Thrasher denies lobbying for testing firms
From The St. Augustine Record: Two out-of-state companies that offer education testing paid a lobbying firm where state Sen. John Thrasher was a partner between $60,000 and $190,000 over a two-year period, state records indicate.During the current legislative session, Thrasher, a St. Augustine Republican, sponsored Senate Bill 6, which, among other things, would have required school districts to develop or acquire end-of-course assessment tests.
After drawing stiff criticism from educators and teachers’ unions, the bill was vetoed Thursday by Gov. Charlie Crist.
Thrasher left the lobbying firm, Southern Strategy, in 2009 and has denied personally lobbying on behalf of the testing companies.
“I never had any connection to (the testing companies),” he said. “I was bought out last May and don’t even have any connection with them anymore.”
The companies — Ohio-based IQ Innovations and New Jersey-based Educational Testing Service — say the lobbying Southern Strategy did on their behalf was unrelated to Thrasher’s bill.
IQ Innovations paid between $60,000 and $150,000 to Southern Strategy in 2008 and 2009, and Educational Testing Service paid the firm between $4 and $40,000 over the same period, according to state
