A bright red-shaped boxing glove statue sitting on lawmakers’ desks shows the fight is on for Florida education.
The Florida Coalition of School Board Members recognized eight Florida lawmakers with awards for knockout service in promoting values which helped further statewide education policies for the good of students.
FCSBM chose lawmakers based on five different core values it says push education in the Sunshine State, calling them “champions” who embraced and exemplified policies on fiscal responsibility, parent and student choice, local control by elected school board members, balanced reason and accountability in testing as well as solution-oriented partnerships.
FCSBM president Erika Donalds said the two-year-old organization used two years of information going into the nomination process to make its decision.
“The coalition shares [values] with many of the decision makers in Tallahassee, but specifically the ones we gave awards to, things that really brought us into being: supporting parental choice, fiscal responsibility and reasonable accountability,” she told Sunshine State News. “Those are the areas we felt the existing associations were not working effectively with decision makers [towards legislation].”
This year, FCSBM selected the following Florida Lawmakers as winners in the Fighting for Kids Awards:
Sen. Don Gaetz, R-Niceville
Core Value: REASONABLE ACCOUNTABILITY
Sen. Lizbeth Benacquisto, R-Fort Myers
Core Value: PARENTAL CHOICE
Sen. Bill Montford, D-Tallahassee
Core Value: SOLUTION-BASED PARTNERSHIPS
Sen. Kelli Stargel, R-Lakeland
Core Value: LOCAL CONTROL
Rep. Manny Diaz, Jr., R-Hialeah
Core Value: FISCAL RESPONSIBILITY
Rep. Eric Eisnaugle, R-Orlando
Core Value: LOCAL CONTROL
Rep. Erik Fresen, R-Miami
Core Value: SOLUTION-BASED PARTNERSHIPS - MVP
Rep. Chris Sprowls, R-Palm Harbor
Core Value: PARENTAL CHOICE
Donalds said those who won awards had stood out very distinctly, blazing the trail for education reforms.
“It was pretty clear who had successfully aligned most with our core values,” Donalds said. “[Sometimes,] there was more than one nominee for the core value.”
Sen. Kelli Stargel won an award for local control in 2016. She introduced a bill which gave that a per-sport membership provision to join the FHSAA for private schools.
This year Stargel also introduced several proposals regarding school board members, including amendments that would have brought millions of dollars to the FCSBM. Stargel dropped this amendment though and instead pursued an amendment added onto Gaetz’s 2016 accountability bill which would let school board members send their district-paid dues to whatever association they wish to be a member of.
The FCSBM says their organization been a good source of feedback for state lawmakers who may not see the first-hand impact of their legislative policies on Florida students.
“In the past we have seen where legislation is passed without ground level knowledge and feedback,” Donalds said. “We were able to provide that during the last legislative session.”
So far, the organization’s feedback from lawmakers has been positive.
“They’re excited to look to members they can partner with,” Donalds told SSN. “It took a while to convince them [that] even as school board members that we are supportive of accountability and school choice.”
And that big red boxing glove?
“It’s a conversation piece, so then they will have the opportunity to explain the important education reforms they’ve been a part of,” she continued. “They love our awards.”
Reach reporter Allison Nielsen by email at allison@sunshinestatenews.com or follow her on Twitter: @AllisonNielsen.
