Crist’s Veto of SB 6 ends Round One. More heated battles to follow

Opponents of Florida’s SB 6 were some of the happiest people you’d ever want to meet Thursday afternoon and they had good reason to be. Governor Charlie Crist vetoed the bill, citing among several reasons the Florida Senate’s failure to give the bill an adequate hearing from all sides and the rush to push it through without amendments. An overwhelming display of opposition from teachers, students, administrators, parents, politicians, civic groups, social networking groups and ordinary citizens didn’t hurt either. He really should be thanked publicly for vetoing bad legislation, but before all these people start popping their champagne corks and saying nice things about him they had better read the letter he sent to the Senate. In the last paragraph on page 2 he said that he agreed with the stated goals of the legislation, just not the process, so let’s not get any warm fuzzy feelings yet about Charlie. There’s a lot more legislation coming up that he should also be vetoing.

 

The groups on Facebook know this and are asking all members to keep up the effort and not to relax their guard. They are actually asking members to suggest new members to join so that they can show solidarity for future causes that they know are going to be arising. What they know is that Jeb Bush’s not-so-invisible hand has been stung severely, and Jeb (with his political cronies) is not going to take this lying down.

Dear Gov Crist

Dear Republican Legislator:

I am a registered Republican in Florida and a retired teacher. I have 5 grandchildren in the public schools.
I am so proud that you voted against SB6. The integrity and character that you have shown has not gone unnoticed. SB6 would have been the demise of public education throughout the state. You obviously were able to read the bill and recognize the flaws.

 I am so disappointed that the Republican Party has become the Jeb-lican Party. I feel that the interests of Florida’s children are not served by the Jebbies. I thank you for any political disfavor you may endure because of your vote.
I am proud to publish your names on Facebook as supporters of Florida’s children. I hope you will have the courage and fortitude to remain true to your convictions as the Yellow-Bellied Jebbies try to revive this bill over the next two weeks. If you hold true to your original vote, I can be proud to be a true Republican through the election process. May God richly bless you, and your families, as we proceed through the rest of this hellish session!

Teachers are watching, parents are watching, and even the children are watching the votes on this and other school-related issues. I am proud to count you as part of the good guys.

Yours,

Carol King

First published in Moms and Dads Against SB6

Is There a Back Door Attack on Florida Schools?

A proposed constitutional amendment that would allow tax dollars to be used for private school voucher programs was passed Tuesday by House and Senate committees.

SJR 2550 and HJR 1399 dubbed “Religious Freedom” amendments would ask voters to remove a 125-year-old ban on the use of public funds for religious institutions. The House Criminal & Civil Justice Policy Council spent over an hour of heated debate on the bill before passing HJR 1399 with a 10-4 vote, while the Senate Judiciary Committee passed SJR 2550 with a 6-3 vote – along party lines with Republicans voting for the proposal.

SJR 2005 Committee Vote Record
CS/HJR 1399

The language of this proposal is highly deceptive. These bills are being peddled as “prohibiting religious discrimination.” The fact is religious discrimination is already prohibited under the Florida and U.S. Constitutions, and state and federal law.

These proposals don’t prohibit discrimination. Instead, they open the floodgates for taxpayer money to be used to advance religion – and in so doing, they will bankrupt our system of free public education.

These two joint resolutions – SJR 2550 and HJR 1399 – that are moving through the Florida Legislature, if passed by 3/5′s of each chamber, would place on the 2010 November ballot state constitutional amendments to repeal Florida’s “no aid” provision. It’s possible that these bills could be on the floor by early next week.

Source: FEA

How Can I Find Out Who Owns A Private School in Florida?

You can search for the private school’s name in the Florida Division of Corporation’s database of fictitious names (also called DBA or Doing Business As names.) Visit their website at http://ccfcorp.dos.state.fl.us/search.html.

On that web site, under the Fictitious Names section, click on the link to “Inquire by Fictitious Name” On the next page, enter the school name in the search box and click the “Search Now” button. You will see the name you searched for in a list of search results. Click on the name to see the record for the school. As you scroll down through the record, you will see a section that lists the owner’s name and address.

Reference
State Library of Florida
A Division of the Florida Department of State
Phone 850.245.6600

Expect the fight over teacher merit pay to continue during this year’s governor’s race

TALLAHASSEE — A reform of the teaching profession pushed by GOP leaders may be dead for now in the state legislature but the battle generated by the sweeping proposal is far from over.

The contentious merit pay plan will likely play a significant factor in many of this year’s statewide races, especially the one to replace Gov. Charlie Crist, who bucked his GOP colleagues and vetoed the bill.

Crist’s hard-hitting veto message and a host of Republicans who defected from their party to join Democrats to vote against the measure left GOP supports with no hope of reviving the bill this session.

Teachers’ target: Atwater: If they want revenge, he’s their candidate.

This is an excerpt from an excellent article that is a must read for all Florida teachers.

Teachers can’t get to each individual legislator who arrogantly dictated merit pay. But by knocking off Sen. Atwater, they could let it be known that any legislator who has statewide ambitions can’t afford to tick off teachers.

Teachers should go after Sen. Atwater early and hard. If they can’t deprive him of office, of course, nobody will take their threats seriously. But that’s already the situation. Politicians have decreed that they’ll misuse a bunch of tests to gauge teacher effectiveness. Make Sen. Atwater’s bid to become CFO a test of teachers’ political effectiveness.

Gov Crist: Veto the Teacher Merit Pay Bill

Catherine Nicholas Uden

In regards to merit pay:
“Megan Allen — Florida’s teacher of the year, one of the four finalists for national teacher of the year — did not receive one of the bonuses. Does that mean the system rates the wrong things? Or is Allen really not a good teacher? Or what?”
Another teacher of the year that did not receive merit pay:
Richard Ellenburg, an Orange County elementary science teacher, was Florida’s 2008 teacher of the year. He sent a letter to Gov. Charlie Crist this morning urging him to veto the “fatally flawed” legislation.
Here’s Ellenburg’s full letter:

Governor Crist,

On behalf of teachers across Florida I ask that you veto the teacher merit pay bill now coming to your desk. As the 2008 Department of Education Teacher of the Year, I travelled across the state, meeting and representing the students and teachers of Florida. Based upon letters and emails I have received over the last few weeks, I know the pulse of Florida’s teachers, both union and non-union.
I am not a member of the FEA. I am thirty one year, award winning teacher and I do not fear merit pay. But this bill is fatally flawed. At a time when districts are on the verge of economic collapse, 5% of next year’s budget will have to be devoted to creating new tests. Why? National results show marked gains in Florida’s student achievement, we have been recognized as having one of the largest groups of National Board Certified Teachers in the country, our drop out rate continues to fall, and we continue to make significant gains in AP high school testing. Teachers across our state have been working for the past few years without wage increases, we have seen a decreases in benefits and we continue to work for less than all but a handful of teachers in other states. Yet we have done so in good will working with our local school districts. To have a bill pushed through the Senate and House with little teacher input reeks foul and sends a message to all teacher in Florida, union and nonunion, that our efforts are not valued, our advanced degrees and training are worthless, and all of the hard work that has been spent trying to help children is unappreciated. Regardless of the intent, this is the reality of this bill.
We are told that high performing teachers will have nothing to fear. But I remind you that in the last attempt at merit testing, the tests were so flawed that less than a month after being named Florida’s Teacher of the Year, I was denied merit based upon a test that your own Department of Education admitted was inadequate. Who will create these tests for exceptional education teachers, media specialists, pre-k teachers, curriculum resource teachers, guidance counselors, teachers of the profoundly challenged, second language teachers, and the hundreds of other positions that exist to meet the specific needs of our children. Despite the assertion that teachers will flock to Florida, they will not. The pot of money for education has not gotten larger, why come to a state that trails in base salary? Risk takers need not apply, unless you are really willing to bet your paycheck on it. And why should an award winning, Nationally Board Certified, highly educated person take a chance on Florida.
Two years ago I sat in your office and listened as you talked of your respect for Florida’s teachers, the importance your Florida public education has been in your life, and how much you respect our efforts. Please continue to respect us by vetoing this bill and forcing the legislature, Department of Education, and teachers (both union and nonunion) across our state to come together to craft a balanced, lasting and meaningful piece of legislation that can better serve the education of our children.

Sincerely,

Richard Ellenburg
OCPS Elementary Science Lab Teacher
2008 Florida Department of Education Teacher of the Year

A Father’s Letter Re: SB6

This letter was spotted on twitter and posted on Capital Soup.com

The Honorable Charlie Crist
Governor
State of Florida
Office of the Governor
The Capitol
Tallahassee, Fl 32399

Dear Governor Crist:

Without doubt, you are receiving volumes of emails, phone calls, and letters, the majority of which are steadfast in their opposition to SB 6. This letter is not only to add my voice to those of my colleagues, Senate Democratic Leader Al Lawson, Senators Dan Gelber, Dave Aronberg, and Nan Rich, all urging you to veto this deplorable piece of legislation, but to add my daughter’s as well.

Tiffany C. Hill is a national board certified teacher and a math instructional coach at Thurgood Marshall Elementary School in Ft. Lauderdale. She teaches in the heart of the inner city, where 95% of her students are low income. She is up against incredible odds in educating these children. Many of them were already at a severe disadvantage from the moment they first passed through the schoolyard’s entrance. But she is determined; in the eight years she has taken her place at the front of her classroom, my daughter will tell you that this is her calling. She is no foe of accountability. She is a foe of inequity.

I have attached her full letter and hope that you will give it the consideration it deserves. She speaks on behalf of many teachers like her – dedicated, passionate, caring and often under-appreciated. She is one of the legions of educators who have fought to raise the test scores we hear so often about, but are now on the defensive because a political agenda is using them as a stepping stone for personal ambitions.

On behalf of all the Tiffany Hill’s in this state, and all of their school children, I strongly urge you to veto this bill. It was crafted without their input and over their objections by a small group of Tallahassee insiders with absolutely no insight into life on the front lines.

It does not deserve your endorsement.

Sincerely,

Senator Anthony “Tony” Hill
District 1

Disservice: A Poem Reposted

Reposted from 

Letters: Make your voice heard; make some waves

New York Teacher – November 8, 2007 

---

Disservice

You told me I could
not get a decent job
Without education
Without any aspiration
But you squelched
my motivation.

I passed all your tests.
I raised myself up
When you raised the bar,
But your standards have
not gotten me
Very far.

I cannot succeed
As you think I should
Because I was not taught
To create
To cultivate
To innovate;
But rather I was trained
To simulate
To solve a formula
And fit in your boxed-in,
Close-minded,
Impractical ideals
Of what would make me
Well-rounded.

Well, excuse me Mr. Governor,
Excuse me Mr. Congressman,
Mr. President,
But where are you going
to plot me
On your mighty graphs?

It’s my knowledge
And my dreams
And my accomplishments
And my life
That you try to standardize
Into some padlocked box.

What other aspect of my self
will you try to qualify
And quantify
And magnify
And publicize
To reap the pat on the back
You do not deserve?

And what is an education
Without declaration
Of my imagination
Anyway?

- Erin Maney
New York

Gov Crist, I Implore You to Veto SB6

April 9, 2010

Dear Governor Crist,

I implore you to veto SB6, not only because I am a teacher, but because I was once a child and I know what arbitrary sweeping reform does to children. You see, I saw it first hand.

I was born in 1956 and the Sputnick Satellite was launched by the Soviet Union on my first birthday. The Cold War was in full swing, so this event precipitated the “Sputnik Crisis” and spurred the “reforms.”

As a child in Department of Defense (DOD) schools, I was on the front line.  I had a talent for science and remember much of what we did.

We sang about being astronauts and did “new math’ that was way beyond the abilities of a little girl whose parents didn’t have the slightest clue of how to help me. I don’t think my 4^th grade teacher understood the math she was teaching us. The existence of an entire generation of women my age who are math-phobic due to these reforms is not lost on me.

The irony is all of this is that I continued to love science and became a science teacher. I know from experience, that shoving programs down teacher’s throats causes long-lasting harm to the students. Teacher “buy-in” is essential and teachers need to feel supported. The harsh approach of this bill is punitive and will ultimately hurt our children and our future.  Do you want to be responsible for a generation of test-phobic Floridians?

In closing, I once again ask you to veto SB6. If you are inclined to sign this bill, please call me first. My cell is XXX-XXX-XXXX

Sincerely,

 

XXXXXXX XXXXXXXX