Florida's Gov. Charlie Crist announces his veto of Senate Bill 6
concerning teacher tenure and merit pay on Thursday, April 15,
2010, in Tallahassee, Fla. Already trailing badly in the GOP
Senate primary race, Crist further alienated many powerful
Republican and business interests by announcing his veto.
AP Photo / Steve Cannon
Just after noon on Thursday, April 15th, Governor Charlie Crist said no to Senate Bill 6 (SB 6). Debates and protests over SB 6 (also called the Teacher Tenure Bill) have dominated our community since it passed through the House of Representatives with a 64-55 majority vote and through the state senate 21-17.
Since then, the bill has been awaiting approval or veto from Gov. Crist. And now that a decision has been made, thousands of teachers are thrilled and Republicans in the legislature are disappointed. Those disappointed include former Florida Gov., Jeb Bush.
Gov. Crist’s office has been inundated with calls and emails opposing the SB 6 for days now. The bill sought to tie 50% of a teacher’s salary to student performance on standardized state exams. It would force new teachers to sign no more than a one-year contract with no guarantee of future employment and no possibility for tenure.
Reports state that Gov. Crist received more than 120,000 messages regarding SB 6. The Herald/Times Tallahassee Bureau reports that although 51,000 messages remain unread, nearly 65,000 of the messages read were in opposition to the bill. Only 3,000 were in support of it.
Initially Crist indicated that he was in support of the bill, but after careful review, he states in his veto letter that SB 6,
…does not appropriately accommodate special education students and their dedicated teachers…
In my April 13th article, Miami Teachers Take a Stand to Protest Senate Bill 6, I mentioned that I did not see where SB 6 addressed the needs of Special Education Teachers and those students who routinely perform poorly on standardized tests. Gov. Crist goes on to write that the bill encroaches on local decision-making.
At worst, it could result in an infringement upon the constitutional authority of school boards. While the bill allows school boards to create district policies, there are considerable directives given to local boards and a requirement for state sign-off before plans can be approved. Some of these directives are quite overreaching, such as not allowing multi-year teacher contracts, choosing arbitrary percentages for calculating a teacher’s effectiveness, and permanently decertifying an excellent teacher in Florida who simply needed improvement two out of the previous five years on the job.
SB 6 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. Teachers have an incredible impact on the lives of their students, but they are not the only influence.
Read Gov. Crist’s veto letter in its entirety BY CLICKING HERE.
Broward School Board and Superintendent Jim Notter is thrilled that that the bill has been vetoed. Notter sent a letter to Gov. Crist on Tuesday opposing the bill.
Now that SB 6 has been vetoed, South Florida teachers can hang up their protest signs and get back to the business of teaching knowing that their jobs are secure – for now at least.
If you’ve been hiding in a cave for the last week and this is the very first time you’ve heard of SB 6, review all of my coverage on this hot topic:
April 9, 2010 -- Florida teachers up in arms over SB 6 refused to show up for work today
April 10, 2010 -- Teachers may cut class in record numbers on Monday in protest of Senate Bill 6
April 13, 2010 -- Miami teachers take a stand to protest Senate Bill 6
April 14, 2010 -- Protests in opposition to SB 6 continued this morning in Davie, Florida
Sources:
The Miami Herald
Gov. Charlie Crist vetoes Florida teacher pay bill
CBS 4 News
Crist Vetoes Teacher Pay Bill, Upsets Republicans
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Comments
Thanks for all the nice comments on my healthy food column, but it looks like you're a good writer yourself! (I'm subscribing, BTW.)
That is good news. I think merit based extras would be a better way to go. But the proposed changes were short-sighted and poorly thought out.
I agree that merit based extra would be best. Time will tell if the change will take place at another time.
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