Gov. Charlie Crist's veto of Senate Bill 6 didn't do Florida any favors scholastically or economically, business leaders say.
"We're very disappointed. It's critical that our students are on the cutting edge. Doing the same thing simply nets the same results," said Nancy Stephens, executive director of the Manufacturers Association of Florida.
"We need to challenge our students and we can't allow teachers to be complacent either."
The Florida Chamber of Commerce condemned Crist for vetoing SB 6, which would have implemented a performance-based pay system for teachers and abolished tenure for new instructors.
"Its unfortunate that misinformation and politics got in the way of policy that could transform the way we educate our students in Florida," Chamber President and CEO Mark Wilson said.
Barney Bishop, president and CEO of Associated Industries of Florida, summed up his organization's disappointment, saying, "Florida missed a golden opportunity to reform our education system."
Jeb Bush's Foundation for Florida's Future said SB 6 was key to winning "Race to the Top" school funding from Washington.
"President Obamas 'Race to the Top' program calls for improving teacher effectiveness based on performance. This bill (would have) helped Florida in the competition for federal funding," the foundation said in a statement.
The Miami-based foundation said key elements in SB 6 included "evaluation systems that take into account data on student growth as a significant factor, providing opportunities for highly effective teachers to obtain additional compensation and removing ineffective tenured and untenured teachers after they have had ample opportunity to improve."
Proponents pointed out that Tennessee and Delaware, the two states that received funding in the first round of "Race to the Top," have performance-pay programs.
But Joanne Jacobs, a California-based education blogger, predicted, "Florida is likely to suffer in 'Race to the Top' competition because it's taking a bold approach that's guaranteed to earn zero consensus points -- and RTTT is very big on consensus."
Business leaders and leading Republican lawmakers call it crucial common sense to link teacher pay and student learning gains.
Sen. John Thrasher, the Jacksonville Republican who authored SB 6 and chairs the state GOP, noted:
"Last year, 99.7 percent of teachers in the state earned a 'satisfactory' evaluation, yet 60 percent of our high school students, 40 percent of our middle school students and 30 percent of our elementary students couldn't read on grade level. Clearly, there is a disconnect."
Education Commissioner Eric Smith concluded that, in reality, there is "no performance system" in place for teachers -- a state of affairs that is anathema to businesses that tie employees' compensation to the quality of their work.
Branding the teacher's union "an impediment to change," AIF's Bishop complained, "Unions must defend everyone, even poor performing teachers who are guaranteed jobs because of tenure or seniority rather than their quality of their work.
"This makes no sense to those of us in the business community because we do not reward poor employees in that fashion."
After failing to stop SB 6 in the Legislature, the Florida Education Association orchestrated a furious lobbying effort to get Crist to veto the bill. The FEA closed ranks with school boards and superintendents, alleging that the reforms would centralize authority in Tallahassee and erode local control.
Citing Florida's progress in closing the gap between minority and white test scores, and the state's recent rise in national rankings, educators decried SB 6 as unnecessary, ill-conceived and "divisive."
Expressing disappointment over SB 6's demise, the Florida Council of 100, a consortium of business organizations, said everyone needs to get back to the negotiating table.
"Some issues take more than one (legislative) session. This is a big policy idea and reform is never easy," said Susan Pareigis, president of the Tampa-based Council.
The Council of 100, along with the Chamber, endorsed a series of education reforms this year, including tougher high-school graduation standards and end-of-year exams. And like the Chamber, the Council pledged to revisit the performance-pay issue next year.
Said Wilson: "We understand the fight to transition our economy takes leadership, courage, long-term thinking and a commitment to abandon the status quo and this decision solidifies our resolve to push forward."
Crist's office did not respond to Sunshine State News' request for comment.
Business groups continue to rally around a report, "Closing the Talent Gap," which linked higher educational standards with a more competitive workforce.
"We need to compete with the rest of the world," Stephens said. "It's incumbent that our state be at the forefront. We can't fall behind."
Florida's economy, which relies heavily on real-estate development, agriculture and service-sector jobs, has been hit especially hard by the national recession.
When Crist entered office in 2007, the state's unemployment rate stood at 3.3 percent. Today, it tops 12 percent -- three percentage points above the national rate.
Crist's would-be successor, Attorney General Bill McCollum, has pledged to support a renewed push for performance-based pay next year.
I am deeply disappointed Gov. Crist succumbed to the pressure from Democrat Alex Sink and the unions," said McCollum, who likely will face Sink in this fall's gubernatorial contest.
"The veto of Senate Bill 6 is a significant setback to our strides in education reform, which will limit Floridas ability to compete on the world stage," McCollum added."We need to reward teachers and give them the tools to succeed, as was proposed in this legislation."
Sink said local control is the key to education reform and Race To The Top funding.
The best decisions for our students and schools should be made at a local level, which is why I was disappointed that the important stakeholders were not allowed to be as involved in the process as they should have been during the development of the initial (RTTT) grant application," Sink said.
Looking ahead, Bishop of AIF said, "Soon, this recession will be over and Florida employers will be looking for qualified workers. I only hope that we will get better prepared employees than we do now. If not, we are in for a long haul -- with poor outcomes."
The Chamber's Wilson concluded, "If Florida is to become more competitive in the global marketplace, we must prepare for the next economy by focusing on creating a world-class talent supply chain, and that starts in the classroom by further supporting our public school teachers.
"Students and parents deserve nothing less than highly effective teachers who are rewarded for their hard work and success in the classroom.
"After all, education is the new economic development currency, and transitioning Florida's economy is our top priority.
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Contact Kenric Ward at kward@sunshinestatenews.com or at (772) 801-5341.
