Florida Teacher Merit Pay Bill Advances
February 11, 2011
A Senate committee gave the first yes vote Thursday to a new merit pay bill setting out how teachers would be paid.
The vote came without the angry protests of last year’s effort.
One of the differences with this year’s move to make classroom teachers more accountable for quality education in the state has been that those teachers have been more involved, although there are still many with deep concerns – and questions – about how they’ll be evaluated if the measure becomes law.
One of the major sources of concern for teachers isn’t what’s in the bill (SB 736) that was unanimously approved in its first committee stop Thursday – it’s what’s not in the bill.
The measure calls for an evaluation process to be set up for teachers, but doesn’t spell out the details, leaving it up to the Commissioner of Education and local school districts – in consultation with a panel including representatives of school boards, superintendents and the state teacher union – to work out just how teachers would be evaluated.
The teacher union, the Florida Education Association, opposes the bill, though its leaders say they appreciate being asked to help work out the details. One of the main reasons the union is still against it is the uncertainty about just what it is that may get a teacher fired in the future.
“You’re asking all of us to put all our professional careers on the line for something that hasn’t even been developed yet,” Andy Ford, president of the FEA, told the Senate Education Pre-K-12 Committee on Thursday, saying that the bill is “very troubling to teachers.”
Still, it’s a calmer and more collaborative start than last year, when a measure eliminating teacher tenure and directly linking teacher pay to the standardized test performance of students emerged quietly during the legislative session and was passed despite heavy protests from educators, who said then they felt shut out of the process. It was vetoed by then-Gov. Charlie Crist, who is no longer in office.
“It has been much different,” acknowledged Ford, speaking to this year’s bill sponsor, Republican Sen. Steve Wise, a congenial and results-oriented legislator who doesn’t appear to be bent on fighting the teacher’s union – typically a bastion of support for Democrats – for political reasons. That was an accusation leveled against last year’s backers of the bill. “You have given people an opportunity to at least express their concerns.”
Wise, who patiently listened to testimony from teachers for two days this week, also noted the difference as the committee prepared to vote hours before it was scheduled to because there wasn’t anyone left who wanted to complain about the proposal.
“It is not Senate Bill 6,” Wise said, referring to last year’s measure. “It’s Senate Bill 736.”
Wise also promised the union and teachers who spoke to his committee on Thursday that he’ll continue to listen to them and to work on improving the bill.
“We don’t have all the answers,” Wise admitted.
Wise made that remark after listening to some concerns from Jennifer Barnhill, a teacher who works with disabled and emotionally and behaviorally disturbed students, who said she worried that an evaluation mechanism, when it is eventually decided on, could hurt deeply caring teachers who need longer to see gains in learning than the politicians might want to give them. One of her students just this month was committed, because he stopped taking his medication for bipolar disorder. She needs more time to see learning gains in such students, she said.
“A good day for me is when I don’t get cursed out, and desks don’t go flying across the room,” said Barnhill who teaches at an alternative school in Tallahassee. “These are my realities every day.”
She’s not complaining – “I could not teach another population … I’ve found my calling,” Barnhill said. But, teachers of those types of students can’t be measured the same as teachers of more mainsteam students because learning may be slower in that environment, she said.
That prospect makes finding a way to evaluate teachers difficult, Wise acknowledges.
“I think this perplexes all of us,” he said. That’s part of the reason he wants a long look at how teachers will be evaluated, even if it means the bill may pass without spelling it out.
But the unknown is the stumbling block for many teachers.
The bill doesn’t end tenure for current teachers – as last year’s bill would have done.
Current teachers are grandfathered into the system they were hired under – they may be able to keep their current long-term contracts, though they’ll still have to be evaluated under the system that is eventually developed, and could lose their jobs if their students don’t perform well on standardized tests.
New teachers, those hired starting in July, would be on one-year contracts, subject to annual review starting in 2014.
In the meantime, teachers will also have to be evaluated under a new, parallel program that was set up as part of the Race to the Top grant program, under which the state won a large pot of money from federal officials.
The committee earlier this week heard from Michelle Rhee, something of a celebrity in conservative school reform circles. The former District of Columbia schools chief won plaudits for firing teachers deemed ineffective and taking a hard line toward under-performing schools.
The union’s Ford urged lawmakers not to fall in line with “reformers” who simply blame teachers for all education woes – particularly if the state doesn’t find ways to help them get better.
“Florida cannot fire its way to excellence,” Ford said. Looking to Rhee for guidance was particularly irksome.
“Washington, D.C. is at the bottom of the Quality Counts report,” he said, referring to an Education Week report that recently was touted by some state officials and legislators for giving Florida high marks.
“Florida is No. 5,” Ford noted. “I don’t know why we’re looking at Washington, D.C. as a model for anything.”
The Senate bill now goes to the education budget committee, where it’s on the agenda for next Tuesday. So far, there is no comparable bill in the House.
By David Royse
The News Service Florida
Short Lines As Verizon’s iPhone 4 Goes On Sale Locally
February 11, 2011
The much anticipated iPhone 4 debuted on the Verizon Wireless network on Thursday, with few customers lining up to be the first to get the smartphone.
“I just wanted to be one of the first ones because I’ve been waiting for a while for Verizon to get them,” said Lauren Cloud, a senior at Northview High School. She held ticket number two for the second iPhone sold at the Verizon store in Atmore (although she says she was the first to seal the deal and make it out the door).
For Cloud, it was a major upgrade from her old Droid Eris.
“I absolutely love it,” she said a few hours after moving from her old Google Android phone. Until Thursday, the iPhone 4 was available locally only on the AT&T network, which has somewhat spotty coverage in the North Escambia area.
Customers across the U.S. braved inclement weather, lines or both at stores across the country to be among the first to purchase an iPhone 4 on the Verizon Wireless network. In Atmore, Cloud said there was a not a large crowd waiting for the phone when the doors of the store opened, but about eight people came in behind her.
“I absolutely love it!”, Cloud said.
The iPhone 4 is available for $199.99 for the 16 GB model and $299.99 for the 32 GB model with a new two-year customer agreement.
Pictured top: Verizon customers across the country snapped up the new iPhone 4 on Thursday. Pictured inset: Northview senior Lauren Cloud seen in this mirror self portrait with her new iPhone 4. Courtesy photos for NorthEscambia.com, click to enlarge.
House Committee Approves Cuts In Jobless Benefits
February 11, 2011
A business-friendly unemployment compensation measure similar to a proposal by Gov. Rick Scott was approved Thursday by a House committee, promising lower taxes on employers a shorter payout period, and new requirements for workers seeking job benefits.
The plan also makes it easier for employers to fire workers for actions that take place outside the workplace, an expansion that some lawmakers argued would give bosses too much discretion in the lives of workers after hours.
Following testimony from business groups and unemployed workers who traveled from Miami, the House Economic Development and Tourism Subcommittee voted 7 to 4 for a jobless benefits proposal expected to be fast tracked in both chambers.
Lawmakers are responding to demands by businesses that saw their unemployment tax rates jump in January in response to the worst economic downturn since the Great Depression.
Mirroring a proposal unveiled by Scott earlier in the week, the House plan reduces the duration of state benefits from 26 to 20 weeks while maintaining the current maximum payout of $275 a week.
“We all know in an economy like this how important unemployment compensation is,” said subcommittee chairman Rep. Doug Holder, R-Sarasota. “We know how our state is struggling and this (bill), quite frankly, represents the state’s position on maintaining and expanding a business-friendly environment.”
Critics, some of them currently out of work, said the bill focuses too heavily on trying to make it harder for workers to collect benefits and not the underlying causes of unemployment.
“We’re concerned that the tone (of debate) seems to blame unemployed workers for the high unemployment in this state,” said Karen Woodall, an advocate for the unemployed, who noted the state has lost 900,000 jobs over the past year. “We hope we can redirect the conversation.”
Like Scott’s proposal released earlier in the week, the House plan would tie the duration of future benefits to the state’s unemployment rate, in addition to shortening the overall length of time benefits would be paid.
The bill would ratchet down the length of time a worker could receive an unemployment check as the economy improved, reaching a maximum 12 weeks if unemployment hit 5 percent or less.
The House bill would also allow employers to fire workers for actions outside the workplace if such actions became a detriment to their duties on the job. Business representatives said the provision is needed to make it harder for workers to take advantage of the system.
“The goal is to make employment pay, not make unemployment pay,” said David Daniel, a lobbyist representing the Florida Association of Professional Employer Organizations, a group of employee leasing companies.
The state owes the federal government $2 billion after a prolonged recession exhausted the state trust fund set up to pay claims.
Earlier Thursday, Senate President Mike Haridopolos, R-Merritt Island, said the issue remains in flux. The only given is that the Senate won’t raise taxes.
“This is what we’re going to go through for the next 90 days,” Haridopolos told reporters. “The governor has a plan. We’re still working on ours. We just don’t have a good enough plan for me to comment on.”
Slim Down With Weight Watchers
February 11, 2011
Century area residents needing to shed a few pounds will have the chance to take part in the Weight Watchers program.
The Weight Watchers at Work Program will be offered at the Century Town Hall beginning Thursday, February 24 at 4 p.m. The cost for the 12 week program is $150, which can be split into two $75 payments.
Everyone is welcome to attend. To preregister, call the Century Town Hall at (850) 256-3208. Payment is due prior to the first meeting.
Flomaton Woman Appointed To Alabama Health Board
February 11, 2011
A Flomaton woman was appointed Thursday to Alabama’s State Health Coordinating Council (SHCC) .
Gov. Robert Bentley announced that Ruth Harrell of Flomaton was one of two dozen people appointed to the SHCC. The newly elected governor also made appointments to the Certificate of Need Review Board (CON). Both groups are part of the State Health Planning and Development Agency.
“I have full confidence in the newly appointed members of both the CON and SHCC Boards. Those I appointed, or re-appointed, have a wealth of experience in their respective fields and will make the right decisions as they serve in their capacity as board members,” Bentley said.
New Chinese Restaurant Opens In Century
February 11, 2011
The Century Area Chamber of Commerce held a ceremonial ribbon cutting Thursday afternoon, welcoming Happy Star to the neighborhood. The new Chinese restaurant has received rave reviews, according to the chamber. Happy Star offers a full menu for dine in or carryout.
Happy Star is located at 8321 North Century Boulevard, across from Whataburger. The store’s phone number is (850) 256-2258.
Submitted photo for NorthEscambia.com, click to enlarge.
Escambia EMT Arrested For Reporting Fake Shooting
February 10, 2011
An Escambia County paramedic, who claimed to have been shot by an unknown male, was arrested Thursday afternoon and charged with making a false report.
The arrest of Brandon Richie arrest came after he admitted to investigators Wednesday that the wound was self-inflicted. Richie, 28, was released from the Escambia County Jail on $1,000 bond.
Shortly after the arrest, Escambia County Administrator Randy Oliver announced that Richie was suspended, effective Thursday, from Escambia County EMS. He will remain on suspension without pay pending the outcome of his case.
Richie also faces disciplinary action for having a firearm on county property and termination, according a media release from Sonya Daniel, the county’s public information manager.
On January 28 at around 9:03 p.m. deputies responded to the 1100 block of W. Hayes Street for an emergency assistance call from an EMS unit. When deputies arrived they discovered Richie had been shot in the shoulder.
Richie told deputies that he was retrieving an item from a bag located inside his ambulance when someone tapped him on the back. As he turned around he was shot.
The incident occurred at an EMS staging post, just blocks from Baptist Hospital. One of the responding deputies rushed the injured medic to the Baptist Hospital emergency room in a cruiser.
Richie was released from the hospital on Saturday, January 30.
“After an in-depth investigation we determined that Richie’s story was just not adding up. He came in today on his own free will and admitted that the he shot himself and that the story was a made up,” said Sheriff’s spokesperson Deputy Chris Welborn.
Investigators are applying for an arrest warrant on Richie for false reports to law enforcement authorities.
The Sheriff’s Office is not releasing any other details.
Pictured: An Escambia County EMS medic claimed to be shot January 28 on Hayes Street in Pensacola. Photos courtesy WEAR 3 for NorthEscambia.com, click to enlarge.
Insanity Defense Planned For Accused Bandit With Underwear On His Head
February 10, 2011
The trial of a Molino man accused of robbing a Molino pharmacy last year while wearing underwear on his head has been delayed as his attorney prepares an insanity defense.
Joseph Daniel Flowers, now 57, is facing multiple charges for the September 20, 2010, robbery of Scott’s Pharmacy, including robbery with a firearm, possession of a firearm in a pharmacy, aggravated battery and wearing a mask while committing a felony. Multiple drug possession charges were later filed against Flowers in connection with the case.
Flowers’ trial had been scheduled to begin next Monday, but was delayed last week when Flowers’ attorney notified the court that he intends to rely on an insanity defense, according to Escambia County Clerk of the Court records. The State Attorney’s Office has filed a motion to prevent the use of the insanity defense. Flowers is scheduled to appear again in court in early March.
Flowers was charged with robbing Scott’s Pharmacy on September 20, 2010 while wearing a bathrobe, slippers, yellow kitchen gloves and underwear on his head. He has remained in the Escambia County Jail after a November arrest for failure to appear.
Flowers is also facing charges for the alleged battery of his accomplice — Krystal Lynn Collins — with a two liter bottle of Coke. Collins, 24, was also charged in connection with the robbery; deputies believe she was the getaway car driver. Collins is also due to be in court in early March.
Scott Begins Department Of Corrections Job Cuts
February 10, 2011
Gov. Rick Scott eliminated at least 15 administrators Wednesday within the Florida Department of Corrections, taking steps toward restructuring an agency his budget proposal targets for deep cuts, according to those familiar with the move.
Those whose DOC careers are slated to end Friday include deputy secretaries and assistants – a mid-level of management Scott has vowed to flatten.
Scott’s newly appointed DOC chief, Edwin Buss, commissioner of Indiana’s corrections agency, is scheduled to begin work Monday and earlier hinted he intended to overhaul the Florida department’s administration.
“Gov. Scott will hold agency heads accountable for their performance on behalf of the people of Florida,” Scott spokesman Brian Hughes said. “Part of being able to hold them accountable is to allow them to make the staffing decisions they deem appropriate.”
The state Corrections Department would absorb an $82.4 million cut and lose 1,690 jobs under Scott’s budget proposal, which also calls for closing two state prisons.
By The News Service Florida
It’s Still Very Much Winter – For A Few Days
February 10, 2011
You’ll need the extra blankets on the bed the next couple of nights, with overnight lows forecast to bottom out near 21-23.
If you don’t like the winter weather, hold on for Sunday into next week with highs in the 60’s to eventually near 70.
Here is your official North Escambia area forecast:
- Tonight: Mostly cloudy early in the evening becoming partly cloudy. Lows in the mid 20s. North winds around 5 mph.
- Friday: Sunny. Highs in the lower 50s. Northwest winds 5 to 10 mph.
- Friday Night: Mostly clear. Lows in the mid 20s. Northwest winds around 5 mph.
- Saturday: Sunny. Highs in the upper 50s. Northwest winds 5 to 10 mph.
- Saturday Night: Clear. Lows in the upper 20s. West winds around 5 mph in the evening becoming light.
- Sunday: Sunny. Highs in the mid 60s.
- Sunday Night: Clear. Lows in the mid 30s.
- Monday:Sunny. Highs in the upper 60s.
- Monday Night: Clear. Lows in the upper 30s.
- Tuesday: Sunny, with a high near 68.
- Tuesday Night: Mostly clear, with a low around 40.
- Wednesday: Sunny, with a high near 70.