Category Archives: Florida House

Push Back to Protect Schools Makes Opportunities

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It is time to think out of the box.

The jockeying continues.  According to Politico, Speaker Corcoran and Senate President Negron are negotiating over a plan to make the Schools of Hope funding competitive AND INCLUDE PUBLIC SCHOOLS.  This has some logic to it.   Districts that are serious about providing the support and supervision to turn around failing schools can participate.

There is no question that these schools need fresh ideas, new funding, and constant oversight.  Changing the status quo is a community effort.  Outside charter schools can’t do it.  It will take some thoughts about zoning, racial and socio economic balance, after school programs, health and behavioral support services and extending the school day.  It will take creative solutions to teacher and principal assignments.

Some changes have to reflect how people live.  They work one or two jobs.  Where are the children while parents work–not just poor children, all children.  How can schools and communities work together to make life less complicated? Can we create a school day that allows time for serious academics, recess, physical activities, hands on learning, and exciting cultural activities?  Why can’t this all happen on a school campus?  How can we structure our teacher’s time more flexibly?  Who can provide supervision for an extended day?   We need to ask what is the quality of our after school programs?   It is mostly a matter of coordination and thinking differently.  Are we up to it?

The League is sending out a BLAST to everyone.  WATCH FOR IT!  We need citizens to make a stand to protect our public schools and help them evolve to meet the needs of the future.  We need everyone to think out of the box.  This is an opportunity to make a difference.

Negron Trades Schools for Reservoir

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A draft budget compromise has been reached that gives the House its Schools of Hope and provides no capital outlay increase for public school facilities.  In exchange, Joe Negron gets the reservoir in South Florida.  If the Senate approves, public schools are left in the lurch once again.

No real details are out, but no reason to cheer.

Budget Bills Clash: Holding Schools Hostage

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It is Thursday.  According to reports, the Senate and House must convene their conference committees by Monday if they hope to finish the legislative session by May 5th.  Negotiations between House Leader Richard Corcoran and Senate President Joe Negron fell apart Sunday.  Now they are calling one another names.  What is at issue?

Reports in the Miami Herald and the Tampa Bay Times see it this way:

 

 

 

 

 

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A Step in the Right Direction

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Have you ever been in a maze and had trouble finding the exit?  Tracking bills through the legislative process is like that.  Well, it is even worse because some bills get lost and others change their identity.  I tried to check on the Best and Brightest bills.   SB 1552 is no longer just about teacher recruitment bonuses.  It is also about school improvement.  But, school improvement used to be about Schools of Hope.  Forget all the old bill numbers; it is time to start anew.  Here’s what happened:

Senator Simmons filed an amendment to his Best and Brightest teacher recruitment bill SB 1552.  The bill incorporates many of the provisions in House bill 796 and broadens eligibility for scholarships.  It adds college level tests and grade point averages etc. to those high school SAT and ACT scores that seemed such a bizarre way to select and reward teachers.  The new bills are not perfect but are an improvement.  They could help make teaching a more attractive option in this time of teacher shortages.  At least the bill provides multiple and diverse ways to qualify for salary bonuses.

Yesterday, SB 1552 changed again.  Senator Simmons filed another amendment to insert some School Improvement language from HB 5105.   The League was unhappy with HB 5105 last week.  It promoted Schools of Hope that took control of struggling schools away from districts.  Pulling students out of the district simply weakens all schools.

Senator Simmons’ amendment not only eliminates Schools of Hope funding, it maintains district control.  It provides support and flexibility that has long been needed.  Schools receiving grades below a “C” will have turn around support that includes:

  • An additional  hour of instruction.
  • Wrap around community support services provided by a non-profit entity that includes health services, after school programs, drug prevention, college and career readiness and food and clothing banks.
  • Principal autonomy mostly in the curriculum.

Traditional public schools that fail to improve after three years of intensive support still face a choice to either reassign students, close the school and reopen as a charter, or contract either as a conversion charter school or with an outside agency to run the school.

 SB 1552 addresses two crucial needs.  The first is to attract more teachers to Florida’s schools who are beginning to feel the teacher shortage.  The second is to help districts receive the resources and support to make a difference in schools that are struggling.
We can all wish that more could be done, but this bill is the beginning of a break through.  The Senate is addressing the problems that districts face and providing support rather than wresting away control.  It does not assume that the private sector can somehow ‘do it better’ when the evidence has repeatedly shown it does not.
 Sometimes there simply is not a straight line to the exit.  Hopefully, the exit leads to a better place.
 

 

 

Be Aware: Don’t be shut out

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Why are the House and Senate education committees operating differently this year?  There has been relatively little discussion about differences in the policies offered by each chamber.  All of a sudden, bills in the Senate have replaced House  bills.  There are no committee hearings open to the public on these changes.  Instead, the House and Senate bills go to the conference committee that includes leaders from each chamber.  They negotiate the final bills in secret.

The Miami Herald published an article questioning this approach.  They are skeptical that any real input from the public will be heard.

The differences in policy have huge financial impact.  For example:

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Horse Trading Time

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The House and the Senate are at the horse trading part of the session.  The Senate bills by and large are supportive of public schools (except for SB 796).  The House bills support charter school expansion.   Both chambers are concerned with struggling schools.  The House wants to shift these schools to the private sector.  Senate bills focus on making it possible for public schools to improve.

Remember our Action Alert on 5101, 5103 and 5105? Everything is now different.   Some things are better, at least for now.  Here’s the latest:

 

 

 

 

 

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Be Happy Today

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Last night, SB 376 (Simmons) replaced HB 5103.  The amended version of SB 376 by Senator Farmer had all we hoped for.  It inserted language that gave districts’ discretion on whether to share local facility capital outlay with charters.  It controlled the mismanagement and self enrichment due to charter real estate practices.

Now the bill goes to the conference committee to negotiate with the House.  Will SB 376 survive?  Who knows.  Be happy today.

Money, money. Who gets it?

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Wednesday the House (HB 5001) and Senate (SB 2500) budgets are aired.  They are very different when it comes to education.  Money for school facilities is at the heart of the issue.

The House bill provides $100 million dollars for about 650 charter school facilities and $20 million for the over 4,000 public schools.  The Senate bill provides $75 million each for public and charter schools.  Remember that charters are called public schools, but their buildings are privately owned.

The priority of the House is to expand charters.  Originally, charters were intended to be low-cost alternatives to meet Florida’s population growth, and the need, at that time, for more schools.  Now, nearly forty percent of charters are run by for-profit companies that make most of their money from real estate.  Rents and leases often are excessive.  The House wants local districts to share local funds with charters, and they want more state PECO funds to go to charters.

There is very little PECO money.  The funding sources are drying up.  The Senate wants to float bonds.  The House does not.  Where will the House get the money for these privately owned facilities charters use?  It wants to take over public school facilities.  See this News4Jax article for more insight.

Some charters fill a legitimate need.  Too many simply duplicate what public schools offer.  Instead of putting money into real estate, the legislature should put money into instruction.  Schools need to offer extended days and summer programs.  They need funding to improve aging schools.  They do not need charters whose only purpose is to make money.

 

 

No hope from Schools of Hope?

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House Speaker Corcoran wants ‘Schools of Hope’, but those charters, like KIPP and SEED, have little interest in coming to Florida.  According to an article in Politico,  KIPP likes to recruit one grade at a time and keep those who survive their no nonsense program.  SEED is a boarding school.  Schools like these do not turn around struggling public schools, they select the more promising children and leave the rest.

 

 

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