Our views: Veto school bill (April 13)
Start over on sweeping education reforms
Gov. Charlie Crist should veto Senate Bill 6, the one-size-fits-all merit-pay plan for Florida teachers.
Not because merit pay plans are necessarily harmful to education. Plans designed with flexibility to fairly reward effective teachers can increase accountability and learning.
And not because the current system for firing ineffective teachers doesn’t need some fixing. It does. But SB 6 falls far short on setting up a fair reward system and punitively strips teachers of job protections.
A veto from Crist can force state lawmakers who refused to make needed changes to the bill, despite vocal opposition from the public, to go back to the drawing board and get it right.
The outcry came from many teachers, but also from conservatives such as Brevard County school board members Amy Kneessy and Andy Ziegler. Eleven Republican House members voted against SB 6, rightly fearing it would cause major new problems for schools.
Brevard’s GOP House delegation all voted yes, turning a deaf ear to constituents’ concerns the bill would do real damage to the classroom.
That’s regrettable.
For his part, Crist can expect harsh attacks from his own party and negative fallout for his U.S. Senate campaign if he wields the veto pen.
He shouldn’t let political considerations interfere with doing what’s right.
A veto from Crist should be the start of discussions over education reforms, with everyone at the table, including educators.
Problems that must be addressed in new reform proposals include: