Several state legislators screened the education reform documentary Waiting for Superman in Tallahassee Tuesday, then discussed the possibility and parameters of legislation to improve Florida's schools.
The film follows five children and their parents as they strive for a better education, and inevitably, for entrance into a charter or private school.
It also outlines the efforts of education reformers like Michelle Rhee, the former chancellor of Washington, D.C. public schools, who recently was named to head up Gov.-elect Rick Scotts education transition team. The film is highly critical of teachers unions that block higher standards and strict accountability for teachers.
Merit pay for teachers was part of Senate Bill 6, the controversial reform legislation that passed earlier this year but was vetoed by Gov. Charlie Crist. Despite the controversy surrounding the issue, legislators stressed the need for bipartisan solutions.
At this time education reform is now bipartisan. Many of the initiatives are very much in line with what weve done in Florida, said Sen. Evelyn Lynn, D-Daytona Beach.
Superman shows not just the lives of five children as they go through the system, but also how the education system was set up for the 20th centurys industrial economy and hasnt adapted to the 21st centurys economy of the information age.
Its hard to watch that movie and not cry -- cry in sadness at the kids and cry in anger at the system, said Patricia Levesque, executive director for Foundation for Floridas Future, Jeb Bushs education advocacy group.
The urgency and excitement about the need for reform, however, were tempered by the reality of fundamentally changing such a large system.
I dont think the movie or anyone on this panel is saying that charter schools are a silver bullet. Theres no one thing thats a silver bullet, Levesque said.
But rewarding good teachers and punishing bad ones is one of the ways to improve education. How to do it, or if it is even possible, however, is yet to be determined in Florida.
Theres very little that the Legislature can do to reward those supermen and superwomen (teachers). Its not enough to give them a certificate and say you did a good job, said Rep. John Legg, R-Port Richey.
Paying teachers more may sound like an easy solution both parties can agree to, but Jackie Pons, superintendent of Leon County Schools, told legislators they need to pay for it, too. Given Floridas budget problems, that is a difficult proposition.
Im all for merit pay. Lets remember when were rewarding our teachers that we find some way to pay for it, Pons said.
Funding is likely to be the key to any education reform legislation passed by the Legislature, on which conservative Republicans have a stranglehold, with veto-proof majorities in both houses.
Sen. Stephen Wise, R-Jacksonville, noted that reform could also have its own fiscal advantages if it cuts into the 111,000 students that have failed grades at least twice, costing the state $1.7 billion.
Reach Gray Rohrer at grohrer@sunshinestatenews.com or at (850) 727-0859.
