Governor Rick Scott has been making the rounds to schools across the state on an education listening tour. Scott says he wants to gather ideas on education and is talking with parents and teachers, but some of his critics say they aren’t convinced that Scott’s outreach efforts are genuine.
Scott, a supporter of charter schools and school choice, says one thing he’s heard from parents is that they want more options for how and where their children are educated.
“It’s not choice because its winners and losers, the only winner should be children. What’s best for our children? And choice, that’s what parents want. We want competition. And as we create more choice across the state, it’s going to be or the benefit of our children," he said while visiting Governors Charter Academy in Tallahassee.
Parents like Shanin Speas-Frost, whose daughter attends the school, says she was pleased the Governor camebecause she’s concerned that there’s too much pressure being put on teachers.
“Really, the only people being accountable for our children’s education are teachers and it’s not fair. Teachers don’t have the kids but a few hours of the day, and how are they the sole accountability for that child learning when learning starts at home?”
The Governor’s education tour took him to schools across the state with stops in Jacksonville, Orlando, Miami and other parts of the panhandle. Scott’s tour was notable for the fact that no reporters were allowed to observe the interactions.
Scott's first stop was Jacksonville’s Pinedale Elementary School, where teachers had an opportunity to bring their concerns to the Governor.
“Some of the ideas we rolled out where to…nothing concrete, but basically—more parental involvement in the schools, more consistency in the state in terms of testing, and those kinds of things," said 5th grade Language Arts Teacher, Steve Walden.
During the tour Governor Rick Scott said teachers spoke about funding—and of having to buy classroom supplies out of pocket. The Governor says he at least wants to hold education funding steady next year and ask for an increase. But because there is a fixed amount of money lawmakers have to work with, an increase to education may mean cuts to other areas.
Scott also extended a small olive branch to one of his most vocal critics. Scott met with the Florida Education Association, a teachers union. The FEA has opposed many of Scott’s policies, including a new law that ties teacher pay to student test scores.
"We actually scheduled the next meeting prior to this meeting. So we’re just going to take a look at what’s coming up," said FEA President Andy Ford.
And Scott said they plan to keep up the conversations.
“And my experience is, this is our first opportunity. We started the conversation. Nothing happens without trust.”
But many public school supporters remain skeptical of the Governor’s recent attempts to reach out. Scott championed a new law that ends tenure for new teachers in addition to tying student learning gains to how much teachers are paid and whether they keep their jobs. In his first year, he oversaw a billion-dollar cut to the education budget, only to put most of the money back a year later after a public outcry.
Sound- “I’m not really sure what his motivations are. I’m hoping it’s more than a publicity stunt. But the parents in Florida don’t really have a lot of reasons to trust the leadership in Tallahassee," said Colleen Wood, with the public school funding group 50th No More.
And in a statement, Miami Democratic Representative Dwight Bullard said the Governor’s recent overture to teachers and administrators through an education listening tour are quote “politically convenient.”
