By James Call
http://stream.publicbroadcasting.net/production/mp3/wfsu/local-wfsu-896003.mp3
Tallahassee, FL – Governor Charlie Crist said Tuesday he is continuing to gather input about a teacher tenure bill that sits on his desk. Crist has until Friday to decide the fate of Senate Bill 6. But James Call reports the governor said he won't drag out the proceeding until that deadline, although he gives no indication when he will stop seeking input.
The bill, which would end teacher tenure and base pay raises on student performance, comes in the midst of an election year when the governor is running for the U.S. Senate. It is sponsored by Senator John Thrasher, who chairs the Republican Party of Florida. The Jacksonville Senator thought he had the governor's support, but Crist said Thrasher may have misunderstood.
"I told him something to the effect of it sounds like a good bill, you know, seems like it moves in the right direction. I'm favorably inclined toward it, words like that."
Crist is indicating he favors the accountability aspect of the measure and that he is hearing a lot of things from a lot of people that the part that eliminates tenure is a bad idea.
"They have concerns about it, I'll say that."
"They" are the Crist family. The governor's two sisters are former teachers, and his father is a former chairman of the Pinellas County School Board.
"It's the concerns of all these people that took the time to come here today that I'm wanting to listen to and needing to hear, and it is important, I think, as governor to keep an open mind and an open ear to these people that I literally work for."
The proposed law passed the House 64 -55 and the Senate 21-17. Depending on which side you're on, those numbers represent bipartisan opposition or a solid majority of support. Half of a teacher's evaluation performance would be based on student progress on tests yet to be developed. The current system rewards teachers based on years of experience and advanced degrees. The teachers' union says the measure is part of former Governor Jeb Bush's long-standing feud with the Florida Education Association (FEA).
Tuesday, a handful of teachers delivered to the Governor's Office petitions opposed to the bill. Crist left a Cabinet meeting to talk to them. Elizabeth Engelman of Volusia County has taught at-risk children for eighteen years.
"I may be penalized by working with ESOL kids (English for Speakers of Other Languages) and kids from a low socio-economic background."
Crist asked "Could you explain that to me, please?"
Engelman continued, "Evidently, I may lose my teaching certificate because I will be working with students that don't have computers at home, that don't have the economic advantages that many of our children have. And because that is where my heart is, I am going to be penalized for that."
The governor tried graciously, as is his manner, to get back to the Cabinet meeting, but it seemed with each step he took, a teacher would pop up in front of him.
Lynn Janasiewicz teaches the second grade, is out of breath, but she has the governor's ear.
"There are things that we bring to the classroom that are not cognitively measured. Are we nurturers, do we help those children to feel good about themselves and be successful, and those are those elements that really truly good teachers bring to the classroom as well that you don't measure at all."
The teachers' union is energized by the effort to defeat the bill. It says about one-third of the 100-thousand teachers who are members are registered Republicans. They get to vote in the August primary in which Crist is a candidate for the U.S. Senate. But Janasiewicz said she takes the governor at his word, that he is gathering information. She characterized his foray into the lobby during a Cabinet meeting an attempt to listen to the people, not to stage a campaign event.
"He's a good listener, and I appreciate that. I think that's first and foremost what his intention was, to listen and make a valued decision based on what input he can get."
Crist must decide what he will do by Friday. If he vetoes the bill, he risks further alienating Republican members of the Florida Legislature who criticized an earlier veto of a campaign finance bill. Although Senator John Thrasher would urge caution in interpreting the governor's words, Crist did offer this insight into his deliberations about Senate Bill 6.
"The thoughts that you think about are experiences you have as you have gone through those years and what teachers have done for you...I thought they were pretty exceptional. You know, it's worked out so far for me. You know, they have given me a lot of good guidance."