Florida Names Interim Education Commissioner After Resignation
August 3, 2013
The State Board of Education quickly installed Public Schools Chancellor Pam Stewart as interim education commissioner Friday, returning her to the post she held before Tony Bennett was tapped for the permanent job late last year.
Bennett resigned Thursday in the wake of reports that, while the elected superintendent of public instruction in Indiana, he tweaked that state’s school grading system to benefit a school founded by one of Bennett’s political contributors.
The board unanimously backed Stewart during a conference call, even as some members lamented the loss of Bennett.
“I can assure you that I did everything possible to convince Tony Bennett to stay on with us,” board Chairman Gary Chartrand told the group.
Another member, Kathleen Shanahan, said the board should begin looking at its accountability system and its commitment to a multi-state consortium developing a new test for students, following Bennett’s decision to step aside.
“It’s a mess, and I think a mess provides an opportunity,” Shanahan said.
Legislative leaders had called for the state to pull out of the exam shortly before Bennett’s resignation. Meanwhile, Democrats and the Florida Education Association called for the state to go back to choosing its education commissioner in statewide elections.
“For more than a decade the office has been relegated to a political appointment, and as we have just seen, is subject to the latest political whims,” FEA President Andy Ford said in a statement backing the proposal. “The appointed commissioner is not accountable to parents, not accountable to students, not accountable to educators and not accountable to taxpayers.”
Jail Transfer Meeting Rescheduled
August 2, 2013
The next meeting concerning the transfer of control of the Escambia County Jail from Sheriff David Morgan to Escambia County will be open to the public.
The joint meeting between Escambia County and the Escambia County Sheriff’s Office that was originally scheduled for Monday, August 5 to continue negations for the transfer of the Jail and Central Booking operations, has been rescheduled to Wednesday, August 7, at 10 a.m. The workshop will be held at 221 Palafox Place in the fourth floor training room within the Escambia County Administration office. This meeting will have limited space and is open to the public.
Teens Arrested For Cantonment Vehicle Burglaries
August 2, 2013
Two juveniles have been arrested in connection with at least four vehicle burglaries in Cantonment.
During the early morning hours Thursday, the Escambia County Sheriff’s Office received a call reporting that a vehicle burglary had just occurred and the victim was chasing the suspects down the road. Deputies arrived in the 1800 block of Wareham Way in Cantonment where a resident advised that the victim had chased the suspects in the direction of Highway 297A.
One of the suspects, 17-year old Marquis Derrell Byrant, was quickly apprehended. Two K-9 units were used to track the second suspect, leading the arrest of 17-year old Lakendrick Jiles Holmes.
An Escambia County Sheriff’s Office revealed the duo was responsible for at least three other vehicle burglaries.
Bryant and Holmes were charged with four counts of burglary of vehicle and larceny. Holmes was also charged with possession of marijuana.
Education Boss Bennett Resigns Amid Grade Changing Scandal
August 2, 2013
Saying he didn’t want to be a distraction, Florida Education Commissioner Tony announced his immediate resignation Thursday amid a rapidly growing controversy stemming from his former job heading the Indiana education system.
Bennett, who during a news conference at the Department of Education called media reports out of the Hoosier State “politically motivated,” said Gov. Rick Scott and Florida Board of Education Chairman Gary Chartrand accepted the resignation.
“The decision to resign is mine and mine only because I believe that when this discussion turns to an adult we lose the discussion about making life better for children,” Bennett said.
Declaring that Bennett’s resignation “created an immediate danger to public welfare,” the Board of Education scheduled an emergency conference call Friday morning to appoint an interim commission.
Both Bennett and Scott recommended that Pam Stewart, chancellor of public schools, be named interim commissioner.
Stewart served as interim commissioner before Bennett was hired in December, a month after he lost a bid to be re-elected as Indiana’s superintendent of public instruction. Voters choose the Indiana superintendent, while Florida’s education commissioner is appointed.
Scott praised Bennett for helping with the governor’s legislative priority this past session of raising pay for teachers.
“He made a difficult decision today with the best interest of his family in mind, and he will no doubt continue to make a great contribution wherever he chooses to serve next,” Scott said in a release.
Bennett was the third education commissioner to serve since Scott was inaugurated in January 2011.
Bennett, who had no immediate plans for the future outside of a weekend with his family, said he made his decision so Scott, taxpayers, teachers and students wouldn’t be distracted by “the malicious, unfounded reports out of Indiana.”
Bennett has been engulfed in recent days in a controversy about whether he improperly changed a school grade to benefit a political contributor while he was Indiana’s education chief.
“Every minute we spend defending the credibility of your commissioner, because of what is said 800 miles away, is a minute we waste that we should have been thinking about educating children in Florida,” Bennett said.
During the news conference, Bennett reiterated his contention that he had done nothing wrong and he would request Indiana’s inspector general to investigate the allegations.
“I am fearless about what they will find,” Bennett said.
While running the Indiana schools, Bennett was noted for following the educational blueprint former Gov. Jeb Bush implemented in Florida, from the A-to-F grading system to expanding charter schools and voucher programs.
Bush on Thursday issued a statement that praised Bennett for his work in Indiana.
“Today, more Hoosier kids are graduating high school ready for college or a career and fewer are dropping out,” Bush said. “Last year, the parents of nearly 10,000 children in low-income homes were able to select the school that best fit their son or daughter. Leadership is doing what is right, knowing the results will follow.”
Patricia Levesque, chief executive officer of Bush’s Foundation for Excellence in Education, in the same release called Bennett “a good man and a good friend. Florida’s students will feel the loss of his leadership the most.”
Bennett’s downfall played out quickly in Florida.
The Associated Press, after obtaining candid emails between Bennett and his Indiana staff, reported Monday that Bennett and his staff “frantically overhauled” the Hoosier State’s grading system last year when it looked like one of his political contributors’ charter schools might get a “C.”
Bennett said Thursday there was a “statistical anomaly that didn’t allow 13 schools . . . to have their grade truly reflect their performance because they were unfairly penalized for kids they didn’t have in their school. That wasn’t rigging anything.”
On Thursday, the Indianapolis Star reported that Indiana wouldn’t have had to take over a pair of Indianapolis public schools if similar changes were offered to local district schools. The charter school alleged to have received favored treatment is called Christel House.
“The issue was similar in both cases,” the Star reported. “Christel House had recently added ninth and 10th grades, and (Indianapolis Public Schools’) Howe and Arlington had added middle school grades. The students who filled those seats posted poor enough scores to drag down the schools’ overall ratings.”
The AP reported that Bennett acted to improve the grade of Christel House, raising the school from a C to an A by removing the ninth- and 10th-grade scores. The Star wrote that the local public-school superintendent asked Bennett to remove the middle school scores, allowing the schools to avoid a state takeover, but “Bennett was unmoved.”
Teachers unions in Indiana have demanded an investigation of the A-to-F rating system, the Star reported.
Last month, in advance of the release of Florida school letter grades, the Florida board of education voted 4-3 to back a recommendation by Bennett to prevent drops of more than one letter grade due to changes to the accountability system.
Without the changes, state officials said, 261 schools would have received failing grades this year.
A trio of Democratic lawmakers on Wednesday, Sen. Dwight Bullard, D-Miami, and Reps. Mark Pafford, D-West Palm Beach, and Janet Cruz, D-Tampa, called on Bennett to resign due to the Indiana reports.
Florida Education Association President Andy Ford wrote Thursday that Bennett’s policies have had no value in advancing education.
“The resignation of Florida’s latest commissioner of education is another symptom of the mistrust parents, teachers and the public have in the state’s incoherent and unsound school reform and accountability policies,” Ford wrote.
by Jim Turner, The News Service of Florida
Investigators Seek Person Of Interest In Monday Homicide
August 2, 2013
The Escambia County Sheriff’s Office is searching for a person of interest in a Monday homicide.
Investigators want to locate 36-year old Larry Huff for questioning in the July 29 homicide of 57-year old Jeffrey Weber, who was found in a room at the Homestay Lodge on Mobile Highway. Weber’s body was discovered by a hotel employee after he did not answer his door.
Anyone with information on the whereabouts of Larry Huff is asked to call he Escambia County Sheriff’s Office at (850) 436-9620 or Crime Stoppers at (850) 433-STOP.
Pictured: Two different looks for LarryHuff, as seen in photos provided by the Escambia County Sheriff’s Office for NorthEscambia.com.
Tri-County 12U Competes In Softball World Series This Weekend
August 2, 2013
The Tri-County 12-U All Star softball team is competing in the 2013 World Series in Alachua, Florida, this weekend.
Friday morning Tri- County, the Alabama Babe Ruth State Champions, lost to Floyds Knob, Indiana by the score of 10-8. They will play Independence, Kansas, later today. On Saturday, they will face Ormond Beach, Florida, and Creeks, Florida.
Team members include Hayylee Watson, Avarie Jackson, Kendall Barrow, Kassadi Borders, Kolbi Bray, Malarie Foster, Olivia Cook and Katlynn Hobbs.
Pictured: The Tri-County 12-U All Stars Thursday at the 2013 Babe Ruth World Series in Alachua, Florida. Photo for NorthEscambia.com, click to enlarge.
Century Begins Budget Setting Process
August 2, 2013
The Town of Century started their fiscal year 2013-2014 budget process Thursday with a special town council meeting.
Additional budget workshops are planned for Thursday, August 22; and (if needed) Thursday August 29. Both meetings will be held at 2 p.m. in the council chamber at the Century Town Hall at 7995 North Century Boulevard.
The Town of Century’s budget for the current fiscal year is just under $2.9 million.
Northview Grad Nash Signs Division II Football Scholarship
August 2, 2013
Northview High School graduate Stetson Nash signed a football scholarship Thursday afternoon with NCAA Division II Harding University in Searcy, Arkansas.
Nash, 19, was a member of the Chiefs’ state championship team last year as an offensive and defensive lineman. Nash, joined by Northview coaches Sid Wheatley and Derek Marshman, visited several Arkansas schools.
“We felt like all along he could go and do great things in the classroom as well as in the game of football,” Wheatley said. “Harding has a great coaching staff and it’s a Christian school. Stetson will be a good fit.”
The 19-year old is expected to leave for Arkansas in about a week. He expects to play defense for Harding.
Pictured top: Northview grad Stetson Nash (seated) signs a Harding University Scholarship Thursday afternoon, joined by his aunt Linda Houston and (top, L-R) cousin Charles Houston, Jr., uncle Charles Houston and Christian Valasquez. Pictured inset: Nash is joined by Northview coaches Dereck Marshman (left) and Sid Wheatley. NorthEscambia.com photos, click to enlarge.
Funeral Services Held For Col. Bud Day
August 2, 2013
Funeral services were held Thursday for Col. Bud Day, and American hero. He was 88.
Day was a retired U.S. Air Force Colonel and command pilot who served in active service in World War II and the Vietnam War. Shot down in an air strike in North Vietnam, he was a prisoner of war for five years and seven months during which time he shared a cell with U.S. Senator John McCain (R-AZ).
McCain was among about 1,000 people that attended the funeral service in Shalimar. He was laid to rest at the Barrancas National Cemetery in Pensacola.
Day is often cited as being the most decorated U.S. service member since General Douglas MacArthur, having received nearly 70 decorations, a majority for actions in combat. Day is a recipient of the Medal of Honor.
Pictured top: Funeral service were held Thursday for Col. Bud Day. Pictured below: Sen. John McCain and his wife Cindy pay their final respects. Pictured inset: The funeral poccesson passes along Bayfront Parkway. Photos courtesy WEAR and ECSO for NorthEcambia.com, click to enlarge.
Century Library Reading Program Soars With The Blues
August 2, 2013
The Century Branch Library wrapped up their summer reading series Wednesday with a member of the Blue Angels team.
Jennifer Hoskins, a member of the Blue Angels’ administration team, read to the children. The 22-year old from Minnesota, has been with the Blues for eight months.
Pictured: Blue Angels team member Jennifer Hoskins and Century Library summer volunteers (L-R) Abby Hammond, Jessica Stacey, Daniel Lambeth and Anna Belle Barberree. Submitted photo for NorthEscambia.com, click to enlarge.