Paula Dockery Blasts Florida’s Twisted Education Leadership Structure
Former republican state senator Paula Dockery is now an influential syndicated columnist. In this morning’s Lakeland Ledger, she weighs in on the Bennett Scandal and points out that Florida’s educational leadership structure is problematic:
Bennett resigned four days after the AP story broke. During those four days: Patricia Levesque, the executive director of Jeb’s Foundation for Florida’s Future, circulated a letter defending him; Democratic lawmakers called for his resignation; and the governor remained silent.Isn’t it time for an honest conversation on doing away with a school-grading system that is costly, divisive and unreliable?Systemically, just how much autonomy does the education commissioner have to run the department, and to whom is he directly accountable? In all fairness, it would be difficult for anyone to succeed in a toxic environment of distrust while having to report to so many chiefs.Among the education chiefs are the commissioner, the state board that