Is Charlie Crist Turning His Back on Teachers?
According recent article posted on Jacksonville.com, tensions continue to run high on teacher merit bills this season.
A key committee sent one of the most controversial bills of the legislative session to the House floor on a party-line vote Monday evening after an often emotional meeting that stretched on for nearly eight hours.
The GOP-dominated House Education Policy Council voted 12-5 to approve the measure overhauling teacher contracts after hearing from dozens of witnesses, many of them teachers or administrators opposed to the bill.
If the bill clears the House without amendment, it will go directly to Gov. Charlie Crist for his signature or veto. An amendment would require another trip to the Senate, which narrowly approved the bill 21-17 last month.
Crist suggested again Monday that he will sign the bill.
The measure, originally sponsored by Sen. John Thrasher, R-St. Augustine, would do away with several teacher employment protections for new teachers and base future pay increases on