Florida Reacts to SB 736 Passing House

Reactions continued to pour in across Florida after the House joined the Senate in passing SB 736, a measure reforming teacher performance pay, on Wednesday afternoon. Gov. Rick Scott is expected to sign the bill into law.

"Public education is one of the most important investments we make as a state," said Dominic Calabro, who is the president and CEO of Florida TaxWatch. "However, we know that not every dollar we spend has an equal return on investment, and that simply throwing more money at education -- money which state and local taxpayers do not have right now -- is not sufficient to improve student outcomes. Instead, we need to focus on the things we know matter most to improved student learning: good teachers and great principals. Many of these reforms make great strides in improving Florida schools and we commend the leaders of the Senate and the House for pursuing these measures. Our next challenge is to ensure that the taxpayers' interests are first and foremost as this bill is on track to become law. Since some experts say that this legislation could require significant new costs, Florida TaxWatch stands ready to assist state and local policymakers with research and recommendations for a fiscally responsible implementation plan."

The measure also received the praise of Eric Smith, Floridas education commissioner.

I applaud the Florida House for their passage today of the Student Success Act, a critical piece of legislation that, if signed into law, will spark a new era of achievement for our students, said Smith. This legislation is special because it elevates the teaching profession to the esteemed level it deserves and provides us with opportunities to highlight effective teachers while promoting improvement in those who are less effective. Through it we will finally be able to reach that next plateau of success, producing better outcomes for our children and turning our classrooms and schools into models for our nation.

Teacher unions, led by the Florida Education Association (FEA) continued to attack SB 736.

Theres no research evidence that this legislation will help our children in public schools, said Andy Ford, president of FEA. Weve looked closely at plenty of scientifically sound, peer-reviewed research out there that shows this is the wrong approach to take to implement performance pay and to revamp evaluations.

Schools have seen steep budget cuts over the past four years and all indications are that they will face the most drastic budget cuts yet next school year, Ford added. But lawmakers have added this new fiscal burden to already struggling school districts. This additional burden will have to be made up somewhere --and we fear there will be more students in each classroom and a great many programs will be curtailed or eliminated in our public schools.

Despite the mantra about local control and less government we hear from lawmakers, this bill reduces a school districts flexibility and authority over teacher evaluations, pay schedules and working conditions, Ford said in conclusion. This bill gives new power and authority to the Florida Department of Education and the Legislature. Its not good for students, its not good for teachers and its not grounded in sound research. Governor Scott should veto this bill and tell lawmakers to start over and get it right.