New FL education bill requires 5% be withheld from districts to implement bill.

[madfloridian]

It just keeps getting deeper and deeper here in this state.

The stupidity of the new bill that has already passed the state senate and will likely pass the state house tomorrow is almost beyond belief.

They are going to force the school districts to give up part of their budgets which are already in shambles, and tell them if they don't implement the plans they will lose it.

It will cost about 900 million to implement the bill.

Legislators in FL to approve a bill that would make it easier to fire teachers and tie their pay to student test scores.

Unfortunately this goes right along with the wishes and desires of the Democratic head of the Department of Education, Arne Duncan.


Megan Pankiewicz from Seminole County Schools, left, and Erin Rock from the Department of Education listen to the testimony concerning the teacher merit pay and tenure bill at the house education policy council meeting on Monday, April 5, 2010, in Tallahassee, Fla. (AP Photo/Steve Cannon) (AP)

TALLAHASSEE, FLA. — A House panel turned aside vehement opposition from school officials and educators after nearly eight hours of debate and discussion Monday to approve a bill that would make it easier to fire teachers and tie their pay to student test scores. The measure appears headed for passage in the Republican-controlled Legislature after a 12-5 party-line vote in the Education Policy Council. The bill (HB 7189) is backed by Republican legislative leaders and influential business groups as well as Gov. Charlie Crist and his predecessor, Jeb Bush.

And the financially painful part:

Local school officials focused their opposition on a provision that would withhold 5 percent of each school district's per-student funding and put it in a fund to pay for implementing the bill. That includes the development of new tests and the merit pay raises. Districts that fail to comply with the bill's requirements would lose that money — $900 million statewide — effective in the 2011-12 budget year.

Duval County School Board member W.C. Gentry said even if a district gets the 5 percent it would have to cut other spending to comply with the merit pay provision and other requirements in the bill.

"When you take 5 percent out of the pie and you need to eat the whole pie, then something has to happen," Gentry said. "Where does the 5 percent come from? Who pays for it? Where is this pot of money?"

I would like to say this bill will help Democrats in the state come election time, but unfortunately it is their own agenda.

Teachers are notoriously silent on issues and often fail to speak out, but this time they are protesting.

High school teacher Thomas Lentz said the proposed system simply isn't fair to those educators.

"We're going to take your kids, give them this one test and then you know it's kind of gambling almost. Maybe I've got a good group of kids this year. Maybe next year I don't get a good group of kids, so my pay will fluctuate," Lentz said. "How am I supposed to have a mortgage? How am I supposed to live a life? How am I supposed to have a budget like that?"

They have protested this time, but no one is paying any attention to them.