota counterparts.
“Since 2000, we’ve doled out about $4 billion in compensatory aid for low-income students and for ‘integration’ revenue,” she wrote of Minnesota. “We’ve got next to nothing in the way of academic improvement to show for it.”
Minnesota, she counseled, would do well to consider Florida’s bold reforms, which include an end to social promotion, a school-grading system, financial incentives for schools and teachers, alternative teacher certification and — wait for it — vouchers.
Florida and the achievement gap
Leaving aside for the moment the fact that Minnesota and lots of other states rate schools and have experimented with merit pay with mixed results, I was curious about Kersten’s argument that Florida, where racial and ethnic minorities make up the majority of students, was ahead of much of the nation in terms of closing the gap.
After all, as she put it, “Florida’s challenges dwarf ours.”
I wish I could tell you it took days of dogged sleuthing to pull the rug out from under her argument, but Jeb Bush’s campaign to spread the good word about his reforms throughout the country has already drawn criticism from a number of fact-checkers.
Since the late 1990s, Florida’s African-American and Latino fourth-graders have made impressive strides in closing the gap, particularly in reading. But at the eighth grade, the picture is decidedly mixed. According to Education Week, the state's math scores lag slightly behind national averages and are slightly ahead in reading.
It seems the impressive fourth-grade data can be credited to the same social-promotion policy Kersten cited as an effective reform. In 2002, Florida began holding back third-grade students who performed poorly on the state reading test, including 14 percent to 23 percent of Africa-Americans and Latinos.
“This policy of screening out the weakest readers, along with the presence of unknown numbers of older grade-repeaters in the grade four samples, changes the composition of the students tested in grade four and invalidates comparisons concerning student performance as a whole as well as results concerning ethnic group achievement gaps," Madhabi Chatterji of Columbia University’s Teachers College concluded in a report released last November.
“The evidence on Florida’s … achievement trends and gaps is mixed when other grade levels and subject areas are examined between 2002 and 2009,” the report noted. “A cursory review … shows that these gap patterns are neither consistent nor as impressive as one would think if one looked only at reading in grade four.”
Grad rates and college-entrance test scores
It gets worse. Florida's graduation rate and college-entrance test scores remain among the worst in the country. State officials put the graduation rate at 71 percent, while other assessments put it below 60 percent. Small wonder: In 2004 only 42 percent of Florida high-school students were taking upper-level math courses and only 27 percent were taking upper-level science courses.
The vouchers? Tossed out by the Florida Supreme Court in 2006. Bush subsequently tried to push two constitutional amendments through the Florida statehouse, but lawmakers rejected them.
Bush’s two Republican successors have, of course, gone on to promote their own reform agendas, with talk of merit pay, voucher-like educational choice funding schemes and challenges to teachers’ unions.
Charlie Kyte, executive director of the Minnesota Association of School Administrators, pointed out that Florida’s school system has long been regarded as terrible. State leaders do deserve credit for instituting changes that sparked progress, and some of those changes probably hold lessons for Minnesota’s struggling schools. But Florida schools, he’s quick to add, still are not as good as Minnesota’s.
http://www.minnpost.com/learningcurve/2011/02/17/25870/floridas_touted_education_data_wither_under_scrutiny
Thursday, February 17, 2011
Say goodbye to textbooks
From the St. Petersburg Times
by Marlene Sokol
Get ready to say goodbye to bulky books. There's a move to go all-digital in Florida classrooms.
State education officials rolled out a five-year proposal this week that calls for all students in K-12 to use only "electronic materials" delivered by Kindles, iPads and other similar technology by 2015.
"This project reinvents the way students learn and will revolutionize instruction in Florida," says the plan presented to the state Board of Education Tuesday. Both Senate and House education committees will have hearings on the subject today.
"Digital is here. We can choose to ignore it, or we can choose to embrace it," said David Simmons, chairman of the Senate Pre-K-12 Appropriations Subcommittee. He predicted legislation would be filed after another round of committee meetings.
Many states, including Florida, are experimenting with schools going partially digital. Clearwater High School went a step further this fall, handing out Kindles to all students to use instead of textbooks.
But in the proposal, all Florida districts would begin phasing in digital-only content, first for high school students and then for all others in reading, math, science, history and language arts.
Lawmakers and state education leaders said Wednesday they were both intrigued and cautious. The proposal sparked questions about costs, capacity and whether districts were technologically advanced.
"We need robust technology... not something that is antiquated," said state Board of Education member Dr. Akshay Desai, whose three children do their reading on iPads. "We don't want something that works so slowly that the children will laugh at it."
DOE officials were not available to talk about the proposal.
Rep. Marty Kiar of Davie, the ranking Democrat on the House Pre-K-12 Appropriations Committee, said he welcomed the digital discussion but raised questions about access.
"What happens to children who are low-income or who don't have a computer?'' he asked.
Longtime Marianna educator Marti Coley, a Republican who chairs the House Pre-K-12 committee, had similar concerns. She views her committee's hearing on the plan today as a needed step.
"I want to be educated on every step of the plan," Coley said. "What are we doing to ensure that our rural communities will be able to keep up?"
Just last year, lawmakers — particularly those from more rural areas and Coley among them — balked at proposals to let school districts spend textbook funds on media technology because they worried that students did not have enough access to textbooks.
Those budget conversations in many ways laid the groundwork for this year's debate.
Simmons, at least, loves the idea. "When people across the nation look at Florida, they look to a Florida that is on the cutting edge, to be respected and looked up to," he said.
It makes sense, then, to look into how to make the move from spending about $220 million a year on paper books to a computerized format, he said.
"It is not something you do without planning."
DOE's proposal estimates the state would spend $700,000 a year to assist school districts and evaluate the materials. But it did not indicate how districts would pay for student computers or e-readers, much less make sure each student had access to online material.
Hillsborough County chief school technology officer David Steele said he would expect the initial costs of the conversion in the schools to be substantial.
But "where you save is on the replacement costs," Steele said. Even if a child loses his school-issued e-reader, "the price is barely more than one textbook," he said.
Pinellas school officials, who recently spent $1 million in outfitting schools with iPads, say if the state does adopt digital-only materials they will be better prepared having already dealt with replacing textbooks with Kindles at Clearwater High.
The first time all the students fired up their Kindles, they overwhelmed an AT&T cell tower, said John Just, assistant superintendent for management information systems.
It's also been hard to keep students away from inappropriate websites, he said, and some teachers have resisted the new format. "We answer that with training," Just said.
At the same time, Just also has heard from students about the benefits of using technology with a generation that practically lives digitally. Particularly struggling students.
On a recent visit to the campus, one student told Just, "this is the first time I ever read an entire book."
Marlene Sokol can be reached at sokol@sptimes.com or (813) 226-3356.
http://www.tampabay.com/news/education/k12/florida-looks-at-taking-school-textbooks-completely-digital-by-2015/1152138
by Marlene Sokol
Get ready to say goodbye to bulky books. There's a move to go all-digital in Florida classrooms.
State education officials rolled out a five-year proposal this week that calls for all students in K-12 to use only "electronic materials" delivered by Kindles, iPads and other similar technology by 2015.
"This project reinvents the way students learn and will revolutionize instruction in Florida," says the plan presented to the state Board of Education Tuesday. Both Senate and House education committees will have hearings on the subject today.
"Digital is here. We can choose to ignore it, or we can choose to embrace it," said David Simmons, chairman of the Senate Pre-K-12 Appropriations Subcommittee. He predicted legislation would be filed after another round of committee meetings.
Many states, including Florida, are experimenting with schools going partially digital. Clearwater High School went a step further this fall, handing out Kindles to all students to use instead of textbooks.
But in the proposal, all Florida districts would begin phasing in digital-only content, first for high school students and then for all others in reading, math, science, history and language arts.
Lawmakers and state education leaders said Wednesday they were both intrigued and cautious. The proposal sparked questions about costs, capacity and whether districts were technologically advanced.
"We need robust technology... not something that is antiquated," said state Board of Education member Dr. Akshay Desai, whose three children do their reading on iPads. "We don't want something that works so slowly that the children will laugh at it."
DOE officials were not available to talk about the proposal.
Rep. Marty Kiar of Davie, the ranking Democrat on the House Pre-K-12 Appropriations Committee, said he welcomed the digital discussion but raised questions about access.
"What happens to children who are low-income or who don't have a computer?'' he asked.
Longtime Marianna educator Marti Coley, a Republican who chairs the House Pre-K-12 committee, had similar concerns. She views her committee's hearing on the plan today as a needed step.
"I want to be educated on every step of the plan," Coley said. "What are we doing to ensure that our rural communities will be able to keep up?"
Just last year, lawmakers — particularly those from more rural areas and Coley among them — balked at proposals to let school districts spend textbook funds on media technology because they worried that students did not have enough access to textbooks.
Those budget conversations in many ways laid the groundwork for this year's debate.
Simmons, at least, loves the idea. "When people across the nation look at Florida, they look to a Florida that is on the cutting edge, to be respected and looked up to," he said.
It makes sense, then, to look into how to make the move from spending about $220 million a year on paper books to a computerized format, he said.
"It is not something you do without planning."
DOE's proposal estimates the state would spend $700,000 a year to assist school districts and evaluate the materials. But it did not indicate how districts would pay for student computers or e-readers, much less make sure each student had access to online material.
Hillsborough County chief school technology officer David Steele said he would expect the initial costs of the conversion in the schools to be substantial.
But "where you save is on the replacement costs," Steele said. Even if a child loses his school-issued e-reader, "the price is barely more than one textbook," he said.
Pinellas school officials, who recently spent $1 million in outfitting schools with iPads, say if the state does adopt digital-only materials they will be better prepared having already dealt with replacing textbooks with Kindles at Clearwater High.
The first time all the students fired up their Kindles, they overwhelmed an AT&T cell tower, said John Just, assistant superintendent for management information systems.
It's also been hard to keep students away from inappropriate websites, he said, and some teachers have resisted the new format. "We answer that with training," Just said.
At the same time, Just also has heard from students about the benefits of using technology with a generation that practically lives digitally. Particularly struggling students.
On a recent visit to the campus, one student told Just, "this is the first time I ever read an entire book."
Marlene Sokol can be reached at sokol@sptimes.com or (813) 226-3356.
http://www.tampabay.com/news/education/k12/florida-looks-at-taking-school-textbooks-completely-digital-by-2015/1152138
Tuesday, February 15, 2011
Rick Scott and his "troublesome" budget
From the Ledger.com
On Monday, Gov. Rick Scott unveiled his first state budget. Being a biennial budget, it fits the Scott mold by breaking the rules. Those in a business-world frame of mind might find such extracubular thinking brilliant.
For the business of Florida's people, there is a more stark term: unconstitutional.
The first paragraph in Section 19 of the Florida Constitution, paragraph (a), is entitled ANNUAL BUDGETING. Subsequent paragraphs specify many budgeting details. All are tied to an annual process.
If only it were as easy as ruling the budget out of bounds and having the Legislature build an appropriate budget of its own, although that is permissible.
BEWARE TRANSPLANT OPTION
Legislative budget leaders could just as readily transplant many of Scott's troubling two-year budget items into an annual form. In so doing, they would retain the essence of his budget and accomplish much of what Florida's tea party Republican governor seeks.
Budget leaders have intimated reluctance at that approach. The reason is Scott's promise of cutting taxes at the same time the state must cut a budget deficit of $3.6 billion. That may not be workable if the Legislature is to meet constitutional funding requirements and also meet constituents' expectations for state services.
Keep in mind, though, that plenty of legislators latched onto Scott's libertarian-conservative coattails during the November election. They rode right into Tallahassee with Scott. Those legislators would be likely to oppose any anti-Scott action.
TROUBLE IN TALLAHASSEE
Here are a couple of examples of why Scott's budget initiatives are troublesome.
His budget cuts more than $3 billion from education -- a 10 percent cut for each student. In Polk County, spending of $6,780.69 per student this year would be cut to $6,067.05 per student next year. Florida's public schools get the bulk of their funding from Tallahassee. Local funding must meet legislative edicts.
"That's absolutely insane," said Polk County School Board member Frank O'Reilly about Scott's education cuts. "Even before his proposed cuts, we are looking at trying to cover a $20 million-to-$25 million shortfall in the district."
As for teachers (as well as others in the state pension plan) being required to pay 5 percent of their salaries into their pensions, Marianne Capoziello, president of the Polk County Teachers Association, said: "We have done a study of teachers paying 5 percent of their wages to the state pension. Many are single parents and not the-most-well-paid. If it happens, it would take $1.9 million of discretionary spending out of the Polk County economy. The big picture is that, with this, everybody, not just teachers, suffers."
- A failure by the governor and his budget director to be forthright about which items are cuts and which are not. The governor claims to have cut $5.2 billion in "reductions and savings" in his budget. However, budget details show that Scott would transfer $1.7 billion of expenditures outside the budget while related income would remain within the budget. Senate Budget Chairman J.D. Alexander, R-Lake Wales, called the Scott administration on the subterfuge.
In testimony before the Senate Budget Committee on Wednesday, Scott Budget Director Jerry McDaniel was asked this by Alexander: "I think that's more like about $3.5 billion in reductions you're actually proposing that are real reductions inside the budget or spending reductions. Is this accurate or not?"
"Yes sir, that's accurate," said McDaniel.
From failing to meeting the most basic of constitutional requirements for an annual state budget to fudging the facts on what would be cut and what would not, Scott has proved himself untrustworthy.
Given his history of being CEO of the Columbia/HCA hospital conglomerate at a time when it committed massive Medicare fraud -- for which the company paid fines of $1.7 billion, the largest fraud fines in U.S. history, and at which time Scott resigned from the company while receiving more than $300 million in stock, options and severance pay -- we must examine Scott's every move, every proposal and every assertion.
In short, distrust and verify.
On Monday, Gov. Rick Scott unveiled his first state budget. Being a biennial budget, it fits the Scott mold by breaking the rules. Those in a business-world frame of mind might find such extracubular thinking brilliant.
For the business of Florida's people, there is a more stark term: unconstitutional.
The first paragraph in Section 19 of the Florida Constitution, paragraph (a), is entitled ANNUAL BUDGETING. Subsequent paragraphs specify many budgeting details. All are tied to an annual process.
If only it were as easy as ruling the budget out of bounds and having the Legislature build an appropriate budget of its own, although that is permissible.
BEWARE TRANSPLANT OPTION
Legislative budget leaders could just as readily transplant many of Scott's troubling two-year budget items into an annual form. In so doing, they would retain the essence of his budget and accomplish much of what Florida's tea party Republican governor seeks.
Budget leaders have intimated reluctance at that approach. The reason is Scott's promise of cutting taxes at the same time the state must cut a budget deficit of $3.6 billion. That may not be workable if the Legislature is to meet constitutional funding requirements and also meet constituents' expectations for state services.
Keep in mind, though, that plenty of legislators latched onto Scott's libertarian-conservative coattails during the November election. They rode right into Tallahassee with Scott. Those legislators would be likely to oppose any anti-Scott action.
TROUBLE IN TALLAHASSEE
Here are a couple of examples of why Scott's budget initiatives are troublesome.
His budget cuts more than $3 billion from education -- a 10 percent cut for each student. In Polk County, spending of $6,780.69 per student this year would be cut to $6,067.05 per student next year. Florida's public schools get the bulk of their funding from Tallahassee. Local funding must meet legislative edicts.
"That's absolutely insane," said Polk County School Board member Frank O'Reilly about Scott's education cuts. "Even before his proposed cuts, we are looking at trying to cover a $20 million-to-$25 million shortfall in the district."
As for teachers (as well as others in the state pension plan) being required to pay 5 percent of their salaries into their pensions, Marianne Capoziello, president of the Polk County Teachers Association, said: "We have done a study of teachers paying 5 percent of their wages to the state pension. Many are single parents and not the-most-well-paid. If it happens, it would take $1.9 million of discretionary spending out of the Polk County economy. The big picture is that, with this, everybody, not just teachers, suffers."
- A failure by the governor and his budget director to be forthright about which items are cuts and which are not. The governor claims to have cut $5.2 billion in "reductions and savings" in his budget. However, budget details show that Scott would transfer $1.7 billion of expenditures outside the budget while related income would remain within the budget. Senate Budget Chairman J.D. Alexander, R-Lake Wales, called the Scott administration on the subterfuge.
In testimony before the Senate Budget Committee on Wednesday, Scott Budget Director Jerry McDaniel was asked this by Alexander: "I think that's more like about $3.5 billion in reductions you're actually proposing that are real reductions inside the budget or spending reductions. Is this accurate or not?"
"Yes sir, that's accurate," said McDaniel.
From failing to meeting the most basic of constitutional requirements for an annual state budget to fudging the facts on what would be cut and what would not, Scott has proved himself untrustworthy.
Given his history of being CEO of the Columbia/HCA hospital conglomerate at a time when it committed massive Medicare fraud -- for which the company paid fines of $1.7 billion, the largest fraud fines in U.S. history, and at which time Scott resigned from the company while receiving more than $300 million in stock, options and severance pay -- we must examine Scott's every move, every proposal and every assertion.
In short, distrust and verify.
Wednesday, February 9, 2011
On the backs of our children and teachers, Rick Scott finds his budget cuts
From Bloomberg.com
by Bill Kaczor
TALLAHASSEE, Fla. (AP) — Florida Gov. Rick Scott's proposal to slash public school spending by at least $300 per student, and possibly much more, will mean layoffs and steep cuts in transportation, art, music, athletics and extracurricular activities, education and teachers union officials said Tuesday.
They said the layoffs also would lead to violations of the Florida Constitution's class size limits.
Even some lawmakers who advocate state spending reductions were stunned by the depth of Scott's education cuts.
"With a 10 percent reduction, I do know our (school) districts are probably feeling a little bit panicky," said Rep. Marti Coley.
The Marianna Republican, who chairs the House Prekindergarten-12 Appropriations Subcommittee, said writing an education budget based on the governor's figures "may be very challenging."
Scott on Monday rolled out a proposed $65.9 billion budget for the fiscal year beginning July 1 that would cut overall state spending by $4.6 billion while chopping taxes and fees by $1.7 billion.
Education, including public schools, colleges and universities, would bear the brunt of Scott's spending cuts by taking a $3.3 billion hit.
His plan for primary and secondary schools calls for spending $6,196 per student, a reduction of $703, or 10 percent.
The new Republican governor, though, said per student spending could go up to $6,600 — still a $300, or 4.3 percent, cut — by requiring teachers and other school employees to contribute 5 percent of their salaries to their retirement plan, saving school districts more than $519 million, and a one-time infusion of federal cash.
Florida's schools last fall received nearly $555 million from a federal jobs bill, but it must be spent on salaries in the current budget year. State officials, though, have urged school districts to use it to supplant and save state and local dollars for 2011-12. The Department of Education is conducting a survey to find out how much Florida's 67 school districts expect to save, but it will not be completed until later this month.
Even at $300 per student, Scott's proposal would lead to layoffs and program cuts, said Wayne Blanton, executive director of the Florida School Boards Association.
"I don't think we'll be transporting as many students; parents are going to have to take those responsibilities," Blanton said. "I could virtually tell you art and music are going to be on the chopping block everywhere, and they are going to be gone."
Scott dodged reporters' questions on how his proposal would affect schools after addressing the Florida Chamber of Commerce on Tuesday. Instead, he defended his spending and tax cuts as needed enticements for businesses to create more jobs in a state with a 12 percent unemployment rate.
"I think we've got to do the best we have with all the money we have to do a great job with education and get people back to work," Scott said. "Everybody's got to figure out how to do more with less. I believe our schools will do a good job."
Blanton questioned how laying off teachers will create jobs.
"We need to come to a better understanding with the governor's office on how important education is to help create jobs," Blanton said. "We shouldn't be laying people off during the time we're trying to attract business to Florida."
Scott's proposed cuts caught many school officials by surprise because just days earlier he had said: "We're going to keep the school budgets the same."
"Now, he seems to have a more nuanced view on that," said Mark Pudlow, a spokesman for the Florida Education Association, the statewide teachers union.
At a news conference Monday in Tallahassee, Scott denied he had flip-flopped, saying his no-cut promise applied only to state funds and not $872 million in federal stimulus dollars that expire after this year.
Public schools also would lose $867 million in local property tax revenues that are part of the statewide funding formula due to Scott's proposed tax cut and falling real estate values.
Hillsborough County School Superintendent MaryEllen Elia said her district, which includes Tampa, has prepared to lose the stimulus dollars.
"We have been planning with that and working very hard to weather that," Elia said. "This is beyond that."
She said her district already is running on a tight budget due to past spending cuts.
"There are very, very few places that we in Hillsborough can see that would not affect students in the classroom," she said. "It's a very, very serious concern."
Pudlow and other union officials say Scott's proposal to make state and local government employees, which includes teachers, contribute to the Florida Retirement System amounts to a 5 percent pay cut.
"This whole thing is really trying to pay down the state's debt on the back of public employees," said Pat Santeramo, president of the local teachers union in Broward County.
The Republican-controlled Legislature last year put a proposed amendment on the ballot to loosen class size requirements but voters rejected it.
Blanton said legislation is being drafted to make the limits more flexible without changing the constitution but schools still would have difficulty complying under Scott's budget proposal.
Associated Press writers Christine Armario in Miami and Brendan Farrington in Tallahassee contributed to this report.
http://www.bloomberg.com/news/2011-02-09/fla-school-leaders-gov-s-plan-would-mean-layoffs.html
by Bill Kaczor
TALLAHASSEE, Fla. (AP) — Florida Gov. Rick Scott's proposal to slash public school spending by at least $300 per student, and possibly much more, will mean layoffs and steep cuts in transportation, art, music, athletics and extracurricular activities, education and teachers union officials said Tuesday.
They said the layoffs also would lead to violations of the Florida Constitution's class size limits.
Even some lawmakers who advocate state spending reductions were stunned by the depth of Scott's education cuts.
"With a 10 percent reduction, I do know our (school) districts are probably feeling a little bit panicky," said Rep. Marti Coley.
The Marianna Republican, who chairs the House Prekindergarten-12 Appropriations Subcommittee, said writing an education budget based on the governor's figures "may be very challenging."
Scott on Monday rolled out a proposed $65.9 billion budget for the fiscal year beginning July 1 that would cut overall state spending by $4.6 billion while chopping taxes and fees by $1.7 billion.
Education, including public schools, colleges and universities, would bear the brunt of Scott's spending cuts by taking a $3.3 billion hit.
His plan for primary and secondary schools calls for spending $6,196 per student, a reduction of $703, or 10 percent.
The new Republican governor, though, said per student spending could go up to $6,600 — still a $300, or 4.3 percent, cut — by requiring teachers and other school employees to contribute 5 percent of their salaries to their retirement plan, saving school districts more than $519 million, and a one-time infusion of federal cash.
Florida's schools last fall received nearly $555 million from a federal jobs bill, but it must be spent on salaries in the current budget year. State officials, though, have urged school districts to use it to supplant and save state and local dollars for 2011-12. The Department of Education is conducting a survey to find out how much Florida's 67 school districts expect to save, but it will not be completed until later this month.
Even at $300 per student, Scott's proposal would lead to layoffs and program cuts, said Wayne Blanton, executive director of the Florida School Boards Association.
"I don't think we'll be transporting as many students; parents are going to have to take those responsibilities," Blanton said. "I could virtually tell you art and music are going to be on the chopping block everywhere, and they are going to be gone."
Scott dodged reporters' questions on how his proposal would affect schools after addressing the Florida Chamber of Commerce on Tuesday. Instead, he defended his spending and tax cuts as needed enticements for businesses to create more jobs in a state with a 12 percent unemployment rate.
"I think we've got to do the best we have with all the money we have to do a great job with education and get people back to work," Scott said. "Everybody's got to figure out how to do more with less. I believe our schools will do a good job."
Blanton questioned how laying off teachers will create jobs.
"We need to come to a better understanding with the governor's office on how important education is to help create jobs," Blanton said. "We shouldn't be laying people off during the time we're trying to attract business to Florida."
Scott's proposed cuts caught many school officials by surprise because just days earlier he had said: "We're going to keep the school budgets the same."
"Now, he seems to have a more nuanced view on that," said Mark Pudlow, a spokesman for the Florida Education Association, the statewide teachers union.
At a news conference Monday in Tallahassee, Scott denied he had flip-flopped, saying his no-cut promise applied only to state funds and not $872 million in federal stimulus dollars that expire after this year.
Public schools also would lose $867 million in local property tax revenues that are part of the statewide funding formula due to Scott's proposed tax cut and falling real estate values.
Hillsborough County School Superintendent MaryEllen Elia said her district, which includes Tampa, has prepared to lose the stimulus dollars.
"We have been planning with that and working very hard to weather that," Elia said. "This is beyond that."
She said her district already is running on a tight budget due to past spending cuts.
"There are very, very few places that we in Hillsborough can see that would not affect students in the classroom," she said. "It's a very, very serious concern."
Pudlow and other union officials say Scott's proposal to make state and local government employees, which includes teachers, contribute to the Florida Retirement System amounts to a 5 percent pay cut.
"This whole thing is really trying to pay down the state's debt on the back of public employees," said Pat Santeramo, president of the local teachers union in Broward County.
The Republican-controlled Legislature last year put a proposed amendment on the ballot to loosen class size requirements but voters rejected it.
Blanton said legislation is being drafted to make the limits more flexible without changing the constitution but schools still would have difficulty complying under Scott's budget proposal.
Associated Press writers Christine Armario in Miami and Brendan Farrington in Tallahassee contributed to this report.
http://www.bloomberg.com/news/2011-02-09/fla-school-leaders-gov-s-plan-would-mean-layoffs.html
Devastating budget cuts coming to St. Johns county
From the St. Augustine Record
By MARCIA LANE
St. Johns County School Superintendent Joe Joyner says proposed cuts by Gov. Rick Scott would mean about $12 million less for local schools next year.
"Obviously it's going to be devastating," Joyner said Tuesday after officials reviewed the governor's proposed budget. Cuts can be expected across the board, he said.
State Rep. Bill Proctor, R-St. Augustine, isn't willing to predict if the governor will get the kinds of cuts he wants, but says some cuts will be made.
He predicted human services (40.5 percent of the budget), education (32 percent) and public safety (7.1 percent) will all face cuts.
"Those three major priorities make up 79.6 percent of the budget. Now how are you going to reduce the budget by $5 billion (by making cuts) on just the remaining 20 percent?" Proctor said.
Proctor said it was "too early" and "premature" to predict what the final version of the state's budget will look like. Committee hearings, testimony and analysis will be required before the legislature comes up with their version, he said.
"I've never seen a governor's budget strictly followed," Proctor said, when asked if the governor would get exactly what he was asking for.
Local school officials were also using the words "too early" and "premature" to describe what cuts will have to be made, but there's no doubt some cuts will have to be made. Joyner said there is not enough money in the district's contingency fund to absorb the governor's proposed cuts.
The governor's proposal shows St. Johns County with a reduction of $16.3 million and also a reduction in the district contribution to the Florida Retirement System of $4.3 million, said Conley Weiss, the district's chief financial officer. The difference amounts to the $12 million expected cut.
"There's a reduction in revenue and a corresponding reduction in expenses," Weiss said, adding the governor's plan assumes all school personnel will be paying 5 percent of their own retirement cost. The full 9 percent is now paid by the district.
If the retirement system changes, school employees will see a 5 percent cut in their take-home pay.
Joyner said the $12 million cut would be felt in all areas.
"You would obviously see decreases in programs, staffing and teachers," Joyner said.
Adding to local concerns is that St. Johns County is the second fastest growing school district in the state and demands for services keep growing. Since 2007 the district has grown from about 27,868 students to a predicted 31,416 for the 2011-2012 school year.
http://staugustine.com/news/local-news/2011-02-08/superintendent-proposed-cuts-devastating
By MARCIA LANE
St. Johns County School Superintendent Joe Joyner says proposed cuts by Gov. Rick Scott would mean about $12 million less for local schools next year.
"Obviously it's going to be devastating," Joyner said Tuesday after officials reviewed the governor's proposed budget. Cuts can be expected across the board, he said.
State Rep. Bill Proctor, R-St. Augustine, isn't willing to predict if the governor will get the kinds of cuts he wants, but says some cuts will be made.
He predicted human services (40.5 percent of the budget), education (32 percent) and public safety (7.1 percent) will all face cuts.
"Those three major priorities make up 79.6 percent of the budget. Now how are you going to reduce the budget by $5 billion (by making cuts) on just the remaining 20 percent?" Proctor said.
Proctor said it was "too early" and "premature" to predict what the final version of the state's budget will look like. Committee hearings, testimony and analysis will be required before the legislature comes up with their version, he said.
"I've never seen a governor's budget strictly followed," Proctor said, when asked if the governor would get exactly what he was asking for.
Local school officials were also using the words "too early" and "premature" to describe what cuts will have to be made, but there's no doubt some cuts will have to be made. Joyner said there is not enough money in the district's contingency fund to absorb the governor's proposed cuts.
The governor's proposal shows St. Johns County with a reduction of $16.3 million and also a reduction in the district contribution to the Florida Retirement System of $4.3 million, said Conley Weiss, the district's chief financial officer. The difference amounts to the $12 million expected cut.
"There's a reduction in revenue and a corresponding reduction in expenses," Weiss said, adding the governor's plan assumes all school personnel will be paying 5 percent of their own retirement cost. The full 9 percent is now paid by the district.
If the retirement system changes, school employees will see a 5 percent cut in their take-home pay.
Joyner said the $12 million cut would be felt in all areas.
"You would obviously see decreases in programs, staffing and teachers," Joyner said.
Adding to local concerns is that St. Johns County is the second fastest growing school district in the state and demands for services keep growing. Since 2007 the district has grown from about 27,868 students to a predicted 31,416 for the 2011-2012 school year.
http://staugustine.com/news/local-news/2011-02-08/superintendent-proposed-cuts-devastating
Tuesday, February 8, 2011
Get Ready for Massive Teacher Layoffs
From the SunSentinel.com
by By Leslie Postal and Dave Weber,
If Gov. Rick Scott's proposed budget were to stand, Florida schools would suffer widespread layoffs and other devastating cutbacks, educators warned on Monday.
The governor's proposal would cut $3.3 billion from education spending and reduce funding for each student in public schools by about $700.
Under Scott's plan, teachers would help offset some of those cuts by being forced to contribute 5 percent of their salaries to their pensions.
But even then, Florida's school districts would face a "huge cut" for the school year that begins in July, said Wayne Blanton, executive director of the Florida School Boards Association.
"If this were the final budget, which it's not, it would be massive layoffs and a total inability to meet class-size requirements."
Scott's budget unveiling left many Broward and Palm Beach county educators worried — and frustrated. The governor's budget website kept crashing, making it hard for some to see the documents, and he also changed the names of budget categories, making it hard to compare his spending plan to those from previous years.
But the bottom line is: All education spending would decrease more than $3 billion, with colleges and universities also taking a big hit. Per-student funding could fall to below $6,200, compared with $7,306 in 2007, without the money from the pension fund change.
Broward Schools Superintendent James Notter said on Monday that it will be good to be working with solid numbers and not just the threat of cutbacks.
Palm Beach County schools are preparing for a possible "worst-case scenario" budget shortfall of up to $174.2 million and a stronger potential for layoffs, based in part on the governor's budget proposal.
School district officials say the "best-case scenario" is a $71.6 million budget shortfall, if lawmakers wind up adopting a budget that resembles one requested by the state Board of Education.
Both shortfall figures represent $70.4 million in rising costs, including class-size reduction needs, and the loss of $38.8 million in federal stimulus funds.
"Those are big numbers," Chief Financial Officer Michael Burke told the School Board in his latest analysis, prepared before the governor's announcement. "In the last few years we've done everything we can to protect the classroom."
Administrators have not yet determined how to reduce spending to make up for potential shortfalls and rising costs.
"We have not resorted to layoffs to date but that's obviously going to be quite a challenge going forward," Burke said. "It's going to be a difficult budget process."Blanton said his message to educators now is, "don't panic." That's because the Florida Legislature sets the budget, and other spending proposals will be debated before a state budget is finalized this spring.
Scott unveiled his spending plan at a tea party rally in Lake County, calling it a "jobs budget" that would cut state spending and taxes and help boost Florida's sputtering economy. His proposal would cut property taxes that support public education by about $1.4 billion.
During his campaign, Scott pledged to hold education harmless, even with the tax cut.
On Monday he said his proposal accomplished that goal because school funding from the state's general revenue account would stay the same. But since his budget does not replace federal stimulus money that had been shoring up public schools for the past two years, it would leave school districts with far fewer dollars to spend.
"Gov. Scott's math does not add up," said the group Fund Education Now, founded by three Orlando mothers angry about Florida's investment in education.
The group said cutting school taxes would be a "catastrophic strike to the core functions of public schools."
Aaron Deslatte of the Orlando Sentinel and Marc Freeman and Rafael Olmeda of the Sun Sentinel contributed to this story. Leslie Postal can be reached at lpostal@orlandosentinel.com or 407-420-5273. Dave Weber can be reached at dweber@orlandosentinel.com or 407-883-7885.
http://www.sun-sentinel.com/news/florida/fl-scott-budget-education-palm-20110207,0,326649.story
by By Leslie Postal and Dave Weber,
If Gov. Rick Scott's proposed budget were to stand, Florida schools would suffer widespread layoffs and other devastating cutbacks, educators warned on Monday.
The governor's proposal would cut $3.3 billion from education spending and reduce funding for each student in public schools by about $700.
Under Scott's plan, teachers would help offset some of those cuts by being forced to contribute 5 percent of their salaries to their pensions.
But even then, Florida's school districts would face a "huge cut" for the school year that begins in July, said Wayne Blanton, executive director of the Florida School Boards Association.
"If this were the final budget, which it's not, it would be massive layoffs and a total inability to meet class-size requirements."
Scott's budget unveiling left many Broward and Palm Beach county educators worried — and frustrated. The governor's budget website kept crashing, making it hard for some to see the documents, and he also changed the names of budget categories, making it hard to compare his spending plan to those from previous years.
But the bottom line is: All education spending would decrease more than $3 billion, with colleges and universities also taking a big hit. Per-student funding could fall to below $6,200, compared with $7,306 in 2007, without the money from the pension fund change.
Broward Schools Superintendent James Notter said on Monday that it will be good to be working with solid numbers and not just the threat of cutbacks.
Palm Beach County schools are preparing for a possible "worst-case scenario" budget shortfall of up to $174.2 million and a stronger potential for layoffs, based in part on the governor's budget proposal.
School district officials say the "best-case scenario" is a $71.6 million budget shortfall, if lawmakers wind up adopting a budget that resembles one requested by the state Board of Education.
Both shortfall figures represent $70.4 million in rising costs, including class-size reduction needs, and the loss of $38.8 million in federal stimulus funds.
"Those are big numbers," Chief Financial Officer Michael Burke told the School Board in his latest analysis, prepared before the governor's announcement. "In the last few years we've done everything we can to protect the classroom."
Administrators have not yet determined how to reduce spending to make up for potential shortfalls and rising costs.
"We have not resorted to layoffs to date but that's obviously going to be quite a challenge going forward," Burke said. "It's going to be a difficult budget process."Blanton said his message to educators now is, "don't panic." That's because the Florida Legislature sets the budget, and other spending proposals will be debated before a state budget is finalized this spring.
Scott unveiled his spending plan at a tea party rally in Lake County, calling it a "jobs budget" that would cut state spending and taxes and help boost Florida's sputtering economy. His proposal would cut property taxes that support public education by about $1.4 billion.
During his campaign, Scott pledged to hold education harmless, even with the tax cut.
On Monday he said his proposal accomplished that goal because school funding from the state's general revenue account would stay the same. But since his budget does not replace federal stimulus money that had been shoring up public schools for the past two years, it would leave school districts with far fewer dollars to spend.
"Gov. Scott's math does not add up," said the group Fund Education Now, founded by three Orlando mothers angry about Florida's investment in education.
The group said cutting school taxes would be a "catastrophic strike to the core functions of public schools."
Aaron Deslatte of the Orlando Sentinel and Marc Freeman and Rafael Olmeda of the Sun Sentinel contributed to this story. Leslie Postal can be reached at lpostal@orlandosentinel.com or 407-420-5273. Dave Weber can be reached at dweber@orlandosentinel.com or 407-883-7885.
http://www.sun-sentinel.com/news/florida/fl-scott-budget-education-palm-20110207,0,326649.story
Monday, February 7, 2011
Rick Scott: Billions with a B, in cuts to education
From the Miami herald
By Mack Caputo
EUSTIS – At a highly partisan tea-party event, Gov. Rick Scott unveiled his first budget proposal that makes good on his promises to slash the size and spending of government.
Scott proposed spending almost $66 billion -- $4.6 billion less next budget year compared to this year. Scott also wants to eliminate nearly 8,700 state positions, many of them filled by current state workers.
Though cutting those state jobs would add to the state’s unemployment rate, Scott indicated that the best way to grow the state’s economy was through his “jobs budget” that shrinks state government and cutting nearly $1.4 billion in property and corporate-income taxes.
“As long as 1.1 million Floridians are out of work, we can't afford a government that runs wild with taxes, regulations and excessive spending,” Scott told the enthusiastic crowd of a thousand conservative activists.
“Reviewing a governmental budget is much like going through the attic in an old home. You come across some priceless things you need to protect,” Scott said. “But there are a lot of odd things someone once thought we needed. Much of it we’ve outgrown. And it just doesn’t fit anymore. Over the last month, I’ve spent a lot of time in that attic. And I’m cleaning it out.”
But critics say he’s burning down the house.
State Sen. Eleanor Sobel, D-Hollywood, noted the big cuts to education: $3.3 to $4.8 billion, depending on which section of the budget is included. She said that would hurt the state’s kids and the state’s business climate.
“The number one question business ask when they come here is how is the education system,” Sobel said. “If you’re cutting money at that level, you’re not going to attract the kind of businesses that we want to have.”
Scott is reducing per-pupil spending by $703 – a 10 percent reduction. But school boards say the governor’s office has informed them that, since he’s proposing to reduce taxpayer-backed pension costs, school boards can use the savings to boost spending.
Overall, Scott is proposing a modest increase in healthcare spending -- $690 million – but it’s unclear if that would represent a reduction in the Medicaid program, which is growing faster than state tax collections.
Scott isn’t shrinking all government services, though. He’s increasing the small size of the staff of the Executive Office of the Governor, for instance.
The budget roll-out, which previous governors have done in the state Capitol, had the look and feel of a highly partisan, heavily scripted campaign event. The venue underscored Scott's eagerness to make what is normally a staid, policy-laden event into one that turned the budget into a political declaration.
Inside the cavernous First Baptist Church of Eustis, Scott stood in front of a made-for-TV backdrop that said "Reducing Spending & Holding Government Accountable."
The church, which seats 800, was filled to overflowing, and people waved miniature American flags and sang God Bless the USA and God Bless America.
Warmup speakers criticized President Obama, Secretary of State Hillary Clinton and U.S. Sen. Bill Nelson, and praised Roger Vinson, the federal judge in Pensacola who last week struck down the Obama health plan as unconstitutional.
Before the public event, Scott hosted a private lunch for Tea Party activists at a nearby civic center.
Within an hour of posting the budget online at the governor's LetsGetToWork.net site, the site crashed. The governor's office reported that the system couldn't handle the more than 50,000 simultaneous users.
Corrections loses most staff under Scott's budget, with 1690 jobs eliminated. But rather than reduce the prision program by $1 billion, as Scott suggested on the campaign trail, the budget measure just a $82 million reduction in spending over the goveronr's first year.
Scott noted that many state workers will complain about the reductions but, he told supporters, "What we have to remember is we're doing this for the sake of our children and grandchildren."
Senate President Mike Haridopolos complimented Scott on his budget but refrained from expressing whether he thought Scott's budget was realistic.
“It’s impressive that after one month on the job Governor Scott has prepared a comprehensive budget so quickly,'' Haridopolos said in a statement. "... I also thank Governor Scott for unveiling his proposed budget directly to the people so that he can get feedback from the citizens of Florida.”
Read more: http://miamiherald.typepad.com/nakedpolitics/2011/02/a-first-take-of-rick-scotts-budget.html#ixzz1DK7xuIi0
By Mack Caputo
EUSTIS – At a highly partisan tea-party event, Gov. Rick Scott unveiled his first budget proposal that makes good on his promises to slash the size and spending of government.
Scott proposed spending almost $66 billion -- $4.6 billion less next budget year compared to this year. Scott also wants to eliminate nearly 8,700 state positions, many of them filled by current state workers.
Though cutting those state jobs would add to the state’s unemployment rate, Scott indicated that the best way to grow the state’s economy was through his “jobs budget” that shrinks state government and cutting nearly $1.4 billion in property and corporate-income taxes.
“As long as 1.1 million Floridians are out of work, we can't afford a government that runs wild with taxes, regulations and excessive spending,” Scott told the enthusiastic crowd of a thousand conservative activists.
“Reviewing a governmental budget is much like going through the attic in an old home. You come across some priceless things you need to protect,” Scott said. “But there are a lot of odd things someone once thought we needed. Much of it we’ve outgrown. And it just doesn’t fit anymore. Over the last month, I’ve spent a lot of time in that attic. And I’m cleaning it out.”
But critics say he’s burning down the house.
State Sen. Eleanor Sobel, D-Hollywood, noted the big cuts to education: $3.3 to $4.8 billion, depending on which section of the budget is included. She said that would hurt the state’s kids and the state’s business climate.
“The number one question business ask when they come here is how is the education system,” Sobel said. “If you’re cutting money at that level, you’re not going to attract the kind of businesses that we want to have.”
Scott is reducing per-pupil spending by $703 – a 10 percent reduction. But school boards say the governor’s office has informed them that, since he’s proposing to reduce taxpayer-backed pension costs, school boards can use the savings to boost spending.
Overall, Scott is proposing a modest increase in healthcare spending -- $690 million – but it’s unclear if that would represent a reduction in the Medicaid program, which is growing faster than state tax collections.
Scott isn’t shrinking all government services, though. He’s increasing the small size of the staff of the Executive Office of the Governor, for instance.
The budget roll-out, which previous governors have done in the state Capitol, had the look and feel of a highly partisan, heavily scripted campaign event. The venue underscored Scott's eagerness to make what is normally a staid, policy-laden event into one that turned the budget into a political declaration.
Inside the cavernous First Baptist Church of Eustis, Scott stood in front of a made-for-TV backdrop that said "Reducing Spending & Holding Government Accountable."
The church, which seats 800, was filled to overflowing, and people waved miniature American flags and sang God Bless the USA and God Bless America.
Warmup speakers criticized President Obama, Secretary of State Hillary Clinton and U.S. Sen. Bill Nelson, and praised Roger Vinson, the federal judge in Pensacola who last week struck down the Obama health plan as unconstitutional.
Before the public event, Scott hosted a private lunch for Tea Party activists at a nearby civic center.
Within an hour of posting the budget online at the governor's LetsGetToWork.net site, the site crashed. The governor's office reported that the system couldn't handle the more than 50,000 simultaneous users.
Corrections loses most staff under Scott's budget, with 1690 jobs eliminated. But rather than reduce the prision program by $1 billion, as Scott suggested on the campaign trail, the budget measure just a $82 million reduction in spending over the goveronr's first year.
Scott noted that many state workers will complain about the reductions but, he told supporters, "What we have to remember is we're doing this for the sake of our children and grandchildren."
Senate President Mike Haridopolos complimented Scott on his budget but refrained from expressing whether he thought Scott's budget was realistic.
“It’s impressive that after one month on the job Governor Scott has prepared a comprehensive budget so quickly,'' Haridopolos said in a statement. "... I also thank Governor Scott for unveiling his proposed budget directly to the people so that he can get feedback from the citizens of Florida.”
Read more: http://miamiherald.typepad.com/nakedpolitics/2011/02/a-first-take-of-rick-scotts-budget.html#ixzz1DK7xuIi0
Tuesday, February 1, 2011
The Cousin of Senate Bill 6
From the Sherman Dorn Blog
by Sherman Dorn
Florida state Senator Wise has filed Senate Bill 736, the first bill to be filed as a successor to last year's vetoed Senate Bill 6. At a quick run-through, it has performance pay and some state-level evaluation requirements, both of which are more flexible than the language in last year's Senate Bill 6 and, at least for the evaluation part, has an important section that sunsets in a few years and thus will force the legislature to revisit the issue (a very healthy thing). It eliminates continuing contracts for new hires, which is similar to SB 6 and does not include the three-year contracts that's in the bill language floated over the past few months by Patricia Levesque. It is also mostly restricted to those issues, unlike the sprawling SB 6.
For the past few months, I'd been talking with colleagues and friends about expecting Son of Senate Bill 6. It's not that close–more like Cousin of SB 6. Of course, it may well change in committee hearings, on the floor, or in negotiations with the Florida House over whatever bill the lower chamber approves. So we may well have Gene-Spliced Relative of SB 6 by the time the legislative session is done.
http://shermandorn.com/wordpress/?p=3166
by Sherman Dorn
Florida state Senator Wise has filed Senate Bill 736, the first bill to be filed as a successor to last year's vetoed Senate Bill 6. At a quick run-through, it has performance pay and some state-level evaluation requirements, both of which are more flexible than the language in last year's Senate Bill 6 and, at least for the evaluation part, has an important section that sunsets in a few years and thus will force the legislature to revisit the issue (a very healthy thing). It eliminates continuing contracts for new hires, which is similar to SB 6 and does not include the three-year contracts that's in the bill language floated over the past few months by Patricia Levesque. It is also mostly restricted to those issues, unlike the sprawling SB 6.
For the past few months, I'd been talking with colleagues and friends about expecting Son of Senate Bill 6. It's not that close–more like Cousin of SB 6. Of course, it may well change in committee hearings, on the floor, or in negotiations with the Florida House over whatever bill the lower chamber approves. So we may well have Gene-Spliced Relative of SB 6 by the time the legislative session is done.
http://shermandorn.com/wordpress/?p=3166
Friday, January 28, 2011
What are Florida's parents and teachers waiting for???
communications@btuonline.com
BY PAT SANTERAMO
With state legislators already drafting legislation that will impact public schools, the time to discuss education reform is now, not the legislative session's first day. For those who follow trends in education reform, much of the debate centers on increasing performance pay and ending tenure for teachers. Sadly, few people want to discuss equally important issues such as school funding and student poverty.
Florida's education reformers must be willing to discuss all of the issues affecting our schools and not just politically trendy topics that research demonstrates will do little to improve student achievement. The reality is no quick fix exists for public schools. The only way sustainable reform can take place is if all stakeholders including educators, parents, elected officials and community members take action.
Gov. Rick Scott recently named Michelle Rhee, who resigned as superintendent of the District of Columbia's public schools before she could be fired, as his education-reform advisor. Floridians should know that Rhee publicly admitted to taping her students' mouths shut, causing them to bleed, when she was a teacher. This alone would have caused Florida teachers to be suspended or fired. Rhee also described swallowing a bee in front of her students.
During the coming months, Floridians will hear from Scott and Rhee about merit pay. Elected politicians who maintain veto-proof control of the Legislature also want to tie teacher salaries to student learning. Teachers are more than willing to discuss raising their salaries, which remain 28th in the nation, including performance pay.
Even so, when it comes to tying teacher salaries to test scores, research has shown that teachers do not control about 60 percent of the factors that influence student learning. Achievement is impacted significantly by what occurs in the students' lives outside of the classroom. Vanderbilt University studied 300 teachers who received an additional $15,000 in salary if they raised student test scores. After three years, the students' test scores of teachers receiving merit pay was no different than the students of teachers who did not receive more pay.
Successful merit pay requires student performance assessments to consider a variety of measures including attendance, ongoing classroom assessments, traditional letter grades, academic portfolios, and yes, even test scores. Reformers must recognize that teachers are already doing everything they can despite severe budget cuts to increase student achievement without performance pay. Florida schools are not filled with bad teachers.
Reformers such as Rhee also talk about ending teacher tenure as a solution to public schools' problems. Tenure provides teachers with the right to due process so they cannot be fired arbitrarily. It does not mean they have a job for life.
Teachers do not give themselves tenure. After a teacher has worked successfully for several years, administrators decide which teachers deserve this protection.
Rather than ending tenure, reform should study improving teacher evaluations. Currently, most administrators conduct quick drive-by evaluations that provide teachers with little feedback that they can use to improve. By making evaluations more transparent and objective, teachers will have the opportunity to learn better ways to increase student achievement.
If Scott, Rhee and elected officials want Florida's schools to rise to the very top in the nation, then they cannot continue to provide funding at the very bottom of all states. Good schools cost money.
Reducing child poverty also must be a priority as research shows students who live in low socio-economic conditions suffer academically. Nearly 66 percent of Broward County's 281 schools are considered Title I, which means a majority of the students come from low income families. Miami-Dade County has 328 Title I schools.
Education reform cannot be dictated from Tallahassee. Increasing student achievement must be based on research and best practices that have been proven to work rather than political rhetoric. If we hope to achieve long-term school improvement than teachers, parents, elected leaders and community stakeholders must be involved in the process.
Pat Santeramo is the president of the Broward Teachers Union and a vice president of the American Federation of Teachers.
Read more: http://www.miamiherald.com/2011/01/28/2038563/public-should-engage-now.html#ixzz1COKLgnWa
BY PAT SANTERAMO
With state legislators already drafting legislation that will impact public schools, the time to discuss education reform is now, not the legislative session's first day. For those who follow trends in education reform, much of the debate centers on increasing performance pay and ending tenure for teachers. Sadly, few people want to discuss equally important issues such as school funding and student poverty.
Florida's education reformers must be willing to discuss all of the issues affecting our schools and not just politically trendy topics that research demonstrates will do little to improve student achievement. The reality is no quick fix exists for public schools. The only way sustainable reform can take place is if all stakeholders including educators, parents, elected officials and community members take action.
Gov. Rick Scott recently named Michelle Rhee, who resigned as superintendent of the District of Columbia's public schools before she could be fired, as his education-reform advisor. Floridians should know that Rhee publicly admitted to taping her students' mouths shut, causing them to bleed, when she was a teacher. This alone would have caused Florida teachers to be suspended or fired. Rhee also described swallowing a bee in front of her students.
During the coming months, Floridians will hear from Scott and Rhee about merit pay. Elected politicians who maintain veto-proof control of the Legislature also want to tie teacher salaries to student learning. Teachers are more than willing to discuss raising their salaries, which remain 28th in the nation, including performance pay.
Even so, when it comes to tying teacher salaries to test scores, research has shown that teachers do not control about 60 percent of the factors that influence student learning. Achievement is impacted significantly by what occurs in the students' lives outside of the classroom. Vanderbilt University studied 300 teachers who received an additional $15,000 in salary if they raised student test scores. After three years, the students' test scores of teachers receiving merit pay was no different than the students of teachers who did not receive more pay.
Successful merit pay requires student performance assessments to consider a variety of measures including attendance, ongoing classroom assessments, traditional letter grades, academic portfolios, and yes, even test scores. Reformers must recognize that teachers are already doing everything they can despite severe budget cuts to increase student achievement without performance pay. Florida schools are not filled with bad teachers.
Reformers such as Rhee also talk about ending teacher tenure as a solution to public schools' problems. Tenure provides teachers with the right to due process so they cannot be fired arbitrarily. It does not mean they have a job for life.
Teachers do not give themselves tenure. After a teacher has worked successfully for several years, administrators decide which teachers deserve this protection.
Rather than ending tenure, reform should study improving teacher evaluations. Currently, most administrators conduct quick drive-by evaluations that provide teachers with little feedback that they can use to improve. By making evaluations more transparent and objective, teachers will have the opportunity to learn better ways to increase student achievement.
If Scott, Rhee and elected officials want Florida's schools to rise to the very top in the nation, then they cannot continue to provide funding at the very bottom of all states. Good schools cost money.
Reducing child poverty also must be a priority as research shows students who live in low socio-economic conditions suffer academically. Nearly 66 percent of Broward County's 281 schools are considered Title I, which means a majority of the students come from low income families. Miami-Dade County has 328 Title I schools.
Education reform cannot be dictated from Tallahassee. Increasing student achievement must be based on research and best practices that have been proven to work rather than political rhetoric. If we hope to achieve long-term school improvement than teachers, parents, elected leaders and community stakeholders must be involved in the process.
Pat Santeramo is the president of the Broward Teachers Union and a vice president of the American Federation of Teachers.
Read more: http://www.miamiherald.com/2011/01/28/2038563/public-should-engage-now.html#ixzz1COKLgnWa
Thursday, January 27, 2011
Merit pay should mirror district goals
From the Florida Tribune
by Kim MacQueen
It was Teacher Merit Pay Day in the Florida Legislature Wednesday as both the House and Senate hosted members and visitors to help flesh out "Son of Senate Bill 6" as it's drafted.
The measure currently under discussion in both houses would use as a blueprint a plan developed by Foundation for Florida's Future Executive Director Patricia Levesque in concert with the Florida Association of District School Superintendents and other education officials. A more moderate version of last year's controversial SB 6, the plan calls for teacher pay to be predicated on performance and student learning gains. It also calls for annual contracts for new teachers and three-year contract renewals for veteran teachers, and stipulates that pay increases can only be given to teachers deemed "effective" or "highly effective."
Then-Gov. Charlie Crist vetoed SB 6, but Gov. Rick Scott has said he will support similar legislation.
Legislators have already heard suggestions from Florida Education Commissioner Eric Smith and others that this year's bill should closely mirror the district goals already in place under the national Race to the Top grant program. Senate Education PreK-12 Committee Chair Stephen Wise, R-Jacksonville, indicated today that he's gotten the message. As it heads into bill drafting, Wise said he's calling it the "Race to the Top" bill.
Among those testifying Wednesday included Kay McGannon, advocacy director for the organization Stand for Children in Colorado, where a similar measure passed last year, as well as district representatives who warned legislators to tread with care.
"You have got to get buy-in not just from teachers, but from every employee," said Pasco Schools Superintendent Heather Fiorentino. She also asked legislators to "make sure it's fully funded" and "make sure it doesn't add additional strain" to districts in tight budget times.
A House panel heard from Smith, Florida Association of District School Superintendents representative Joy Frank, Florida Education Association President Andy Ford and others for nearly three hours of testimony on how to best craft the bill.
Ford indicated that collaboration and local solutions are keys to the success of educational reform, noting that "I don't believe we should demolish the system we have in place. It needs some fine tuning. I don't believe we should accept that our public schools are failing because I don't think that's true."
Smith pointed to comprehensive evaluation as key to making the bill work. Speaking specifically about the current process for teacher evaluations that lead to removal, he said "it's very cumbersome, frequently confrontational, lengthy and often leads to lawsuits."
"Evaluation is central to how we proceed," he said.
Originally published in the Florida Current - exclusively distributed via Lobbytools - Florida's Premiere Legislative and Media Monitoring Service.
by Kim MacQueen
It was Teacher Merit Pay Day in the Florida Legislature Wednesday as both the House and Senate hosted members and visitors to help flesh out "Son of Senate Bill 6" as it's drafted.
The measure currently under discussion in both houses would use as a blueprint a plan developed by Foundation for Florida's Future Executive Director Patricia Levesque in concert with the Florida Association of District School Superintendents and other education officials. A more moderate version of last year's controversial SB 6, the plan calls for teacher pay to be predicated on performance and student learning gains. It also calls for annual contracts for new teachers and three-year contract renewals for veteran teachers, and stipulates that pay increases can only be given to teachers deemed "effective" or "highly effective."
Then-Gov. Charlie Crist vetoed SB 6, but Gov. Rick Scott has said he will support similar legislation.
Legislators have already heard suggestions from Florida Education Commissioner Eric Smith and others that this year's bill should closely mirror the district goals already in place under the national Race to the Top grant program. Senate Education PreK-12 Committee Chair Stephen Wise, R-Jacksonville, indicated today that he's gotten the message. As it heads into bill drafting, Wise said he's calling it the "Race to the Top" bill.
Among those testifying Wednesday included Kay McGannon, advocacy director for the organization Stand for Children in Colorado, where a similar measure passed last year, as well as district representatives who warned legislators to tread with care.
"You have got to get buy-in not just from teachers, but from every employee," said Pasco Schools Superintendent Heather Fiorentino. She also asked legislators to "make sure it's fully funded" and "make sure it doesn't add additional strain" to districts in tight budget times.
A House panel heard from Smith, Florida Association of District School Superintendents representative Joy Frank, Florida Education Association President Andy Ford and others for nearly three hours of testimony on how to best craft the bill.
Ford indicated that collaboration and local solutions are keys to the success of educational reform, noting that "I don't believe we should demolish the system we have in place. It needs some fine tuning. I don't believe we should accept that our public schools are failing because I don't think that's true."
Smith pointed to comprehensive evaluation as key to making the bill work. Speaking specifically about the current process for teacher evaluations that lead to removal, he said "it's very cumbersome, frequently confrontational, lengthy and often leads to lawsuits."
"Evaluation is central to how we proceed," he said.
Originally published in the Florida Current - exclusively distributed via Lobbytools - Florida's Premiere Legislative and Media Monitoring Service.
What is going on with merit pay?
From the Orland Sentinel
by Leslie Postal
Crafting a teacher merit-pay bill for Florida this spring is "not going to be like last time," a key state lawmaker promised today.
State Sen. Steve Wise, whose education committee will devise a bill to be considered by the Florida Legislature, said he does not want a repeat of last year's fierce fight.
"We are going to have input, and we're going to have serious discussion, and it's not going to be like last time," said the Jacksonville Republican today at a Senate education committee meeting.
Wise, who is the committee chairman, said that in tackling what was one of the most divisive issues of the legislature's 2010 session, his committee will devise a "thoughtful" bill that aims to boost teacher quality by changing how teachers are evaluated and paid.
The committee this morning heard from five Florida school superintendents, two teachers union leaders and two advocacy groups. Orange Superintendent Ron Blocker was to be among those sharing his thoughts, but his flight to Tallahassee on Tuesday night was cancelled because of stormy weather.
Friday, the committee is hosting a six-hour workshop in Tallahassee so the public can give testimony on the controversial topic.
"What a difference a year makes. I want to thank you for the openness," said Andy Ford, president of the Florida Education Association, speaking at this morning's meeting.
Last year, the Legislature adopted a sweeping merit-pay bill that would have scrapped traditional teacher pay plans in favor of a system that tied their compensation mostly to student performance on standardized tests.
The statewide teachers union called the bill "radical legislation" and decried the way it was created.
Former Gov. Charlie Crist, whose office was bombarded with letters and calls in opposition to Senate Bill 6, vetoed the legislation in April, calling it "significantly flawed" and complaining it had "sped through" the legislature with little time for input from educators.
Bay Superintendent Bill Husfelt told the committee that "Senate Bill 6 has put a fear in the heart of teachers."
Husfelt urged the committee to devise a new bill that followed the plans districts agreed to when they signed onto the state's Race to the Top grant application. Florida Education Commissioner Eric Smith has previously made the same recommendation to Wise's committee.
Florida won $700 million in the federal grant competition in part by agreeing to devise merit pay plans. But those plans give each district more leeway to set up their own systems and, while they must use data from student tests scores, they do not rely on them as heavily as was outlined in the vetoed bill.
"If whatever you come up with doesn't very closely mirror Race to the Top, there's going to be a lot of crying and bickering and fighting," Husfelt added, noting that districts and their teachers unions are already working together on those plans.
Pasco Superintendent Heather Fiorentino urged lawmakers to be mindful that any new legislation that cost money might be hard to implement in a year when education budget cuts loom.
"Last time we saw a bill like this it was, 'Take additional money out of what you already have'," she said.
That will be tough when "everyone is short, and we all have to live within our means," she added.
A House education subcommittee, which would likely consider the House version of any merit-pay bill, is meeting this afternoon to also hear testimony on "instructional quality."
Leslie Postal can be reached at lpostal@orlandosentinel.com or 407-420-5273.
http://www.orlandosentinel.com/news/education/os-florida-merit-pay-superintendents-20110126,0,6284635.story
by Leslie Postal
Crafting a teacher merit-pay bill for Florida this spring is "not going to be like last time," a key state lawmaker promised today.
State Sen. Steve Wise, whose education committee will devise a bill to be considered by the Florida Legislature, said he does not want a repeat of last year's fierce fight.
"We are going to have input, and we're going to have serious discussion, and it's not going to be like last time," said the Jacksonville Republican today at a Senate education committee meeting.
Wise, who is the committee chairman, said that in tackling what was one of the most divisive issues of the legislature's 2010 session, his committee will devise a "thoughtful" bill that aims to boost teacher quality by changing how teachers are evaluated and paid.
The committee this morning heard from five Florida school superintendents, two teachers union leaders and two advocacy groups. Orange Superintendent Ron Blocker was to be among those sharing his thoughts, but his flight to Tallahassee on Tuesday night was cancelled because of stormy weather.
Friday, the committee is hosting a six-hour workshop in Tallahassee so the public can give testimony on the controversial topic.
"What a difference a year makes. I want to thank you for the openness," said Andy Ford, president of the Florida Education Association, speaking at this morning's meeting.
Last year, the Legislature adopted a sweeping merit-pay bill that would have scrapped traditional teacher pay plans in favor of a system that tied their compensation mostly to student performance on standardized tests.
The statewide teachers union called the bill "radical legislation" and decried the way it was created.
Former Gov. Charlie Crist, whose office was bombarded with letters and calls in opposition to Senate Bill 6, vetoed the legislation in April, calling it "significantly flawed" and complaining it had "sped through" the legislature with little time for input from educators.
Bay Superintendent Bill Husfelt told the committee that "Senate Bill 6 has put a fear in the heart of teachers."
Husfelt urged the committee to devise a new bill that followed the plans districts agreed to when they signed onto the state's Race to the Top grant application. Florida Education Commissioner Eric Smith has previously made the same recommendation to Wise's committee.
Florida won $700 million in the federal grant competition in part by agreeing to devise merit pay plans. But those plans give each district more leeway to set up their own systems and, while they must use data from student tests scores, they do not rely on them as heavily as was outlined in the vetoed bill.
"If whatever you come up with doesn't very closely mirror Race to the Top, there's going to be a lot of crying and bickering and fighting," Husfelt added, noting that districts and their teachers unions are already working together on those plans.
Pasco Superintendent Heather Fiorentino urged lawmakers to be mindful that any new legislation that cost money might be hard to implement in a year when education budget cuts loom.
"Last time we saw a bill like this it was, 'Take additional money out of what you already have'," she said.
That will be tough when "everyone is short, and we all have to live within our means," she added.
A House education subcommittee, which would likely consider the House version of any merit-pay bill, is meeting this afternoon to also hear testimony on "instructional quality."
Leslie Postal can be reached at lpostal@orlandosentinel.com or 407-420-5273.
http://www.orlandosentinel.com/news/education/os-florida-merit-pay-superintendents-20110126,0,6284635.story
Wednesday, January 26, 2011
Florida gets a "F" for education spending
And this is with deep cuts on the horizon. -cpg
From the Ledger.com editorial page
Florida scored an impressive fifth place in the new national report ranking the quality of public education in the 50 states and the District of Columbia.
Overall, the Quality Counts report, conducted annually by the Educational Project in Education, which publishes Education Week, gave Florida a B minus, giving it high marks for strong academic standards, school accountability measures, and for showing big improvements on national tests and Advance Placement exams.
The news drew cheers from Tallahassee and accolades from education-policy observers. Yet no one is suggesting our schools are where they need to be to ensure as many children as possible are ready for the 21st-century workplace.
A closer look at the Quality Counts categories -- from prekindergarten enrollment to student performance on national benchmarks to graduation rates -- and other data and some troublesome realities are evident.
ACHIEVEMENT CONCERNS
For instance, Florida's graduation rate is 44th in the nation. The Sunshine State received an F -- again -- on education spending. Our middle schoolers rank 35th in math and 30th in reading nationally. And our 12th-graders underperformed in both math and reading.
And for all its high marks for academic standards and accountability, equity, improvement, test scores and teacher training, Florida ranks 24th in current achievement among the states.
While improvement, equity and good processes are laudable, Florida continues have difficulty when it comes to the bottom line.
For those who focus on results, students need to graduate at or near the top of the national list, not in the middle or near the bottom. Students need to consistently perform well on the gamut of subjects.
Florida -- at a time when legislators and the governor are looking for ways to limit education costs -- must find a way to bring up its Grade F spending. No amount of advanced process or innovative thinking can transform Florida into a result-oriented education leader if the state is too cheap to make that a priority.
So, while bringing home a B minus suggests Florida is making progress in education reform, there is much work to be done if the future is to hold hope for our state's students.
A B minus just is not good enough and may not be as good as it would seem.
http://www.theledger.com/article/20110126/EDIT01/101265000/1036?p=2&tc=pg
From the Ledger.com editorial page
Florida scored an impressive fifth place in the new national report ranking the quality of public education in the 50 states and the District of Columbia.
Overall, the Quality Counts report, conducted annually by the Educational Project in Education, which publishes Education Week, gave Florida a B minus, giving it high marks for strong academic standards, school accountability measures, and for showing big improvements on national tests and Advance Placement exams.
The news drew cheers from Tallahassee and accolades from education-policy observers. Yet no one is suggesting our schools are where they need to be to ensure as many children as possible are ready for the 21st-century workplace.
A closer look at the Quality Counts categories -- from prekindergarten enrollment to student performance on national benchmarks to graduation rates -- and other data and some troublesome realities are evident.
ACHIEVEMENT CONCERNS
For instance, Florida's graduation rate is 44th in the nation. The Sunshine State received an F -- again -- on education spending. Our middle schoolers rank 35th in math and 30th in reading nationally. And our 12th-graders underperformed in both math and reading.
And for all its high marks for academic standards and accountability, equity, improvement, test scores and teacher training, Florida ranks 24th in current achievement among the states.
While improvement, equity and good processes are laudable, Florida continues have difficulty when it comes to the bottom line.
For those who focus on results, students need to graduate at or near the top of the national list, not in the middle or near the bottom. Students need to consistently perform well on the gamut of subjects.
Florida -- at a time when legislators and the governor are looking for ways to limit education costs -- must find a way to bring up its Grade F spending. No amount of advanced process or innovative thinking can transform Florida into a result-oriented education leader if the state is too cheap to make that a priority.
So, while bringing home a B minus suggests Florida is making progress in education reform, there is much work to be done if the future is to hold hope for our state's students.
A B minus just is not good enough and may not be as good as it would seem.
http://www.theledger.com/article/20110126/EDIT01/101265000/1036?p=2&tc=pg
Looming school cuts
From the St. Augustine Record
by Kathleen Haughney
TALLAHASSEE -- Teacher layoffs. Few if any electives. School supplies that only last a school a few months.
Those are all scenarios that lawmakers are trying to avoid as they craft a budget for the state's public schools while Florida faces a $3.6 billion shortfall and the possibility that state programs already cut to the bone will be cut even further. All the "low hanging fruit" in previous budgets was wiped out over the past few years as the downturn in the economy caused the state --and the public school system -- immense budget pain.
"All that fruit is gone, at least in my judgment," state Education Commissioner Eric Smith told a panel of House lawmakers Tuesday.
For the 2010-11 budget, $18.2 billion covers teacher salaries, busing, instructional materials and a host of other expenses, including a school's ability to simply keep the lights on. It means that for each student, a school receives $6,843.
While lawmakers faced economic difficulties last year, they had federal stimulus funds to help plug the holes riddling state coffers. Now, those funds have largely dried up, particularly for education. The education budget last year relied on $1.2 billion in non recurring federal funds, staff said Tuesday during a meeting of the House Appropriations subcommittee on PreK-12 Education.
"We have a great challenge ahead of us and one we have to take very seriously," said chairwoman Rep. Marti Coley, R-Marianna.
The State Board of Education approved a budget request for 2011-2012 of more than $19 billion, but Smith and his staff have also prepared a budget scenario for lawmakers that involves a 15 percent cut.
"It's a starting point, certainly not an ending point," Coley said referring to the 15-percent cut exercise.
Legislative leaders have indicated that cuts in education - one of the biggest budget drivers -- are inevitable. Senate President Mike Haridopolos, R-Merritt Island, has said he will not sign on to a budget that includes tax increases, meaning something will have to be cut if the state wants to create a balanced budget, a constitutional requirement. His education budget chief, Sen. David Simmons, R-Altamonte, has also noted that it will be a tough road ahead.
Darwin Boothe, a lobbyist for Seminole County School District, said the school district, and a few others, may not have to make any layoffs even if the Legislature makes minor cuts because of reserves the local school board put away in case of emergency.
However, Boothe noted that many districts dipped into those reserves this past year to help individual schools meet a constitutional requirement capping classrooms at a certain number of students. Reserves may not be available to blunt losses in state funds for the upcoming school year.
In 2002, voters approved a constitutional amendment that capped classroom sizes at 18 students in a classroom in lower grades, 22 in the middle grades and 25 students in core subject high school classrooms. The state has struggled to pay for the constitutional mandate, making it, in turn, difficult for schools to meet the requirement.
Boothe said he and other Florida school officials believe that the funding can be held at the status quo if the state continues to withhold funding from some of its long-term goals that can go without immediate funding. For example, though lawmakers in the past have wanted to put money toward purchasing environmental lands, they have not been able to fully fund that recently because lawmakers chose to prioritize other budget items.
If the school budget has to be cut, Boothe said schools will react accordingly, but lawmakers need to be aware of the practical impact of what the cuts may do.
"When you cut, you may not have the system you want at the end of the day," he said.
http://staugustine.com/news/local-news/2011-01-25/lawmakers-home-school-cuts
by Kathleen Haughney
TALLAHASSEE -- Teacher layoffs. Few if any electives. School supplies that only last a school a few months.
Those are all scenarios that lawmakers are trying to avoid as they craft a budget for the state's public schools while Florida faces a $3.6 billion shortfall and the possibility that state programs already cut to the bone will be cut even further. All the "low hanging fruit" in previous budgets was wiped out over the past few years as the downturn in the economy caused the state --and the public school system -- immense budget pain.
"All that fruit is gone, at least in my judgment," state Education Commissioner Eric Smith told a panel of House lawmakers Tuesday.
For the 2010-11 budget, $18.2 billion covers teacher salaries, busing, instructional materials and a host of other expenses, including a school's ability to simply keep the lights on. It means that for each student, a school receives $6,843.
While lawmakers faced economic difficulties last year, they had federal stimulus funds to help plug the holes riddling state coffers. Now, those funds have largely dried up, particularly for education. The education budget last year relied on $1.2 billion in non recurring federal funds, staff said Tuesday during a meeting of the House Appropriations subcommittee on PreK-12 Education.
"We have a great challenge ahead of us and one we have to take very seriously," said chairwoman Rep. Marti Coley, R-Marianna.
The State Board of Education approved a budget request for 2011-2012 of more than $19 billion, but Smith and his staff have also prepared a budget scenario for lawmakers that involves a 15 percent cut.
"It's a starting point, certainly not an ending point," Coley said referring to the 15-percent cut exercise.
Legislative leaders have indicated that cuts in education - one of the biggest budget drivers -- are inevitable. Senate President Mike Haridopolos, R-Merritt Island, has said he will not sign on to a budget that includes tax increases, meaning something will have to be cut if the state wants to create a balanced budget, a constitutional requirement. His education budget chief, Sen. David Simmons, R-Altamonte, has also noted that it will be a tough road ahead.
Darwin Boothe, a lobbyist for Seminole County School District, said the school district, and a few others, may not have to make any layoffs even if the Legislature makes minor cuts because of reserves the local school board put away in case of emergency.
However, Boothe noted that many districts dipped into those reserves this past year to help individual schools meet a constitutional requirement capping classrooms at a certain number of students. Reserves may not be available to blunt losses in state funds for the upcoming school year.
In 2002, voters approved a constitutional amendment that capped classroom sizes at 18 students in a classroom in lower grades, 22 in the middle grades and 25 students in core subject high school classrooms. The state has struggled to pay for the constitutional mandate, making it, in turn, difficult for schools to meet the requirement.
Boothe said he and other Florida school officials believe that the funding can be held at the status quo if the state continues to withhold funding from some of its long-term goals that can go without immediate funding. For example, though lawmakers in the past have wanted to put money toward purchasing environmental lands, they have not been able to fully fund that recently because lawmakers chose to prioritize other budget items.
If the school budget has to be cut, Boothe said schools will react accordingly, but lawmakers need to be aware of the practical impact of what the cuts may do.
"When you cut, you may not have the system you want at the end of the day," he said.
http://staugustine.com/news/local-news/2011-01-25/lawmakers-home-school-cuts
Tuesday, January 25, 2011
Virtual schools are not the answer to the class size admendment
There is an option not addressed in the piece and that is having our legislature properly funding our public schools. -cpg
From the Florida Independent
by Brett Ader
An article detailing the use of virtual classroom technology in Florida produced by The New York Times‘ Student Journalism Institute has caused a stir among advocates of Florida Virtual School, who argue that online instruction is one of only a handful of options available to school districts struggling to meet class-size mandates. #
The piece, which appeared in the education section of the Times last week, was a truncated version of an article penned by an 18-year-old student journalist whose initial story had included additional commentary on the merits of using a “blended learning” method to both meet educational goals and operate within the limits imposed by the Florida Constitution. #
“That article was written by a student reporter at The New York Times‘ institute for journalism,” Star Kraschinsky of Florida Virtual School tells The Florida Independent. “It wasn’t an education reporter. The Times omitted the positive comments, and changed the headline from ‘some Miami schools…’ to ‘in Florida…’ It really, clearly, was taken out of context.” #
One of the concerns raised in the Times was the issue of student choice in enrolling in online courses, with students at some schools finding themselves in virtual learning labs against their will. While a spokesperson for Miami-Dade schools admitted that, due to enrollment that exceeded class-cap requirements, a handful of schools had assigned students to labs, Florida Virtual School maintains the program overall has been successful in its first year. #
“Ninety-nine percent of the schools had parent-teacher-student meetings prior, because not everybody can learn in certain environments,” says Kraschinsky. “A few of the schools didn’t do that. As a parent, you want to make sure that it’s a choice, because distance learning, online education, is a choice.” #
“We have 77 virtual learning labs in the state — 55 are in Miami-Dade,” says Julie Durrance, who manages the e-learning lab program for Virtual School. “Of the 55, I would say a good 50 of them are, for being a first-year program, operating beautifully. It’s because the schools did the prerequisites that were necessary: the orientations, the calls, the pep rallies, letting the kids know what a virtual classroom would be like. Some schools, like the one in question from the article, didn’t do the back-up. The kids walked in, they were handed a schedule and they had a virtual class. And we’re working to make sure those type of things don’t happen again next year. Even though it wasn’t our responsibility, our responsibility now is to make sure it doesn’t happen again.” #
As for the fact that the labs are monitored by “facilitators” trained to provide technical support to students instead of traditional teachers, Virtual School says that the districts fill that position, and while some are certified teachers, it’s not a requirement. Their role is to oversee the technical aspects of the labs and ensure students are able to connect with their online instructors, who are available via cell phone, Skype and instant message every day from 8 a.m. till 8 p.m. #
“We have one-to-one instruction for every student taking a class, and what I mean by that is there’s probably more interaction than you’d get in a brick-and-mortar school,” Kraschinsky says. “There are so many varieties of communication going on between the Florida Virtual instructor and the student, I think it’s just the concept of blended learning and online education that there’s not a teacher physically there, but there is a great amount of interaction between the teacher and the student.” #
In 2000, the Florida legislature established Virtual School as an independent educational entity, funded by the Department of Education and overseen by a governor-appointed board of trustees. #
The pilot program with Miami-Dade schools began in August, and will likely expand in the coming school year as districts continue implementing cost-cutting measures. While it is too soon to gauge the impact the new approach has had in South Florida, the Gates Foundation has announced it will be conducting a research study on Virtual School learning labs to gauge their effectiveness in reaching students. #
Kraschinsky says that the Times’ student reporter had once been enrolled in Florida Virtual School. #
“I actually spoke to her,” she says. “She is a very nice girl, and she was actually a Florida Virtual student and took several classes with us and had a great experience, and shared that with me. I think her intent was to put a more fair and balanced story out there. As we know, education is a choice for parents and it always should be. Some people might disagree with that. The whole class-size issue I think was really at the heart of the story as well, and when we look at class sizes, we see ourselves as an option to help districts.”
http://floridaindependent.com/19998/florida-virtual-school-responds-to-new-york-times-critique
From the Florida Independent
by Brett Ader
An article detailing the use of virtual classroom technology in Florida produced by The New York Times‘ Student Journalism Institute has caused a stir among advocates of Florida Virtual School, who argue that online instruction is one of only a handful of options available to school districts struggling to meet class-size mandates. #
The piece, which appeared in the education section of the Times last week, was a truncated version of an article penned by an 18-year-old student journalist whose initial story had included additional commentary on the merits of using a “blended learning” method to both meet educational goals and operate within the limits imposed by the Florida Constitution. #
“That article was written by a student reporter at The New York Times‘ institute for journalism,” Star Kraschinsky of Florida Virtual School tells The Florida Independent. “It wasn’t an education reporter. The Times omitted the positive comments, and changed the headline from ‘some Miami schools…’ to ‘in Florida…’ It really, clearly, was taken out of context.” #
One of the concerns raised in the Times was the issue of student choice in enrolling in online courses, with students at some schools finding themselves in virtual learning labs against their will. While a spokesperson for Miami-Dade schools admitted that, due to enrollment that exceeded class-cap requirements, a handful of schools had assigned students to labs, Florida Virtual School maintains the program overall has been successful in its first year. #
“Ninety-nine percent of the schools had parent-teacher-student meetings prior, because not everybody can learn in certain environments,” says Kraschinsky. “A few of the schools didn’t do that. As a parent, you want to make sure that it’s a choice, because distance learning, online education, is a choice.” #
“We have 77 virtual learning labs in the state — 55 are in Miami-Dade,” says Julie Durrance, who manages the e-learning lab program for Virtual School. “Of the 55, I would say a good 50 of them are, for being a first-year program, operating beautifully. It’s because the schools did the prerequisites that were necessary: the orientations, the calls, the pep rallies, letting the kids know what a virtual classroom would be like. Some schools, like the one in question from the article, didn’t do the back-up. The kids walked in, they were handed a schedule and they had a virtual class. And we’re working to make sure those type of things don’t happen again next year. Even though it wasn’t our responsibility, our responsibility now is to make sure it doesn’t happen again.” #
As for the fact that the labs are monitored by “facilitators” trained to provide technical support to students instead of traditional teachers, Virtual School says that the districts fill that position, and while some are certified teachers, it’s not a requirement. Their role is to oversee the technical aspects of the labs and ensure students are able to connect with their online instructors, who are available via cell phone, Skype and instant message every day from 8 a.m. till 8 p.m. #
“We have one-to-one instruction for every student taking a class, and what I mean by that is there’s probably more interaction than you’d get in a brick-and-mortar school,” Kraschinsky says. “There are so many varieties of communication going on between the Florida Virtual instructor and the student, I think it’s just the concept of blended learning and online education that there’s not a teacher physically there, but there is a great amount of interaction between the teacher and the student.” #
In 2000, the Florida legislature established Virtual School as an independent educational entity, funded by the Department of Education and overseen by a governor-appointed board of trustees. #
The pilot program with Miami-Dade schools began in August, and will likely expand in the coming school year as districts continue implementing cost-cutting measures. While it is too soon to gauge the impact the new approach has had in South Florida, the Gates Foundation has announced it will be conducting a research study on Virtual School learning labs to gauge their effectiveness in reaching students. #
Kraschinsky says that the Times’ student reporter had once been enrolled in Florida Virtual School. #
“I actually spoke to her,” she says. “She is a very nice girl, and she was actually a Florida Virtual student and took several classes with us and had a great experience, and shared that with me. I think her intent was to put a more fair and balanced story out there. As we know, education is a choice for parents and it always should be. Some people might disagree with that. The whole class-size issue I think was really at the heart of the story as well, and when we look at class sizes, we see ourselves as an option to help districts.”
http://floridaindependent.com/19998/florida-virtual-school-responds-to-new-york-times-critique
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