Government
Performance Pay Bill Draws 10,000 Calls for Veto
Around the State
More than 10,000 phone calls. More than 15,000 e-mails and letters. They mostly tell Gov. Charlie Crist the same thing – veto SB 6.
Since Republican lawmakers first proposed legislation in early March that would link teacher pay to student performance on standardized exams, teachers have gone on the offensive -- writing, calling, showing up at legislative meetings, all telling lawmakers that a test can't measure their effectiveness in the classroom.
It has generated more public reaction than any other single piece of legislation over the past few years.
“I haven't even seen anything close to this. This is the biggest education overhaul I've seen in my 35 years here,” said Wayne Blanton, executive director for the Florida School Boards Association.
Gov. Charlie Crist seemed to be a proponent of the measure as recently as last Monday, sending out a press release saying he looked forward to seeing the legislation on his desk. But then a few days later as public pressure against the bill mounted, he vacillated, telling reporters he had some concerns about the bill and that he was “listening to the people of Florida - my boss.”
Comments (5)
-You actually wrote something negative about the bill. I am impressed at how you look at both sides.
-You know we have to write emails, you have the funding and the lobbyists! I never realized how SPECIAL INTERESTS rule this state until now. You have this "newspaper" too. You put your weight on newspaper editiorial boards, you flood the halls of the legislature with lobbyists.
You spend money on phone campaigns, focus groups, TV and radio ads, hire people to make silly Facebook pages, and for what? TO GET YOUR WAY!
FOR ONCE, I'd like to see the citizens win! We had to scramble and organize, your party snuck this through. It's amazing! Was this revenge for the healthcare bill? A "hammer" to use on those dastardly unions?
Some of us are Republican, Democrat and independent. Some of us were against health care, Voted for McCain, many of us aren't even in the unions that you guys dislike so much!
FOR ONCE, I'd like to see the will of the people done! We are not a special interest group! We are teachers who are fed up with Jeb Bush and Lobbyist Thrasher pushing an agenda on us!
Don't smear us with your ads and expect us to vote for any of the mercenaries you lobby for!
I don't speak for all teachers of course, but thank you for providing this little tiny pocket that I can voice my opinion. BTW, I'll remember who voted for this in November.