CRIST VETOS SB6 by T. Edwin Perry
In my previous post, “Tenure Tantrum,” I made my argument in support of Florida Senate Bill 6 (SB6), which would limit the existing Tenure System for Florida Teachers and establish a Merit-Based System for New Teachers. In this post, I outlined my support of the bill based upon my belief that the existing system protects bad teachers and, as it is steeped in Socialist Ideals (Yeah, I said it again), promotes mediocrity rather than results. I’ve also addressed that the system is broken, resulting in an increasing number of failing students, as well as graduates who are lacking the basic skills necessary to join the workforce on graduation.
Not surprisingly, Governor Charlie Crist VETOED the bill on April 15 at noon. Teachers celebrated. Schools held assemblies. The media ran video & audio of kids chanting their victory. (Birds began singing. The sun came out. The sea levels fell. Oh, wait…)
Now, you may recall that I asked in my post for opponents to SB6 to share their reasons for opposition with me. No one did. Either nobody is reading this (which certainly makes ME feel relevant) or nobody cared enough to comment, but that won’t stop me from posting. And, I’ll be honest, when I heard that Governor Crist vetoed the bill, I was upset. Why? Because the media gave us no reasons as to WHY he vetoed it. I suppose Governor Crist didn’t share the reasons on video or audio. But for those of us who care to look, he did post his reasons and you can read his reasons for taking this action on his website HERE. Some of them I can agree with. They make sense. Some of them I can’t. They don’t make sense. But at least he did share the reasons.
His first statement is that he vetoes the bill because of his “firmly held principle to act in the best interest of the People of Florida.” Go back to my post. The system is broken. If you have a pipe under your sink is broken, you don’t leave it to flood your kitchen until you’ve priced out all of the options and conducted studies on which plan of action will be the result in the greatest value for your home: YOU FIX THE LEAK. The education system is broken, Mr. Governor. Just like a broken pipe in your kitchen, the longer you leave the leak, the more it’s going to cost to fix later. Score one against the Governor.
He goes on to state that “this bill does not appropriately accommodate special education students and their dedicated teachers.” Score one for the Governor. I can accept this argument. Obviously, special needs students require special accommodations for their teachers. They cannot and should not be held to the same standards as typical students. This could have been fixed with a simple clause in the bill. This could have been fixed with a simple “glitch fix” bill, but Governor Crist has opted not to trust such a fix to pass Congress. You know what? I can understand that.
Then he addresses the encroachment on local decision-making by school boards, requiring State approval for directives. Uh, excuse me, Mr. Governor, but I respectfully disagree with you on this one. We, as a state, have already established basic standards. The fact that we have a Florida Comprehensive Assessment Test (FCAT) infringes on the authority of local School Boards. You also state that not allowing multi-year teacher contracts or establishing a method of calculating the effectiveness of teachers runs the risk of “permanently decertifying an excellent teacher…who simply needed improvement two out of the previous five years on the job.” Your choice of words makes me ask if you graduated from a Florida Public School. An “EXCELLENT” teacher would not need improvement. EXCELLENT is defined as “Very Good” or “Superior.” If a “Very Good” teacher failed to meet the established standards, they wouldn’t be “Very Good!” Score one for the Proponents of the bill.
“SB6 places teachers in jeopardy of losing their jobs and teaching certificates without a clear understanding of how gains will be measured, and without taking into account circumstances beyond the control of teachers.” The point of the bill is to establish a means of measuring the ability of the teachers, something that is absolutely necessary. But IF the bill didn’t clearly establish the means of measuring that ability with consideration of external influences on students that teachers cannot control, then I have to agree with Governor Crist. The score is now tied at 2-2.
Finally, Crist addresses the “outpouring of opposition by teachers, parents, students, superintendents, school boards and legislators has greatly influenced (his) decision.” He listened to his Constitutents, those who aired their positions and asked for him to do his job and represent the people. While I may disagree with the opponents of the Bill, I cannot deny that a large portion of the Governor Crist’s constituency opposed the bill. He listened, and that’s his job. Final Score: 2-3 in favor of the Governor.
Let me state this clearly: I still believe that a merit-pay system is needed for MOST teachers, with the caveat that teachers of “Special Needs” students should be held to a DIFFERENT standard, but should STILL be held to a standard to encourage their students to learn, but perhaps this was the wrong bill. I can live with that. And I am still fundamentally opposed to the Socialist System of Tenure in the school system.
Let me also state this clearly: By doing his job, Charlie Crist has likely sealed his political fate. Conservative voters will see this move as being entirely political, bending to the will of the Teachers’ Unions in a bid to garner their votes. (Historically, the Teachers’ Unions have ALWAYS endorsed the Democrat, so it’s not a very good investment, in my opinion, but that’s likely how it will be seen.) Since he’s running right now for the Republican Nomination for the Senate seat, and Conservatives making up so much of the Republican Party, I doubt sincerely that he’ll get that bid, leaving him to run as an Independent, something he has stated he is not interested in doing.
But I have to say this for Charlie Crist: He did his job, and, for that, he has my respect, if not my vote.
Twitter: Lawwoman99
, on April 19th, 2010 at 10:24 am Lynn Brauer(Quote) Said:
After speaking with a few teachers, I agree with the veto of the bill. One of my friends is a kindergarten teacher who purposefully takes on the challenging children because she has the patience to deal with them while other teachers don’t. A merit based system would punish teachers like her.
Also, if the administrators in the district didn’t like a good teacher, they could assign that teacher the lower-performing kids to prevent them from getting raises. This has happened already to a few teachers I know with bad administrators because there is a bonus based upon the FCAT.
I agree that tenure can protect bad teachers, but it can also protect good ones. We need to weed out the bad administrators because they perpetuate the problem by encouraging butt-kissing to get the “good” kids for bonuses. I also feel that this system is WAY too top-heavy.
My school system was an independent one (one elementary, one middle, and one high school) that was one of the best in the state of NY. This was because it was independently funded by the people of the town and independently run by our own school district. I believe that the biggest problem with Florida is that they don’t give enough freedom to the teachers and schools to make their own decisions on HOW to educate.
Rant complete.
Lynn, I always love hearing from you, even if we disagree, which, oddly enough, we don’t…entirely. My only concern is the definition of a “Good” teacher, as compared to an “Average” teacher or a “Below Average” teacher or, as Crist stated, an “Excellent” teacher. Good teachers tend to get better results from lower-performing students than Average teachers, which is what makes them Good. While I agree that protections need to be afforded to teachers dealing with special needs students, the truth is that ALL students have, at times, special needs.
I disagree with the Tenure System for its fundamental socialistic tendency. Because it protects the bad teachers, it promotes mediocrity, and that’s bad for the students any way you cut it. But I do agree that the administration can manipulate the system just as much, if not moreso, than the teachers, and that needs to be addressed as well.
We also have to be careful when we think about our personal school experiences. When we were in elementary school, the Federal Department of Education had just been formed. States and local districts had much more control over the conduct and the content of education. Now, local districts have to conform to local standards, which have to conform with State Requirements, which have to adapt to Federal Demands, all while incorporating socially-biased forms of discipline and motivation. Good schools aren’t rewarded for their success: their students get bussed out to be replaced by students from the bad schools to make it “Fair” instead of working to make the “bad schools” better.
But, you’re right: teachers aren’t generally allowed to make their own decisions on HOW to educate, and that’s one reason why we have so many mediocre teachers, protected by Tenure. (Yes, I realize that this is circular logic, but it all tends to lead to itself in a never-ending sprial of inadequacy. Kind of like flushing a toilet….)