Republicans Put On Notice Over Education Reform

Florida’s legislative session opened with education bills pouring out like M&Ms.
With eyebrow raising speed, on opening day, the Senate Pre-K 12 Education committee considered and passed SB 962, Florida Tax Credit Scholarship Program on January 9, 2012 by a vote of 4 to 2, and came back on January 10 to revisit some changes, and on January 11, the bill moved to the Budget Subcommittee on Finance and Tax. The legislative analysis notes the fiscal impact on taxes, fees, and general revenues are unknown. Governor Scott has asked for $1 billion in educational funding, which raises eyebrows after last year’s deep cuts. Where’s the money?

The Palm Beach Post reports that activists were on hand to remind the legislature of widespread unhappiness. Henry Kelly of Florida’s TEA Party put constituent sentiment this way:

"If you remove party labels from the equation, there's just no confidence in our political leadership, either left or right, that they're doing the right thing," said Henry Kelley, a tea party leader from Fort Walton Beach who last year organized an all-day event on opening day attended by several GOP leaders. "The honest assessment is I'm not highly enthusiastic that citizens are going to win. But we're going to be there. We've realized what happens when we don't get involved. We're still going to show up and we're still going to try to influence because otherwise the choice is to do nothing."

In spite of the tens of thousands of words in blogs and news reports regarding cheating scandals, fraud, funding concerns, and ethics questions, Florida legislators turned a blind eye to move full steam ahead on so-called education reform initiatives. During the recent New Hampshire Republican debate, no question was asked about education reform initiatives. Parents, community members, and taxpayers find federal and state elected leaders across the board maintain no interest in the public’s legitimate concerns. Around the nation, school districts struggle to meet unfunded mandates from federal and state initiatives while budgets are cut.

What should a constituent do?

Republicans should look into the petition developed by retired California teacher, Doug Lasken – as a way to express frustration. Doug is a retired 25 year veteran of LA Unified, current private school debate coach and language arts specialist who has consulted for the California Dept. of Education (during its productive years before Common Core), WestEd and the Fordham and Pioneer Institutes. Doug’s petition disavows allegiance to and support for the Republican party regarding its education policy, or more accurately, its lack of education policy. Read the resolution below with its founding signatures.

UPDATE: If you agree, sign it, circulate it, and publish it. Contact Doug Laskin to add your name to the petition at: dlasken514@aol.com

We the undersigned do not agree on all things, but we are in close agreement on education, and in particular these five propositions:

1. The federal government is barred by the United States Constitution from imposing academic standards and public school curriculum on the states, the very thing it is attempting to do through the Obama administration programs Race to the Top (RttT) and the Common Core Standards (CCS).

2. In addition to imposing standards and curriculum on the states, RttT mandates that states collect extensive and detailed personal information on students, and that this information be submitted to the federal Department of Education, from which it will be available to other agencies. We oppose this on Constitutional grounds.

3. The national price tag for CCS is estimated at $30 billion (and perhaps as much as $210 billion) most of which cost is to be borne by the states. This money will enrich special interests- the publishing and testing empires- but will do very little to save America's bankrupted public schools. The undersigned believe that spending $30 billion on standards is like painting a car before junking it- good for the painters, a useless expense for the car owner.

4. The news media has decided that since conservatives object to spending money, and since conservative views are represented in the Republican party, then people who object to RttT and CCS must be represented by the Republican party. The undersigned have found, however, that the Republican party, as distinct from individual candidates, does not represent those seeking sound education policy. Time and again, at all levels from local to federal, the undersigned have encountered ignorance and indifference regarding RttT and CCS from the Republican party and the people it has helped to achieve office. Republicans as much as Democrats have been seduced by the $30 billion and slick sales talk into acquiescence to RttT and CCS.

5. Therefore, we the undersigned here state that the Republican party does not represent our views on American education, that the Republican party is in fact aligned with the Democratic party in pushing through wasteful and highly problematical Democratic programs, and that we therefore disavow allegiance to and support of the Republican party in its policies towards education, and we ask that the media acknowledge that this diminution of Republican support has occurred.
Founding Signers:

Doug Lasken , Teacher

Susan Holloday, Taxpayer

Catherine Banker
Former member of California Curriculum Commission

Marilyn Reed
12 year veteran of a public school board
Education Reform consultant with the Commonwealth Education Organization
Wexford, Pa

Veronica Norris


Wayne Bishop, PhD
Professor of Mathematics
California State University, LA

Payne-Naeger
Director-School Board, Francis Howell School District: 2000-2003

Charter Schools: The Tale of Many Cities

This week Florida Senator David Simmons, chair of the PreK-12 Budget subcommittee, commented at a recent meeting that charter failures in the state are worrisome. Simmons had this to say:

“The finanical impact is great,” he said. “Some of them are failing, and that’s a financial issue…Those that are failing are costing not only a human toll but a financial one.”

Some examples that may have crossed Simmons desk include:

The Miami-Herald reported that two Miami-Dade charter schools, the Academy of Arts and Minds and the Balere Language Academy, were shut down last week.

Many parents have been complaining that The Academy of Arts and Minds the school did not have enough books or teachers when school started in August. Parents have also complained about the school’s governing board decision-making, when the decided to hire the charter founder and landlord, Alonso-Poch, to also be "the school’s manager under a $90,000 no-bid contract." The chairwoman of the school’s board did not vote in this decision; however, Ruth “Chuny” Montaner is Alonso-Poch’s cousin.

Balere Language Academy troubles include a pending foreclosure lawsuit on its school building, $136,000 in outstanding debts, including $99,000 owed to a previous landlord, and is "under investigation after advertisements surfaced indicating that the school was being used as an adult-themed nightclub on the weekends. The school’s principal, Rocka Malik, has denied that the school was doubling as a club — though a phone number on the ads comes back to her husband’s business.

A West Melbourne charter school is in danger of closing due to poor performance. The charter's parent management company has sent $1 million to keep the school going and redirected to improvement. Nevertheless, parents have been pulling their children out of the school. A Florida Today article reviews the rather interesting real estate purchases and sales that has flowed into the investment. Two Imagine Charter schools, located in North Lauderdale, are also failing as identified in an investigative report by Scathing Purple Musings. This report revealed that 15 of 31 "F" schools in Florida are charters. Imagine Schools CEO Dennis Bakke was on Governor Scott's education transition team.

As charter applications are on the rise, Simmons interest is timely. Such events are not limited to Florida.

Who pays? Who benefits?

Florida Tea Party Network Want Governor Scott to Quit Race to the Top

Hat tip to Scathing Purple Musings for posting the announcement by Florida's TEA Party on Race to the Top. For months now, Grumpy Educators has been asking where they stood on the issue.

Here's a segment:

The Tea Party Network, a consortium of 70 tea-party organizations statewide, argues that “for states to regain control of education and bring it back to the local level, they must stop taking federal money and the strings that come with the money.”

Read the entire article Florida Tea Party Network Want Governor Scott to Quit Race to the Top for their complete statement.

UPDATE: Governor Scott signed the grant proposal and says he will return the money IF there are any strings attached. The Pre-K funding is not a gift and to know the strings, someone has to analyze the grant application and requirements first. Much has already been written about the requirements. Scott does not say what parts he found helpful and which less so.

Gov. Rick Scott e-mails 'cleaned out' from third source - St. Petersburg Times

Gov. Rick Scott e-mails 'cleaned out' from third source - St. Petersburg Times

Something fishy in the disappearing emails that cannot be retrieved.

UPDATE: Bad News for Governor Scott: Charter schools are not making the grade in Florida

Governor Scott has an unexpected surprise. He chose the KIPP Impact Middle charter school as the location to sign Florida's education reform legislation. He likely chose the school because of the praise it received from Michelle Rhee and a visit by Arne Duncan. During Secretary Duncan's visit, the school was a beneficiary of $500,000 from the federal government as part of a $14 million dollar grant given to the KIPP Corporation. All this was before the FCAT scores were published. The school scored an "F." Oops for Governor Scott.

The principal of the school said that deeper assessments need to be put into place, a sign that they hadn't collected enough test-driven data. As long as data is the only method for examining such low test scores, it is fairly easy to predict what next year's scores will be and impossible to know what capabilities the students have acquired. Was the music program successful? The principal had this to say:

“We’re disappointed,” Principal Robert Hawke said. “We fell pretty far short of where we wanted to be.”

Pretty far short? There really isn't any farther short to go.

The narrative continues to highlight the overnight successes of charter schools eclipsing a more realistic view of accomplishments. In an accountability environment, cherry-picking is not honest. The fact is that charters are not perfect and not the silver bullet they are touted to be. Were it not for the continued reporting of overnight turnaround successes attributed to the KIPP model and the attention lavished on this particular school when it opened, Governor Scott would likely have chosen another place to sign the bill. Luckily, it shined a spotlight on a story that goes underreported.

Hat tip to Scathing Purple Musings and Education Matters for reporting on the story.

UPDATE - More charter school bad news emerged this week. After three years of being an "A" school, a Lee County charter school gets an "F" this year. The school is investigating for possible cheating. However, as pointed out in Scathing Purple Musings:

Cheating and demographics aside, Floridians are getting more evidence that charters are not the sort of panacea that school reformers what them to believe.

12 Noon, 2JUL UPDATE: Fifteen of thirty-one schools receiving "F" scores, were charter schools. This data raises serious questions. See the complete list here.

Help Wanted: Florida Commissioner of Education

The week of March 21 was full of newsworthy education related events coming from Tallahassee.
On Monday, Commissioner of Education Eric Smith submitted his
resignation effective June 2011, stating:

“The time has come to allow our newly elected governor to have input through the State Board of Education on the type of leader to pursue his goals for education.”

It is not the Governor who hires or fires the Commissioner of Education. That task is a constitutional duty taken by the State Board of Education.

On Tuesday, Board member Roberto Martinez called for an emergency meeting of the Board to "swiftly organize a search" for a replacement by August. The same day, Willard T. Fair, chairman of the State Board of Education, sent an indignant letter of resignation effective immediately citing his displeasure with the way Smith had been "fired", the fact that the Governor had never met with the Commissioner, the manner in which the Governor had ignored the State Board. In his last act as chair, he rejected Commissioner's Smith's resignation. He refused to participate in the emergency meeting calling it a sham, that the Governor had a candidate, and the Board's role would become a rubber stamping of that selection. He asked that his letter be placed into the record at the emergency meeting.

On Wednesday, Governor Scott called Commissioner Smith for the first time since the resignation and also made calls to State Education Board members, some talked to him for the first time. Scott said he recognized the duties and responsibilities of the Board in the selection of a new Education Commission and would help the Board make that selection.

"I will be working with the Board of Education to find a new commissioner," he said. "It's going to be somebody that believes the same way I do."

Scott has yet to clearly identify what he believes the goal and mission of public education is and its effect on the final customer - students.

On Thursday, Governor Scott signed SB736 into law. The State School Board met via telecon and decided to hire a search firm to find a replacement. The search firm will be selected by their next meeting.

Governor Scott will name three to the State Board of Education, replacing those members whose terms have or will soon expire. Fair's term expired in December and agreed to stay on til a replacement could be found.

What relevant experience and expertise will fill the an incoming Education Commissioner? Here is one scenario.
JOB DESCRIPTION
Florida Education Commissioner
Salary $195,000 - $283,000
No experience in the field of education preferred.
M.B.A.
Senior or mid-level executive.
Manufacturing, IT experience preferred.
Broad graduate preferred.

The job requires skills necessary to implement a $700 million dollar federal grant, manage multi-million dollars contracts and subcontracts, vendors and a contingent of consultants deployed to support local school districts. Initiate an organizational shift to oversee a significant increase in the size of Department of Education and its role in implementing the legislative requirements of SB736.

Maybe the Broad Foundation has a candidate to fill this tall order.

SB736 Heads to Senate Education Appropriations Committee

Posted For

Sandra in Brevard





SB736 got a unanimous vote in the Senate Pre-K12 Education Committee and will now be considered by the Senate Budget Subcommittee on Education Pre-K12 Appropriation. The subcommittee is chaired by Senator David Simmons and Senator Bill Montford is VIce Chair. Committee members are Senators Nancy Detert, Paula Dockery, Anitere Flores, Evelyn Lynn, Jeremy Ring, Gary Siplin, and Stephen Wise. They will meet to discuss SB736 on February 15.

Some members of the Educations Appropriations subcommittee already showed some irritation with Governor Scott's budget plans for education that includes a 10 percent cut and a suggestion districts use this years funds to make up for the cut next year. Here are some highlights of their comments:

Sen. Evelyn Lynn, R-Ormond Beach, cast doubt on Scott's suggestion to plug some of the hole with stimulus money districts were given to spend for the current school year. "I just don't think that's as straight an arrow as I would expect," said Lynn, chairwoman of the Republican Senate Conference. "I look at it as a little smoke and mirrors."


"Regifting," Sen. Nancy Detert, R-Venice, interrupted.


"It seems a little bit improper," Lynn said.


Chairman David Simmons, R-Maitland, said some districts, including Broward - the state's second largest district, had already spent the money. Simmons said he's awaiting a report on all the districts.


"We'll have a better idea about whether this is real or not," Simmons said.


Senate budget chief J.D. Alexander pointed out to the governor's budget staff in his committee that their math did not add up correctly. While the staff showed cuts of $4.6 bilion in spending, Alexander pointed out the "real cut" adds up to less than $3 billion.

Reaction from the House side was similar:

“A 10 percent reduction is a significant cut,” said committee Chairwoman Marti Coley, R-Marianna.


Coley and Rep. Janet Adkins scolded Scott’s office for trying to "have it both ways" with the education budget. Scott said he’s against the use of federal stimulus money, but his office tacitly encourages school districts to use the money to boost per-pupil spending.


“It’s imperative that you go back and you redo the numbers,” said Adkins, R-Fernandina Beach.


"Committee members also questioned why budget categories had been renamed and changed. The so-called FEFP — the state's complicated, longtime school-funding formula — gets a new moniker, for example, and is now the Education Choice Fund.


Such changes make it hard to compare Scott's spending proposal with prior years' budgets, they said. "I don't know how the math adds up," said Rep. Kelli Stargel, R-Lakeland."

Reaction from Sandra In Brevard

Last year there was no detail on how much SB6 was going to cost. The Appropriations Committee must explain this year how much SB736 will cost and given the proposed cuts where the funds will come from precisely. And "fiscal impact is indeterminate" is not an acceptable response. If they do not develop a cost analysis, there's no point going forward.


Read more: http://www.miamiherald.com/2011/02/08/2057172/lawmakers-demand-budget-details.html#ixzz1Dgbq3R74

Read more: http://miamiherald.typepad.com/nakedpolitics/2011/02/gov-rick-scotts-k-12-budget-called-smoke-and-mirrors.html#ixzz1DgaK2EXH

http://blogs.orlandosentinel.com/news_politics/2011/02/scotts-4-6-billion-in-cuts-dont-add-up.html

http://www.orlandosentinel.com/news/politics/os-scott-education-budget-folo-20110208,0,5917927.story

To see comments on this article visit

http://grumpyelder-todayimgrumpyabout.blogspot.com/2011/02/sb736-heads-to-senate-education.html

SB736: Fiscal Impact Indeterminate

Posted for

Sandra in Brevard




The Florida Senate Bill Analysis and Fiscal Impact Statement for SB736, filed by State Senator Stephen Wise, appeared on the PreK-12 Education Committee website. On page 11, Section V: Fiscal Impact Statement reads as follows:

A. Tax/Fees Issue: None

B. Private Sector Impact: None

C. Government Sector Impact:

"The fiscal impact of this bill is indeterminate.

According to the DOE, there will be additional costs to the districts for monitoring the use of evaluation criteria by supervisors and administrators.

As part of Florida's funding in Race to the Top, the DOE will assist school districts in their development of assessment items that may be used for locally developed assessments. Specifically, the DOE will provide the following:


Resources for districts to develop assessment items for "hard to measure" content areas, including Physical and Health Education, Fine Arts, and World Languages; Assessment items for core academic areas (Math, Social Studies,


Science, Language Arts, and Spanish) for grade levels and content areas that are not already tested by FCAT or state end-of-course assessments; and Development of a technology platform that will provide districts secure access to high-quality assessment items and tools for the creation and administration of student assessments.


The DOE notes that over the next three years the grant will provide funding for the development of end-of-course exams in most subject areas. The DOE also noted that additional resources or user charges will be necessary to maintain an assessment item bank or platform at the conclusion of the grant period.

According to the DOE, there are over 400 charter schools in Florida. The DOE reports that there will be a significant impact on its staff to review the evaluation systems for these schools.

It is not anticipated that the bill revises the total funds for instructional personnel and school administrator compensation."

Senator Wise seemed to indicate that he would focus on getting legislation written, but let the Senate Education Appropriations Committee figure out how to fund it. No cost analysis ever emerged for last year's effort (SB6).

Given the current state of the economy and Governor Scott's newly released budgetary measures, it is impossible to guess if SB736 is fundable even if a cost analysis emerges. With the proposed additional slashes to education funding, it would be unreasonable to divert a single remaining local dollar and/or resource to new tests and database development. Race to the Top funds extends to those school districts who signed on. The analysis does not address funding for districts that are not getting Race to the Top support.

Reports suggest that the Governor's proposal was not received with smiles and cheers in Tallahassee. While Scott proposes lowering the forced property tax, he cannot control local (county) education property taxes. If SB736 turns out to be an unfunded mandate, will local governments have to look at local increases they control?

The devil is in the details and we just don't have enough of that. Scott's proposal has to be voted on by the legislature and it looks like Scott needs to convince them. Simply stated, there must be no unfunded mandates and no encroachment on local control.

Read the full bill analysis here: http://www.flsenate.gov/Session/Bill/2011/736


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