Heads Up on DeSantis School Budget

Governor DeSantis announced that the per student funding would increase about $224. Smoke and Mirrors! The increase is simply shifting the teacher bonus money from the lottery to the General Fund which allocates the money to schools. Thus, there really is not any new money,,,,just rearranged money. Some funds for school safety and mental health are included.  In our district, cuts from last year’s budget result in a smaller budget this year.

The Governor allocated $50 million for public school maintenance …all 4,000 of them.  The 654 charters are allocated $150 million.  Charters do not have to meet the same school facility standards as public schools.  They go and find building to lease or buy.  If they close, they can keep the buildings.  Nice of the state to give them the money to maintain these privately owned charter schools.

The legislative budgets are not out.  The likelihood of any help for public schools is nil.  The Governor’s call for vouchers paid from the public treasury has to come out of public education.  The scramble in the legislature for money will be interesting.  Let your legislators know what you think.

Governor Calls Grand Jury Investigation of All School Districts

The latest attack on public schools was launched by Governor DeSantis yesterday. DeSantis called for a grand jury investigation of possible fraud and failure to implement school safety measures mandated by the state. The Grand Jury will look for evidence of misuse of funds from facility bond issues related to school safety. In addition, he claims that there may be a failure to report all serious discipline incidents at schools. The Grand Jury will convene in Broward County where the Marjorie Stoneman Douglas shooting occurred. Read the press report here.

The Guardian Bill, SB 7030 to arm teachers, is a high priority of school privatization supporters in the legislature. There is also a proposed constitutional amendment, HJR 229/SJR 274, to impose term limits on school board members. The amendment would go on the 2020 ballot for voter approval. The Grand Jury probe targets school boards, so including all school boards, not just Broward, is likely a strategic move.

New Bill to Ban For-Profit Charter Management Firms

Newly elected Senator Janet Cruz from Hillsborough has made a statement. She has filed SB 584 to ban for-profit charter school management firms in Florida. California recently passed a similar bill.

SB 584 prohibits for-profit charter management companies from:

  1. Nomination, appointment, or approval of charter board members
  2. Employment, dismissal, or approval of employees
  3. Management of day-to-day operations in the capacity of an administrative manager
  4. Approval, denial, management of the budget
  5. Services provided before any board approval is given
  6. Provision of funding or financing
  7. Development of the school curriculum
  8. Lease, sale or purchase of real estate

What this bill does is to give the responsibility of charter school management to their school boards. Currently, most of these for-profit firms have shadow boards appointed by the for-profit companies like CSUSA and Academica. Their for-profit status allows them to operate out of the public view. The revenue the school spends is public, but the difference between the amount of money generated and the amount spent by the for-profit company is not.

This bill is a welcome addition to the call for transparency in the operation of charter schools.

And Yet Another Scandal

The attorney for Florida’s online K12 school resigned after 18 years. Now, it is clear why. Frank Druppenbacher has been accused of using FVS employees for his own private businesses. He also has a problem speaking in a respectful way to women..’boorish and gender based comments’ are the words used to describe his behavior.

What will our children be taught?

http://blogs.edweek.org/edweek/curriculum/2018/12/under_flas_new_governor_science_curriculum_challenges.html

Education Week posted an article describing the implications for changes in the Florida science curriculum based on at least two of the education taskforce members views…Keith Flaugh and Erika Donalds from Collier County, Florida.  Jeff Sawchuk, he author of the article:  Coming Soon to Florida: More Challenges to District’s Science Curricula bases his concern on a law based in 2017 to allow independent challenges to district text book selection by not only parents but any citizen.

As a member of Citizens Alliance, Flaugh submitted dozens of challenges to text books last year.  He was quoted as saying ‘”Books that treat evolution as a proven science are discriminating and bully children and their families against their religious beliefs”.

Citizens Alliance trains local protestors to challenge textbooks.  Last year challenges were submitted in Collier, Martin and Nassau counties.  The local school boards voted 3/2 to retain the books.  (This split vote is one example why these Christian advocacy groups are targeting school board elections.)  Moreover, Governor DeSantis has already announced that the task force will conduct a curriculum review of the Florida State Curriculum Standards.  

Public Outcry About Corcoran Nomination

Governor DeStantis’ proposal to appoint former House Speaker Richard Corcoran as Commissioner of Education is a last straw.  With the announcement of Jennifer Sullivan, a home schooled college dropout as House education chair, concern about her qualifications arose.  It seems her role as the curriculum developer for TeenPact, an organization dedicated to educate conservative youth on the proper role of government, was her only experience in education.  TeenPact is supported by Americans for Prosperity.

Then, Manny Diaz, a former House member was appointed Senate education committee chair.  He is an employee of the for-profit Academica charter management firm that launched a private non-accredited college with no students or faculty to award dual enrollment credit to their charter high schoolers that was not transferable.  

The Tallahassee Democrat summarizes the concerns from public school advocates across the state.  You can read their article here. WordPress won’t embed the url today, so you can google the Tallahassee Democrat article:  Public School Allies Sound the Alarm over Corcoran to read quotes from public school advocates across Florida (including mine!).

https://www.tallahassee.com/story/news/2018/12/08/public-school-allies-sound-alarm-over-corcoran-recommendation-and/2241797002/

League says “Just Say No”

Patti Brigham, President of the Florida League of Women Voters has issued a letter to the Florida State Board of Education urging them to conduct a national search for the Commissioner of Education.  Governor DeSantis wants to name Richard Corcoran, the former House Speaker to the job of running the Florida Department of Education.  His main claim to fame is his personal agenda to dismantle public schools and support privatization.  Read the letter below.

Could it happen here, No Doubt About It? Consider Arizona

Arizona Superintendent of Schools Diane Douglas announced she will recommend the curriculum standards for Classical Academy charter schools. They are sponsored by Hillsdale College, a conservative Christian college in Michigan that has gone into the charter business. It had to do something a few years ago because it was scandal ridden due to the sexual exploits of its president resulting in his son’s wife’s suicide. It is also the charter chain that Erika Donalds, a Collier County Florida school board member, personally supports. She has filed a proposal to open another one in Martin County. It’s the same chain that won its appeal to Florida’s State Board of Education to open a Classical Academy in Tallahassee this past week.

Florida’s State Board of Education Chair is no supporter of public schools. Marva Johnson advocated that Florida’s constitution be changed to allow public funds to support private, religious schools. Johnson was voted by SBE members to succeed Gary Chartrand. He is one of the financial supporters of KIPP charters in Jacksonville. He is also one of the major contributors to school board races. His candidates support charter schools.

There is a lot of money to be made from Florida’s charter schools. Almost half of the 650 charters are run by for-profit management companies that are subcontractors with the charter boards they help to create. Want to know about the inside dealings of Academica, Florida’s richest charter firm? Read the Miami Herald report. This story ran before Erik Fresen, Zulueta’s brother-in-law and former Florida legislator was arrested for forgetting for eight years to file his income tax returns. He already had been cited for conflict of interest in his role at Academica.

Large non-profit charter management chains have their own way of making money. Eva Moskowitz, head of the NY based Success Academies, made over $782,000 in 2016 to run 46 schools. The Superintendent of Orange County, Florida public schools runs 191 schools, but her salary is less than half of what Moskowitz earns.

Until Florida citizens demand change, too many charters will syphon off public tax dollars for private gain. When the money goes to charters, it comes from your children’s schools.

VPK Study Raises Serious Questions

Why would children attending Voluntary Pre School do slightly better than similar students in kindergarten who did not attend VPK but less well in third grade? A serious longitudinal study in Tennessee found just that. VPK students lost ground in math and science and performed the same in reading. There were no significant differences in attendance, grade retention or discipline infractions.

This is counter intuitive, of course, and the authors provided possible explanations. At the same time, they reference similar findings in a study of Head Start students. It is thought provoking. Are these children enrolled in preschools treated differently e.g. immersed in language arts to the expense of science and math? Why would this be true for children from VPK programs but not for children with similar backgrounds?

The quality of VPK programs differ, but this in itself may not explain the study’s results.