School Grades Released
February 13, 2016
The Florida Department of Education released school grades on Friday, and they were mostly good news for schools in Escambia and Santa Rosa counties.
The Escambia County School District’s grade improved from a C during the previous three years to B for the 2014-15 school year. Santa Rosa County earned an A for the 12th consecutive year.
Thirteen Escambia County School earned an A, while three schools – Montclair, O.J. Semmes and C.A.Weis — were F schools. Five Flags Academy, a charter school that shut down last year, also rank an F. In Santa Rosa County, 21 of 27 total schools received an A, while no school was grade below a C.
In the North Escambia area:
- Molino Park maintained its A grade; while Ransom Middle and Tate High remained B schools.
- Lipscomb Elementary improved from a C to an A.
- Pine Meadow Elementary improved from a B to an A.
- Jim Allen Elementary, Bratt Elementary, and Northview high schools improved from a C to an B.
- Byrneville Elementary and Ernest Ward Middle School slipped from an A to a B.
- McArthur Elementary dropped from a B to C.
Complete school grades for Escambia and Santa Rosa counties are below:
Prison Health Contract Under Scrutiny
February 13, 2016
Department of Corrections Secretary Julie Jones is under fire for signing a $268 million, no-bid contract for prison health services after one of the state’s two vendors walked away from a five-year, $1.2 billion deal three years early.
Jones signed the new contract with Centurion of Florida LLC in January, a little more than a month after Corizon Health exercised a 180-day cancellation provision in its contract with the state. Corizon Health, which handles care for more than three-fourths of Florida’s 100,000 inmates, will continue to operate health services for prisoners until the end of May.
But Wexford Health Sources, which provides health care for about 18,000 prisoners in the southern portion of the state and wanted the temporary contract, is questioning Jones’s handling of the agreement with Centurion.
Wexford is criticizing the terms of the “cost plus management fee” contract, in which the state has agreed to pay Centurion a 13.5 percent fee for administrative and overhead costs — an amount that could exceed $31 million — on top of the company’s actual costs.
Wexford President Dan Conn told The News Service of Florida on Friday that the company intends to challenge the award of the contract, even after Jones told Wexford it couldn’t.
Because the contract was issued for health services and was prompted by an emergency, Jones said the department “is under no requirement to enter into a bidding process.”
Even so, Jones said she sought quotes from four potential vendors prior to selecting Centurion, which came in the cheapest and which she said had an “outstanding reputation” in the other five states in which the company provides health services for inmates. One of the vendors dropped out, leaving Wexford in competition with two others.
“This is a classic case of how vendors react when they bid higher and they’re not selected. They’re trying to undo this procurement instrument in order to come in again to try to get the work. They had their chance,” Jones said Friday during an interview in her office.
Two of the potential providers offered estimates based on cost-plus calculations, while Wexford submitted a quote based on the per-inmate, per-diem — or “full risk” — rate under which it is currently paid.
Comparing the different types of cost estimates is like comparing “apples to bananas,” Conn said.
“We are very disappointed that there was no process to obtain comparable apples-to-apples bids. Therefore, the department cannot ensure that the most responsible, cost-effective bid was obtained for the Florida taxpayers. That’s what bothers us,” Conn said in a telephone interview.
Jones said she needs an extra $34 million — on top of $229 million currently budgeted for prison health services — to fund the additional cost of the Centurion contract for the 2016-2017 fiscal year.
Sen. Joe Negron, who chairs a subcommittee that controls prison spending, said he “generally supports” the direction in which Jones is headed, but would have preferred that she enter an agreement with the vendor that would eventually take over for a longer period.
“Now we’re opening up the possibility that we could have one company doing a short-term arrangement under exigent circumstances and then having to transition to perhaps another company. Every time we change contractors or vendors, it doesn’t go well and it’s more expensive,” Negron, R-Stuart, said.
House Speaker Steve Crisafulli said Jones’ signing of the contract took his staff by surprise.
“We were not apprised that the Department of Corrections had signed a contract. We are only now finding out the details. While we have been generally supportive of the direction Secretary Jones has been taking, our members have lots of questions about her recent decisions,” Crisafulli, R-Merritt Island, said in a statement.
Under the agreement, the state can renew Centurion’s contract — slated to run from May through January, 2018, when the agency is expected to select new health service providers — for up to three years.
The contract will allow Centurion — whose lobbyist is Dean Cannon, a former House speaker — to give the state a 60-day notice if it intends to leave the state, four months shorter than Corizon’s 180-day termination notice requirement.
Wexford filed a notice of intent to protest the contract with Jones, but the secretary rejected that attempt on Wednesday. The company intends to file an administrative complaint that “will lay out all of the things that we find objectionable about the actual contract that they signed and the process they used,” Conn said.
Nearly all corrections agencies and managed health care plans have stopped using cost-plus contracts because of the risk involved, Conn said.
“The problems with cost-plus contracts are the fact that there’s nothing to stop you from continually spending money,” he said.
But Jones said Centurion will have to submit monthly billing statements, which will allow the agency to scrutinize the vendor’s spending. The information will also give the department “a competitive edge in future health care contract negotiations,” Jones said.
The public dispute puts Wexford in an uncomfortable position — it still has a contract worth about $48 million a year with the state, and it is hoping to secure a more lucrative, long-term agreement in the future.
“I like the secretary. We work well with her. We just want to get the points out so that everybody can understand what the issues are. We just want to get the facts on the table,” Conn said.
Allowing a new company to reap $30 million more than what it is spending may have touched a nerve — Corizon and Wexford both claim they are losing money on the health care contracts. Jones said last year that Corizon estimated it was losing about $1 million a month providing health care to more than 80,000 inmates.
It is unknown how much Wexford would have charged the state under the temporary contract because the company has said the information is a trade secret and, therefore, should be shielded from the public. Jones’ office is trying to get the company to change its position on keeping the quote private but said the proposed amount was “significantly higher.”
Jones, who has been highly critical of the current contracts with Wexford and Corizon, is using what is known as an “invitation to negotiate,” or ITN, process to select new health care vendors.
Some lawmakers are also questioning whether the privatization effort has been a failure.
“That’s an open question right now,” Negron said, pointing out that the state’s costs for health care for inmates were skyrocketing and “the quality was suspect” when the Legislature decided to outsource the services.
Lawmakers can now compare the services under both scenarios, but, if it decides to stick with a private contractor, should pick one that has a “track record of success” in Florida and other states.
“The predicament we find ourselves in now is awkward,” he said.
But Jones blamed the privatization problems on the agency’s original contracts with Wexford and Corizon, inked before Gov. Rick Scott appointed her to take over as secretary a year ago.
“I think these vendors underbid. Knowing all of this now, I think we have a much better landscape, using the ITN process, and we have a lot more information on how to privatize in order to hold vendors accountable,” she said. “So, no, I don’t think it’s a failed experiment in that, should we have not done it? I can’t answer that question. Was it done correctly? In my estimation, no. Is it worth another try at privatizing? Yes.”
by Dara Kam, The News Service of Florida
Pictured: The medical facility inside the Century Correctional Institution. NorthEscambia.com file photos, click to enlarge.
Northview Chiefs Pound Laurel Hill 18-0 In Just 3 Innings
February 13, 2016
The hits just kept on coming Friday night in Bratt from the Northview Chiefs as they defeated the Laurel Hill Hobos 18-0 in a game that was called after just three innings.
The winning pitcher for Northview was Thomas Moore. He threw three innings, gave up no runs, no hits and struck out all 9 batters he faced. His record is 1-0.
Leading hitters for the Chiefs were Zach Payne, 3-3, including a triple, two runs scored, one RBI and two stolen bases. Jared Aliff went 1-3, with a three-run double. Quentin Sampson went 1-2 with four runs scored and two stolen bases. Also scoring runs for the Chiefs were Roman Manning (2 runs), Luke Ward (2 runs), Jacob Dunsford (1 run), Zach Holland (1 run), John Shivington (1 run), Josh Neese (1 run), Michael Jones (1 run), Chandler Lowery (1 run) and Daniel Mascaro (2 runs).
The Chiefs (1-0) will host the West Florida Jaguars on Tuesday at 6 p.m.
NorthEscambia.com photos by Ramona Preston, click to enlarge.
Florida Gov’t Weekly Roundup: Hoping For A Very Happy Ending
February 13, 2016
Budgets have been approved. Committee meetings are dropping off. And the major differences between the House and the Senate are coming into focus.
The halfway point of the legislative session passed this week, and lawmakers were already trying to set the stage to avoid the kind of slow-motion train wreck that accompanied the end of their 2015 gathering. With a more modest gap between spending plans this year — and no unbridgeable policy divides like last year’s fight over health-care spending — there’s hope, at least, that the Legislature can finish its work on time.
Or at least the necessary work of agreeing on a final budget for the fiscal year that begins July 1 and the likely tax-cut package that goes along with it. But there are still key differences between lawmakers on everything from a lucrative gambling agreement with the Seminole Tribe to whether the state should change the public employees’ retirement system.
The to-do list is set. The story of the second half of the session revolves around how many items lawmakers will check off.
A BILLION HERE, A BILLION THERE
While there is occasionally an outbreak of bipartisanship over the House budget, the chamber is generally more given to argument over its spending plan than the Senate is. And this week was true to form: While the Senate debate was sleepy, the House discussion was charged with objections from minority Democrats, none of those complaints noisier than a fight over whether to ban funding for Planned Parenthood.
The legislator who sponsored the Planned Parenthood provision didn’t really talk about what motivated it, instead giving a presentation heavy on the separation of powers and mechanics of the process and light on his decision-making.
“This is a matter of legislative authority,” said Health Care Appropriations Chairman Matt Hudson, R-Naples. “We have a choice. … Given the fact that we had never expressly said to fund them, when you see that happening, I think it’s incumbent upon us as a Legislature to say, ‘Hey, no, that’s not what we want to do.’ ”
Democrats continued to hammer away at the cut, which they said would harm women’s health, given that there is already a federal law preventing federal money that flows through the state budget from being used to pay for abortions.
“The funding that they get from this state is for the things that women need,” said Rep. Kevin Rader, D-Delray Beach.
The Senate budget debate was, as usual, a more collegial affair. The chamber’s spending plan — which lacked the Planned Parenthood language in the House blueprint — was approved unanimously, even though some Democrats made clear they would like to see a different approach.
“For me, personally, even though I’m going to support this budget, I just want to let you know: I think it’s more important for us to spend that money on our students than it is to spend it on a tax cut,” said Sen. Jeff Clemens, D-Lake Worth. “I think it’s more important to spend this money on health care for children or on mental health services than it is for a tax cut.”
But the more notable comments might have come near the end of the debate, when Senate Appropriations Chairman Tom Lee, R-Brandon, delivered his closing arguments for the bill.
Senate leaders have clearly been more hesitant about the size of the tax cuts offered by Gov. Rick Scott and the House, both of which amount to roughly $1 billion. Lee issued the most scathing critique yet about a large package — the Senate’s opening offer was $250 million — signaling a major hurdle for one of Scott’s top priorities.
“I can tell you that, in my view, if we even begin to entertain tax cuts remotely in the area of that billion-dollar number, it would be fiscally irresponsible of us,” Lee said.
CUTTING TO THE CHASE
Lee’s comments came shortly after the House charged ahead with a $991.7 million tax-cut bill (HB 7099) that includes provisions aimed at reducing taxes on commercial leases, permanently eliminating a tax on manufacturing and filling the calendar with sales-tax “holidays for consumers.”
House Finance & Tax Chairman Matt Gaetz, a Fort Walton Beach Republican who has spearheaded the House package, said the measures will help boost Florida’s economy and he’s optimistic most of the proposals will get accepted by the Senate.
“The goal in the House is to return $1 billion to the people of Florida,” Gaetz said. “On the methodology, I’m eager to have a discussion … on how that can be done.”
The House voted 96-17 to approve the package, with a few Democrats saying they voted in favor because there are “good elements” in the proposal and that they anticipate the total cuts will be reduced during budget talks with the Senate.
“I do not believe there is one chance, one iota of a chance, that when we finish this process on day 60 (the final day of the legislative session), that there’s going to be a $1 billion tax cut,” said Rep. David Richardson, a Miami Beach Democrat who voted for the bill.
The Senate has been slowly piecing together its tax package through individual member bills still in the committee process and formally unveiled a plan this week to add a temporary reduction in education property taxes to the mix. Those taxes, known as the required local effort, form the overwhelming majority of a proposed increase in education funding and have sparked criticism that lawmakers are balancing the budget on the backs of property owners.
“This is not just a tax cut,” said Sen. Don Gaetz, the chairman of the Senate Education Appropriations Subcommittee and father of Matt Gaetz. “This is making sure that the state, through its other revenue sources, picks up our fair share of our partnership with local school boards and local property taxpayers.”
Under the bill, at least half of the boost in education funding — scheduled to hit record levels — would have to come from state funds, not the required local effort. Using the Senate’s budget proposal — the most generous one on education funding — the state would need to kick in another $183.2 million to increase school spending by the same amount and get to an even split. An equivalent rollback in property taxes would be about $12.40 on $100,000 of taxable value.
There were still unknowns about how exactly the proposal would work. House Speaker Steve Crisafulli, R-Merritt Island, repeated Thursday that he would be interested in the proposal as long as lawmakers ensured the money made it back to taxpayers.
“Because if we’re just pushing money back to locals and not cutting the millage, then that’s not ideal, unless we’re writing checks back to the individuals that pay property taxes,” he said.
Lee said the proposal would likely work by lowering the millage and not by sending rebates directly to taxpayers, which he said would incur large postage bills.
MATTERS OF LIFE, DEATH AND PENSIONS
Lawmakers are also facing the clock when it comes to hammering out differences on how to fix Florida’s flawed death-penalty sentencing process, which was struck down as unconstitutional last month by the U.S. Supreme Court. At the heart of the legislative debate is an element of the death penalty not addressed by the high court: whether a jury should be required to unanimously recommend an execution before the penalty can be imposed.
The Senate backs unanimity, advocated by nearly all death penalty experts, while the House is supporting a 9-3 jury recommendation, pushed by state prosecutors. In the past, recommendations could come from a majority of jurors.
At a meeting of the House Judiciary Committee, family members of murder victims talked about their support for not requiring unanimity.
“Justice won’t be served” by allowing a single juror to thwart a recommendation of death, Emilee Cope told the panel.
Cope’s father, Keith, was kidnapped, hogtied to a bed and left to die in 2009. Keith Cope died later from complications brought on by injuries sustained as a result of the attack. A jury voted 10-2 to recommend putting her father’s killer to death, Emilee Cope said.
The two chambers “have room to compromise,” particularly about providing notice to defendants when the death penalty will be sought, Sen. Rob Bradley, R-Fleming Island, said later Wednesday.
“We will find a resolution to the issue. I think there’s some middle ground there,” Bradley, a former prosecutor, said. “I don’t think we’re there yet.”
Scott would not say what lawmakers should do to ensure that Florida’s death penalty system is fixed. But Attorney General Pam Bondi told The News Service of Florida she sides with prosecutors.
“The U.S. Supreme Court has not required (unanimity)” in previous cases, Bondi said, and the court did not address the issue in the ruling last month. That ruling found that that the state’s system of giving judges — and not juries — the power to impose death sentences was an unconstitutional violation of defendants’ Sixth Amendment right to trial by jury.
When asked why she and the prosecutors supported a 9-3 supermajority vote to recommend the death penalty, Bondi said, “Compromise.”
Cracks between the two chambers were also showing up in other policy areas. House leaders want to combine a measure dealing with death benefits for first responders killed in the line of duty with a change to the overall retirement system for public employees. The change would involve whether employees would be enrolled in a traditional pension plan or a 401(k)-style plan if they don’t choose one. The Senate sponsor of the death-benefits bill called for his colleagues to reject the House plan and pass his bill.
“I hope we can make a very strong showing on this bill as it goes over to our friends on the other side. … I don’t believe we should ever be negotiating on the bodies of our dead first responders,” said Sen. Jeremy Ring, D-Margate.
Also this week, House and Senate members took different approaches to major gambling legislation. A House panel overwhelmingly supported a trio of bills that would ratify a $3 billion gambling deal between the state and the Seminole Tribe, do away with greyhound racing while allowing dog tracks to keep operating other games, and open the door for slot machines in Palm Beach County.
Senators, however, were more cautious. A committee postponed consideration of gambling measures after Sen. Joe Negron, a Stuart Republican set to become the chamber’s president in November, filed a series of amendments that would dramatically change the proposal, months in the making.
STORY OF THE WEEK: The House and Senate approved budgets for the fiscal year that begins July 1, setting up negotiations for the one bill lawmakers are constitutionally required to finish each year.
QUOTE OF THE WEEK: “The death penalty to me is equivalent to euthanizing an animal. They’re given peace and they won’t have to suffer anymore. Meanwhile, my father suffered horribly. I wish he could have traded places with those defendants, in the sense that he would have been given a more peaceful, painless death.”— Emilee Cope, a victim advocate for the Edgewater Police Department whose father was kidnapped, hogtied to a bed and left to die in 2009. Keith Cope died later from complications brought on by injuries sustained as a result of the attack.
by Brandon Larrabee, The News Service of Florida
Escambia Sheriff’s Office Seeks Missing Brothers
February 13, 2016
The Escambia County Sheriff’s Office is asking for the public’s help in finding two brothers missing since late November.
Blake Kent Stevenson, 14, and Mackenzie Ray Owens, 16, were last seen at their home on Candlewood Circle on November 29. Blake Stevenson currently has an active warrant for his arrest.
Anyone with information on their whereabouts is asked to call the Escambia County Sheriff’s Office at (850) 436-9620 or Crime Stoppers at (850) 433-STOP.
Century Chamber To Hire New Economic Development Coordinator
February 12, 2016
The search is about to begin for a new economic development coordinator in Century.
The Century Chamber of Commerce Board of Directors voted Thursday afternoon to fund the position with a $40,000 yearly donation from the Escambia County Commission. The job listing will be posted soon on NorthEscambia.com and will have a closing date about 10 days later.
The person selected will work directly as a independent contractor and report to the Century Chamber of Commerce.
Century’s previous economic development director, Allison Tyler, worked for the University of West Florida and their Haas Center. She was tasked with overseeing the implementation of the Town of Century’s economic development strategic plan, which was developed by the Haas Center.
Tyler’s period as Century’s economic development coordinator was completed when the Haas Center’s contract with the chamber came to an end. She continues her employment in a different capacity with the Haas Center.
NorthEscambia.com file photo, click to enlarge.
House Tax Cuts Face Downsizing In Senate
February 12, 2016
A wide-ranging, nearly $1 billion tax-cut package got strong House approval on Thursday.
But with the Senate budget chairman calling $1 billion in tax cuts “fiscally irresponsible,” the Senate will have a big say about what eventually lands on Gov. Rick Scott’s desk.
The $991.7 million House package (HB 7099) includes reducing a tax paid on commercial leases, permanently eliminating a tax on manufacturing equipment and holding several types of sales-tax “holidays” for consumers.
The cuts would be enacted over two years, with many causing one-time hits on state revenue. Lawmakers have a budget surplus for the coming fiscal year, but state economists recently reduced revenue projections by about $400 million.
House Finance & Tax Chairman Matt Gaetz, a Fort Walton Beach Republican who has spearheaded the House package, said the measures will help boost Florida’s economy and he’s optimistic most of the proposals will get accepted by the Senate.
“The goal in the House is to return $1 billion to the people of Florida,” Gaetz said. “On the methodology, I’m eager to have a discussion … on how that can be done.”
The House voted 96-17 to approve the package, with a few Democrats saying they voted in favor because there are “good elements” in the proposal and that they anticipate the total cuts will be reduced during budget talks with the Senate.
“I do not believe there is one chance, one iota of a chance, that when we finish this process on day 60 (the final day of the legislative session), that there’s going to be a $1 billion tax cut,” said Rep. David Richardson, a Miami Beach Democrat who voted for the bill.
Scott has made $1 billion in tax cuts one of his top priorities this year. But the Senate, which remains apprehensive about making too many recurring, or permanent, cuts is using a $250 million figure as a starting point.
Senate Appropriations Chairman Tom Lee said it would be “fiscally irresponsible” to consider tax cuts in the range of $1 billion or to force the hands of future lawmakers by approving recurring cuts.
“My biggest concern is the volume. That’s my biggest concern,” said Lee, a Brandon Republican who has asked for a meeting with Scott’s staff to discuss the cuts. “My second concern is the amount of recurring that we do, because I don’t think it’s sustainable.”
Lee added that any cuts would be need to return money to “the broadest number of Floridians possible, to return it to people that have been part of the tax base in this state currently and for generations past, and not worry — quite so much in the tax package portions of this — of trying to attract businesses.”
Senate President Andy Gardiner, R-Orlando, said any cuts would have to be balanced with Scott’s other priority, a $250 million request for economic business incentives at the public-private Enterprise Florida, Inc.
“I want to give the governor as much flexibility as we can on EFI,” Gardiner said. “At some point all these things have to start coming together.”
The Senate has matched Scott’s incentives request, which also would revamp the process of awarding and handling incentive money.
The House has offered $80 million for the incentives, which is still an increase from the $43 million Enterprise Florida received for the current fiscal year.
House Transportation & Economic Development Appropriations Chairman Clay Ingram, R-Pensacola, said Wednesday that the funding isn’t there to match Scott’s incentive request.
Meanwhile, the Senate has been slowly piecing together its tax package through individual member bills still in the committee process.
The House tax-cut package and the individual Senate bills do not include the largest part of Scott’s requested cuts — a permanent elimination of income taxes on manufacturing and retail businesses. The cut is projected as a $770 million recurring hit to state revenue.
by Jim Turner, The News Service of Florida
Man Gets 10 Years On Drugs, Weapons Charges
February 12, 2016
An Escambia County man was sentenced t0 a decade behind bars, according to State Attorney Bill Eddins, on drugs and weapons charges.
Martin Oviedo was sentenced by Circuit Judge Thomas Dannheisser to 10 years in state prison with seven years as a minimum mandatory. Oviedo pled straight to the court to trafficking in methamphetamine, possession of firearm by a convicted felon, possession of ammunition and possession of marijuana.
Law enforcement took custody of several firearms which they later determined belonged to Oviedo. Further investigation revealed that Oviedo was staying at a local hotel and he was taken into custody. A search warrant was executed on the hotel room where methamphetamine, marijuana, and spice were located. A subsequent search of a related storage unit revealed ammunition that matched the caliber of weapons previously seized.
Wilson Robertson Boat Ramp Opens Honoring Longtime Public Servant
February 12, 2016
More than 50 local, regional and state representatives joined Escambia County in celebration of the new Wilson B. Robertson Boat and Canoe Launch ad at 11800 Mobile Highway Thursday. The special ceremony also recognized Vice Chairman and District 1 Commissioner Wilson B. Robertson for his years of service and dedication to Escambia County, including his years of service as District 5 commissioner.
The boat ramp area, which sits on a 4.8 acre parcel near the Perdido River, features two boat ramp launch lanes, an ADA compliant dock, a paddle craft launch, 31 parking spaces for vehicles with trailers and a covered picnic table. Funding sources for the project included a Natural Resource Damage Assessment grant from the Florida Department of Environmental Protection, Escambia County Local Option Sales Tax and vessel registration fees for a total of $2.65 million.
“Fishing and boating are just some of the many recreational activities that continue to serve as great outdoor experiences in Escambia County,” said Robertson. “This new facility provides opportunities for citizens and tourists of all ages to enjoy, and I am very grateful to all of the local, regional and state partners that helped bring this project into fruition.”
Photos for NorthEscambia.com, click to enlarge.
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Softball: Northview Chiefs Beat Central
February 12, 2016
The Northview Lady Chiefs rallied in the bottom of the seventh to beat the Central Jaguars 6-5 Thursday night in Bratt. The Chiefs and Jags were tied 3-3 at the end of six.
The Chiefs’ Tori Herrington had 13 strikeouts while going three for three at the plate. Aubree Love and Kendall Enfinger were two for three, while Laurie Purdy had the scoring base hit for Northview.
The Lady Chiefs will host the Jay Royals Friday. The JV plays at 4:00, the varsity at 6:00.
NorthEscambia.com photos, click to enlarge.
