Florida OKs Teacher Merit Pay Bill; Scott To Sign
March 17, 2011
The Florida Legislature passed the biggest change to the state’s education system in more than 10 years, sending to Gov. Rick Scott on Wednesday a bill tying teacher salaries to test scores and ending multi-year contracts.
The House of Representatives passed the bill on a 80-39 straight party-line vote, with Republicans in favor, after more than three hours of debate. Scott said afterward that he will sign it, the first bill that will be approved by the new governor.
The bill (SB 736) was a top priority for Republicans, who hold overwhelming majorities in the House and Senate, and moved quickly through the process, but not as quickly as a similar bill that passed last year in the face of heavy opposition from many of the state’s teachers, but was vetoed by then-Gov. Charlie Crist.
“This bill is going to improve our system to the benefit of our students,” Scott told reporters after the vote. “We will make sure the best teachers stick around, that we retain them, we train them, and we’ll find the money to make sure they are paid fairly.”
Republicans in the House of Representatives spent much of their time in debate Wednesday responding to criticism from Democrats. Supporters of the bill said it should be welcomed by teachers because it rewards good work.
“Ineffective teachers need to be on guard, effective teachers have nothing to worry about,” said Rep. Daniel Davis, R-Jacksonville.
This year’s attempt at establishing a teacher merit pay system removed some of the parts of last year’s bill that opponents liked least, such as yanking an educator’s teaching certificate if they receive too many low evaluations. It also exempts special education teachers from having their pay tied to test scores.
“We have listened and we have learned and we have made this a better product,” said Rep. Will Weatherford, R-Wesley Chapel.
The bill was still opposed by the state’s teachers union, though, and by many rank and file teachers.
Under this year’s measure, current teachers are also exempted from the new salary requirements and elimination of tenure. New teachers hired after July 2011 are put under one-year contracts and after July 2014, new teachers will be paid under the new merit pay system.
For new teachers, school districts would be required to set up an evaluation system that uses test scores for 50 percent of a teacher’s ranking and a “value-added” formula for the rest.
While Republicans portrayed teachers and school districts as being on board with the bill, the statewide teachers’ union, the Florida Education Association, says it harms teachers and should be vetoed.
“This bill reduces a school district’s flexibility and authority over teacher evaluations, pay schedules and working conditions,” said Andy Ford, president of the Florida Education Association. “It’s not good for students, it’s not good for teachers and it’s not grounded in sound research.”
Democrats said the bill doesn’t include any funding for merit pay increases.
During a time when school districts are facing big budget cuts, Democrats said it is unlikely districts could afford to implement the plan.
“They talk about giving better pay to teachers, but there is no money in the bill,” said House Minority Leader Ron Saunders, D-Key West. “Show me the money. Where is it?”
The bill’s House sponsor, Rep. Erik Fresen, R-Miami, said districts are not forced to actually pay for merit increases, just to establish a new pay plan and give raises when the money is available.
Money from the $700 million federal Race to the Top grant will be used to develop new tests.
Some critics of teacher merit pay suggested it is a thinly disguised attack on unions. Many teachers belong to their local unions, which collectively bargain on their behalf on salary, benefits and contract terms.
By establishing a set formula for teacher pay raises, Democrats said a union’s ability to collectively bargain on salaries is diminished. Historically, labor unions have been closely aligned with Democrats and reliable contributors to their campaigns.
“It’s nothing more than an attack on public school teachers. It attacks them maybe because they are the easy target or belong to unions,” said Rep. Rick Kriseman, D- St. Petersburg.
Democrats also said they felt shut out of negotiations on the bill. “Every idea we brought forward since this bill was drafted has been rejected,” said Rep. Joe Gibbons, D-Hallandale Beach.
Both Republicans and Democrats claim to have the support of teachers.
“This is a pro-teacher bill,” Rep. Rich Corcoran, R-New Port Richey. “More teachers have said to us they want to be measured; they want to be recognized for excellence.”
One teacher disputes that. Peggy Brookins, a math teacher at Forest High School in Marion County, said she has traveled to the Capitol to oppose the bill. “We are going to test these kids to death,” Brookins said. She was troubled that the formula for how a teacher would be paid was not spelled out.
Brookins said after 33 years of teaching, she makes $52,000 a year.
“I don’t know that there is a teacher in this state who wouldn’t want a better system,” Brookins said. “It’s great to measure student performance, but it has to be done over time.”
The last time the Florida Legislature passed education reforms on this scale was the passage of school vouchers in 1999 under former Gov. Jeb Bush. Those reforms established several programs that allowed students to receive scholarships to attend private schools.
One program, the Opportunity Scholarship, which was supported with taxpayer dollars, was shut down after the Florida Supreme Court deemed it unconstitutional.
Republicans ended the day Wednesday with a hint for what is to come:
“The community college presidents have suggested we look at tenure at the community college level too, so that may or may not make it here,” said House Speaker Dean Cannon, R-Winter Park. “You can’t do everything in one session, but it’s an idea that has merit and it may come up.”
RELATED STORY: Role Of Private Testing Companies Questioned In Teacher Merit Pay Plan
by Lilly Rockwell
The News Service Florida
Bar Employee Arrested For Selling Alcohol To Underage Man
March 17, 2011
An employee of a Century bar is facing a liquor charge for selling alcohol to an underage man, while the man is facing charges for the purchase.
Bonnie Blackmon, 29, of Jay, was charged with selling alcohol to a person under 21. She was released from the Escambia County Jail on $500 bond. An arrest warrant for alcohol possession by a minor is still outstanding for the 20-year old that allegedly made the purchase, Daniel Dontavious Woods of Flomaton.
An Escambia County deputy observed Woods at the drive-up window of Odoms Bar in Century with a blue Pontiac parked beside him. As he turned around to pass the bar again, the deputy said the same vehicle nearly collided with his patrol vehicle on Ivey Street.
After conducting a traffic stop on the car, the deputy determined that Woods, the driver, was the person that had made the alcohol purchase moments before at Odoms Bar. There were, according to the Escambia County Sheriff’s Office report, three other people in the vehicle, all under the age of 21.
Woods said the person that sold him the Seagrams Blue Beast for about $13 did not ask for his identification. According to the ECSO report, Blackmon admitted selling a bottle of Blue Beast “to a black guy”. She first told the deputy that she asked for his identification. She later recanted that statement and admitted to deputies that she did not card him, but she said she did recognize him from previous purchases in which he was carded.
The Seagrams Blue Beast was seized as evidence.
It’s Absolutely Incredible Kid Day, Camp Fire USA Style
March 17, 2011
There really is a day for kids — Absolutely Incredible Kid Day is Thursday.
Kids at the Camp Fire USA Century Youth Learning Center and other Camp Fire sites across the country received handwritten letters of support and encouragement fromparents and community members, showing the kids just how incredible the adults think they are.
In Escambia County, Sheriff David Morgan (pictured) penned a letter at the request of the local Camp Fire USA Gulf Winds Council.
“CFUSA was thrilled to learn that the sheriff supported their mission in the AIKD letter writing. They hope his involvement will inspire more individuals to participate in AIKD and support their mission of letting children know how absolutely incredible they are,” said La-Vonne Haven, executive director of Camp Fire USA Gulf Winds Council.
The sheriff’s letter is reprinted below.
To the Children of Escambia County,
As the Sheriff of Escambia County, a parent and grandparent, I am setting this time aside to reflect on all of these roles.
As the Sheriff, I see the devastating effects of child neglect and abuse, on our society and community. The lives wasted for lack of parenting and concern for children brought into this world trusted to our care by God. For in far too many instances, we have abrogated our solemn responsibilities in teaching and mentoring the elements of basic decency and honor. And yes, respect for those in authority, the elderly and the law.
As a parent, I have struggled with raising children in a changing society, where many of the things ‘we’ held dear are now considered antiquated, such as faith, family, community and nation. It is difficult in this environment to pass along these attributes when a society (outside the home) continues to teach children that ‘the most important thing in life….is “you.” Our children are taught to live in the moment, with little or no thought for the future. We see this manifested in gang activity, drive by shootings and suicides.
So let this change begin with me. As a sheriff, parent and grandparent, I state unashamedly that “I love you.” I care deeply about your wellbeing and your future. That I pray for nothing but a future bright with possibilities and that I make it my daily mission to provide for and leave a world better for you than it was for me.
For in the end, I hope that when people speak of me to my children and grandchildren, that they say; “I knew your dad, and he was a good and decent man.” I can hope for no better.
Sincerely,
David Morgan
Sheriff, Escambia County
Pictured top: Sheriff David Morgan writes his Absolutely Incredible Kid Day letter. Submitted photo for NorthEscambia.com, click to enlarge.
Sex Abuse Charges Dropped Against Former Flomaton Cop
March 17, 2011
Charges have been dropped against a former Flomaton cop once charged with sexually assaulting another man in Pensacola.
Tracey Allen Johnson, now 42, was originally charged by the Pensacola Police Department with sexual assault, harassing communication, battery and stalking after a 2010 incident at a Pensacola motel. According to police reports, the 33-year old male victim told Pensacola police that Johnson picked him up at a bar then took him back to a hotel room where Johnson had sexual relations with the him while he was passed out.
The victim told Pensacola Police that he first met Johnson in early November at the Emerald City bar, where Johnson stated that he was an Alabama State Trooper and that he had a phone that would allow him to check a person’s address, criminal warrant status and license plates. Johnson, according to Pensacola Police, is not a law enforcement officer. He did, however, work as a patrol officer for the Flomaton Police Department for less than six months in 2005.
Johnson told police that the relationship between the two men was consensual. Johnson said that after the hotel encounter, the two men even had breakfast together.
Johnson was found guilty on one count of failure to appear in court and sentenced to 20 days in jail, with credit for time served.
Fire Destroys Escambia Apartments
March 17, 2011
Fire heavily damaged an Escambia County apartment complex Wednesday night, prompting a response from fire stations as far north as Molino.
The fire at the Fulton Avenue Apartments, near Palafox Street and Burgess Road, was reported about 11 p.m. Flames were shooting from the roof of one apartment when the first firefighters arrived on scene. None of the apartment occupants were injured, but preliminary information indicated that one firefighter was transported to a Pensacola hospital with an unknown injury.
The cause of the fire remains under investigation by the Florida State Fire Marshal’s Office.
Multiple stations of Escambia Fire Rescue responded to the blaze, including Ensley, Cantonment, Beulah, Oceloa, Ferry Pass and Myrtle Grove. Firefighters and truck from the Molino Station were reassigned further south to provide coverage for incidents other than the fire.
Pictured: A Wednesday night fire at the Fulton Avenue Apartments in Pensacola. NorthEscambia.com photos by Kristi Smith, click to enlarge.
Role Of Private Testing Companies Questioned In Teacher Merit Pay Plan
March 17, 2011
As Florida prepares to establish a new system of paying public school teachers that is based heavily on test scores, many lawmakers are casting a skeptical eye on the potential boon the reform could bring to educational testing companies.
The Legislature sent a proposal that connects teacher pay to test scores to the governor for approval Wednesday. The measure (SB 736) requires new tests be developed for nearly every course by July 2014.
“This bill will be a bonanza for the private companies that make their money grading tests but will do nothing for teachers or our children’s education,” said Rep. Luis Garcia, D-Miami, during floor debate Wednesday.
While test companies could receive millions from the proposals under the merit pay bill and the requirements of Florida’s $700 million Race to the Top federal grant, it also shifts more test development to the district level, bypassing private companies.
FOR MORE ABOUT THE NEW MERIT PAY PLAN, CLICK HERE.
The House sponsor of the bill, Rep. Erik Fresen, R-Miami, said he was surprised by accusations that testing companies will benefit from the bill, calling it a “conspiracy theory.”
“The tests are going to be developed at the local level,” Fresen said. “They are going to be developed organically and simply approved by (the Department of Education).”
Florida’s FCAT and other end-of course exams are currently developed by a private company, Pearson, and the Department of Education, said Kris Ellington, a deputy commissioner at the department.
Fresen noted that the state is moving away from such tests and said “Pearson hates the fact that we are moving away from the FCAT.”
The test is required for high school students to graduate and is also used to grade schools.
Pearson lobbyist Steve Uhlfelder declined to comment for this story.
FOR MORE ABOUT THE NEW MERIT PAY PLAN, CLICK HERE.
Pearson helps facilitate meetings with committees of teachers from across the state that review and modify test questions that Pearson has developed, Ellington said.
The cost to develop a test ranges from $1 million to $1. 5 million just for one year’s work, Ellington said, and it can take up to three years to develop and print a test. Pearson also does test scoring for the Department of Education.
Already, Pearson and the Department of Education are working to develop new end-of-course exams for classes such as algebra, geometry and biology. Through SB 736 and Race to the Top, school districts are required to test every subject, from core classes like chemistry to electives like art, band and physical education.
The closest thing to a “boon” for testing companies is the proposed development of a test bank.
Through the Race to the Top grant, Florida plans to use $41 million to develop a “test bank” of questions in different subjects. A private company will be contracted for that, but no decision has been made as to what company will be hired to for the job, Ellington said.
The plan is for school districts to access the bank to develop their own tests. Ellington said the school districts would pay printing costs, though the tests could be taken electronically.
In addition, school districts will work in groups to develop a way to test difficult-to-measure subjects like art or choir, using $21 million in Race to the Top funds, Ellington said.
These tests will be developed entirely without any outside involvement from a private company.
Critics of merit pay still maintain that the measure shifts more of the cost of test development to school districts. Federal grants are available for test development now, but it’s unclear how future test development will be funded.
Water Meter Replacements Continue In Century
March 17, 2011
Work is progressing as Century continues the installation process on 1,000 new automated water meters in an effort to eliminate billing problems and increase revenue.
Each customer’s existing meter will be changed out for one of the new automated meters. The process is expected to last six weeks or more. According to Mayor Freddie McCall, the meters are currently being swapped at the rate of about 45 to 50 per day.
The $137,386 purchase will pay for itself in less than two years, according to estimates by Dan Devane, regional sales manager for Datamatic, Ltd. He estimated the town would realize an additional $83,125 in additional billings per year due to increased meter efficiency and about $2,200 per year in labor savings.
Three Arrested After Shot Fired Into Molino Home
March 17, 2011
Three people were arrested Wednesday afternoon in connection with a gunshot fired into a Molino home.
A resident in the 6000 block of Highway 99 near Blackberry Lane reported that someone fired a shot into their home about 12:45 Wednesday afternoon.
Zachary Brandon Miller, 20, of Cantonment; Anthony Taylor Crepeau, 21, of Gulf Breeze; and Riley Edward Baldwin, 35, of Pensacola were charged with weapons offenses for firing into a building and discharging a firearm in public.
The three were, according to deputies, firing at targets in a nearby field. All three claimed to have never shot in the direction of the house, but deputies said they would have had to intentionally pointed a weapon in the direction of the residence in order to strike it. Deputies found the trio with a shotgun, a handgun, an AK-47, a Keltec semi-automatic rifle and what appeared to be a Mac 10 pistol.
According to deputies, the bullet fired into the residence exploded a window, went through a wall and struck a kitchen cabinet. The bullet reportedly passed just above the head of someone inside the residence.
Crepeau’s father, the owner of the property where the three men were found, told deputies that they did not have permission to be on his property shooting firearms.
The home is located about 500 feet off Highway 99.
Pictured above: Escambia County deputies investigate after a shot was reportedly fired into a Molino home Wednesday afternoon. NorthEscambia.com photos, click to enlarge.
New Pier At Lake Stone
March 17, 2011
A new pier has been added at the Lake Stone Campground. It is located next to the boat ramp, on the eastern side of the lake where there is no admission charge. Lake Stone Campground is a 100-acre campground and boat ramp facility located on West Highway 4 just outside Century. NorthEscambia.com photos, click to enlarge.
Senate Bill Would Set Aside BP Money For Escambia, Santa Rosa And 8 Other Counties
March 17, 2011
The Senate unanimously passed a measure on Wednesday to set aside money from BP for eight counties — including Escambia and Santa Rosa — that were most affected by last year’s oil spill.
The bill (SB 248), which now goes to the House, would set aside three-fourths of any settlement or fine money received from BP or the government and direct to eight Panhandle coastal counties.
The bill also would allow Florida to participate in a compact with other Gulf states to be able to respond to other disasters more quickly and effectively. The measure also makes it easier for businesses to get a tax credit for locating all or a portion of a business in one of the counties.
“I sponsored the Oil Spill Recovery Act to make sure our communities can get the help they need so we can get back on our feet again,” said Sen. Don Gaetz, R-Niceville. “This bill provides incentives for companies to come to beautiful Northwest Florida and create jobs.”