A pair of 3-2 votes approved one vendor contract for $107,700 and rejected another for $534,000 as board members looked to be more like budget hawks in light of the failed tax referendum. Neither item had been part of the budget-cut discussions before the vote.
merit pay
Judge Rejects Teachers’ Challenge to Law Tying Pay and Evaluations to Student Performance
A group of teachers, backed by the Florida Education Association, contended in the challenge that the law violated constitutionally guaranteed collective-bargaining rights and that lawmakers had given too much decision-making authority to the state Board of Education.
As Teachers Sue, Supportive Superintendents Criticize Evaluations Tied to Pay and Tests
Superintendents expressed frustration with the state’s teacher evaluation law during a meeting with Gov. Rick Scott a day after teachers filed suit in federal court to overturn the law, Scott himself endorsed trying to fix the provision attacked by the lawsuit, but lawmakers must carry out the fix.
Stop Paying Paper-Pushing Administrators And Union Bosses Better Than Teachers
Can anyone imagine the owner of the Miami Heat announcing that LeBron James has done such an outstanding job leading his team to the NBA championship that he is being “promoted” to a front-office job?
Florida Teachers Union Sues the State
Over Merit Pay, Calling It Unconstitutional
The Florida Education Association says tying the state’s merit pay provision to standardized tests is unlawful because it violates collective-bargaining rights embedded in the constitution.
As Florida Teachers’ Salaries Stagnate or Fall, Superintendent Pay Is Rising
In nine Florida school districts, superintendent salaries increased by 5 percent or more in the last four years. It had gone up 3 percent in Flagler before this year’s pay cut, making it a wash.
Despite Raises, Average Teacher Pay Is Eroding Significantly in Flagler and Florida
Average teacher pay at the end of last year in Flagler was $48,067. Adjusted for inflation, it represents an 8.5 percent decline compared with pay in 2006. Take-home pay declined further this fall.
Merit Pay’s Trap: When Lawmakers Are Clueless About Teachers’ Classroom Realities
Jo Ann C. Nahirny, a teacher at Matanzas High School, describes the gulf between merit pay assumptions about teachers and everyday classroom realities that are beyond teachers’ control. Lawmakers appear clueless.
From Teacher Merit Pay to Charter School Expansion: Legislature Marches On
Like the swiftly-approved teacher merit pay reforms, the push to expand charter schools, including expanding preferential admittance, has the strong backing of Gov. Rick Scott, and continues to revamp education.
Teacher Tenure Out, Merit Pay In: Legislature Whips First Bill of 2011 to Gov. Scott
The Legislature passed the biggest change to the state’s education system in more than 10 years, sending to Gov. Rick Scott a bill tying teacher salaries to test scores and ending multi-year contracts.
SB6 Redux: Teacher Merit Pay Bill Advances, But With None of Last Year’s Opposition
The replay of last year’s battle over Senate Bill 6 has been more subdued, the means by which teachers would be evaluated more vague, giving local school districts more say.
Students Fail. Cut Teachers’ Pay. Seriously?
The thinking behind Senate Bill 6 is rooted in the idea that teachers cause students’ success or failure. That’s wrong, argues Dave Riegel, a high school principal.
Blasting SB6: Teacher Rally Photo Gallery
If Gov. Crist had been in Palm Coast the afternoon of April 14, he’d have witnessed enthusiastic, dedicated anger at SB6 from a big segment of the county’s teachers.
Delbrugge on SB6: “Mean-Spirited” and Half-Baked Legislation
The Flagler school superintendent deconstructs the demerits of a proposed law that would, he says, be bad for students and districts alike.
Flagler Teachers Tell Crist: Veto “Horrific” SB6
Some 200 Flagler County teachers, supporters and children thronged a 150-yard stretch of sidewalk in the heart of Palm Coast Wednesday afternoon to protest Senate Bill 6 and demand that Gov. Charlie Crist veto it.