By Jerry Waxman

As Submitted to the Huffington Post

When Florida Governor Charlie Crist vetoed the controversial merit pay and tenure bill SB 6 last week it was only round one of a war that’s going to be fought over who controls education in the state which could last several years. Jeb Bush and his brainchild, the Foundation for Florida’s Future are going to continue to push for their way, backed by the Chamber of Commerce, the Council of 100 and enough conservative Republican legislators to get legislation to the governor’s desk. The question being will he sign it? Forget last week; that was like seeing Halley’s Comet for the only time in your life. It’s likely not to happen again. This week he signed into law SB 4 which raises standards for high school students and requires them to take math courses and science courses that had heretofore not been required for graduation, unless the student intended to go to college. Now, it doesn’t matter-as a certain local auto dealer advertises “Everybody rides”.

No one can deny that Florida’s standards have got to be made higher and that Florida has got to get off the bottom rung of the ladder if it is going to attract new high tech corporate business to the state. Major companies place a high regard for quality education when looking to relocate their executives. Unless they are looking for low end labor there’s nothing here to attract them. Until the building trades in Florida get busy, the job market here is going to remain static. Retail and Hospitality are major employers here and they are not known for paying high salaries. Members of the Council of 100 like Publix are so stingy they won’t even consent to a penny a pound price increase on tomatoes for the farm workers of Immokalee, so I find it fascinating that all of these corporate types are pushing higher standards. That is…..unless this latest bill is really designed to cause more kids to drop out, which I fear is more than likely since those children not destined for higher learning are going to have a more difficult time, and this new law allows no funding for putting these courses into action. Again, the legislature leapt before it looked in its headlong rush to put Jeb Bush’s stamp on the state.

The main goal is to privatize as much public education in this state as possible. New laws being debated now are designed to do just that. Bills like SB 2126 which will grant corporations huge tax cuts for producing vouchers for students who want to go to private schools, or SJR 2550 which will allow public money to fund religious schools. Assaults on the teachers continue with HB 5701 which reduces teacher health insurance subsidies and reduces retirement contributions by as much as $1800.00 per year.  SB 2 will put an amendment on the ballot that will attempt to weaken or do away with the hard won class size amendment that reduces classes to acceptable levels. One veto is all we’re going to get this round. Governor Crist has already started putting together a team to try and access the second round of Race To The Top (RTTT) funds which could put $900,000,000.00 into education……or would it?

This is a bad move. RTTT is nothing more than manipulated scoring. The kids learn nothing, but they score well. Basically it is like lighting a match under a thermometer to get a desired result. NCLB was an abject failure and the charter school movement has not proven itself, however, many of Jeb’s connected friends own these schools and are making their money from public funding while giving a lot less to the kids. I also believe that to get the award we are going to have to jump through some unattractive hoops. That money doesn’t come without some very heavy strings attached. I resent my tax dollars going to any religious institution for any reason, not just education. I resent my tax dollars going to any private company to educate students who would otherwise be in a public school, using more of those dollars on the students. As far as I’m concerned the battle over the current legislation is just as important as the battle over SB6. Some of this legislation deals with cuts in retirement for all public employees including police, firefighters, city and state workers and the like. If that sleeping giant wakes up a real battle could ensue, with major casualties going into this November.

Well, I somehow managed to veer off on a different tangent, so allow me a slight course correction; none of these initiatives are going to help get our schools out of the cellar. Letting teachers teach the proper curriculum, with support from their boards, administrations, parents and the surrounding neighborhoods will go a long way to achieving this. I just read an interesting article by noted leadership trainer Stephen R. Covey who helped turn an F school in North Carolina into an A school simply by training teachers, parents and administrators in some very simple techniques and exercises. He has done this in over 200 schools worldwide and neither accountability nor rigid testing was necessary. Here’s further evidence from the California Council on Teacher Education confirming the shortcomings of RTTT.

There are mountains of fact based evidence that RTTT type accountability and               that standardized testing are least likely to help children achieve their potential. There has yet to be a conclusive study that shows that these methods improve knowledge and every study conducted about charter schools and state funded religious schools has shown them yet to prove their value against the public school system. Why then are we still pursuing it? Because, it’s what Jeb wants. Here’s an interesting article by Bill Nye, the Science Guy from the time of the inauguration pleading with the President to elevate all schools to the level of Sidwell, rather than dumb us down even further. Yet the Florida legislature and the governor continue to pursue the wrong course. Yesterday’s Orlando Sentinel had a column by conservative author Mike Thomas extolling the virtues of the way Tennessee handled their problem and won RTTT funding. Teachers, parents, civic groups and everyone else need to let Tallahassee know that they are against this as much as they were against SB6. Let’s not allow Jeb Bush and the Council of 100 to turn our kids into undereducated robots. We deserve much better than that.

By Jerry Waxman
As submitted to the Huffington Post

The day didn’t start out so great. We found out that my wife’s gynecologist doesn’t accept Medicare (more on that in tomorrow’s story) and I had a problem at the bank that took a couple of hours to straighten out to my satisfaction. Those couple hours were not necessary if the tellers did their jobs properly, and I can’t get those hours back. I figure that my time wasted there was worth at least $75.00 per hour, so I should charge them for it. Fat chance I’ll ever collect. So, you can figure that I wasn’t in the best of moods to go to cover Marco Rubio’s kickoff campaign. P.S. I will definitely move my money at some future date.
The notification came Monday evening that both Jeb Bush and Marco Rubio were going to be at the Marks Street Senior Center in Orlando, FL. at 12:30 PM to kick off Rubio’s barnstorming campaign. They were to speak of the virtues of the current legislation (SB 6/HB 7189) awaiting Governor Charlie Crist’s signature. This legislation, among other restrictive measures, would sharply curtail local control of public schools and eliminate collective bargaining for teachers as well as nullifying their advanced degrees for salary consideration. Now, the first question I ask is “Why discuss education at a senior center?”  Well, the answer is pretty clear- Florida seniors are a large part of the population and they vote in higher proportions than younger people. They also have no direct connection with public education so it’s easy for unscrupulous politicians to tell them that these reforms will save them tax money and improve education, without offering valid proof of their claims. When seniors realize that they have as much of a stake in public education as the rest of us it may be too late. In 10 years these kids are going to be our police, firefighters, store employees, transportation workers. If they’re not adequately prepared to serve in the work force it’s not only seniors who will feel the effects, so it’s important that seniors be properly educated as well. Also, it’s pretty tough to get teachers out to protest in the middle of a school day.

Some members of the unions showed up to protest and urge the governor to veto the bill. One surprise was a group of Charlie Crist supporters protesting in another area also urging the governor to veto the bill. Lisa Burk, a Volusia county Crist supporter said that she and her group are opposed to the legislation and want the governor to dismiss both Rubio’s and Bush’s pressuring. Burk feels that Bush’s meddling has made things worse.

I got inside after Rubio had started so I didn‘t hear the first part of the speech. I was standing next to PBS anchor Judy Woodruff and casually asked her if he had mentioned the education bills. She replied that he hadn’t. I took a quick headcount and figured that there were perhaps twenty actual seniors in the crowd of about 170.The rest of the group were all members of his entourage, with a half dozen shills who led the applause after every statement. The speech was pure Marco, berating the President for his handling of the nuclear reduction talks and for not taking a stronger stand on terrorism. He also took the administration to task for its economic policies. His favorite expression was “American Exceptionalism” and he used it frequently to point out why this country has to lead, conveniently forgetting that that very same exceptionalism in the wrong hands brought us to where we are now over an eight year period during the Bush Administration, an administration he supported fully. He also said that he knew how to fix Social Security and Medicare, which seems odd in a senior center….oh wait! There were only twenty seniors there; well, if you include me there were twenty one.
We found out later that Rubio altered his plans due to his father’s lung cancer diagnosis. Frankly, I don’t buy it. Not that his father isn’t ill; I ‘m sure that is true and I wish him both effective treatment and a speedy and complete recovery. What I don’t buy is Marco’s reasoning because this tour is only for four days. Tending to a sick parent plays well with his base so he uses it, but I suspect that his practiced stump speech has a few holes being blown through it by the President. At the same time Rubio was speaking events were taking place in Washington that completely negated Rubio’s nuclear scare tactics. Also, all the news magazines and the economic press are claiming that things are beginning to turn around, including the fact that the Dow is now 3000 points higher than a year ago, so there’s another talking point that needs a radical makeover. What I believe is that Rubio will emerge from his caretaker mode in a couple of days with a different speech than the one he’s been using, however, it will be as jingoistic and substance free as the old one.
Outside the center we received word that Congressman Kendrick Meek (D FL 17) had written to the governor to veto the legislation. Meek recently made history by being the first person in Florida to qualify for U.S. Senate by petition. He will face either Crist or Rubio in November. Meek was also the driving force behind the Florida class size amendment, and he also has the distinction of being one of the very few people ever who stood up to and stood down Jeb Bush. Here’s a link to Meek’s letter to Crist, urging him to veto the bill.
My day ended at the Orange County School Board meeting where the board actually did the right thing. They voted unanimously to add a quarter mil tax to the budget which will raise an additional twenty two million dollars to make up for drastic budget cuts from the state. No matter how I felt this morning, I felt better tonight. Going home I thought “I think good things were accomplished today.”

By Jerry Waxman

As submitted to The Huffington Post

The Florida House of Representatives will vote today on passage of controversial bill HB 7189 which, along with its sister bill SB 6 will radically change the way education is funded and administered in the State of Florida. Anti forces such as Stop Senate Bill 6, No Tallahassee Takeover: Stop SB 6, Fund Education Now.org, and many others have come up in a short period of time in opposition to the legislation. Florida’s teachers unions are in opposition. Demonstrations by concerned civic groups, individuals and other public officials have been taking place all over the state.

On Tuesday the legislation was voted out of committee to be voted on by the full house. During the discussion period seventy five people spoke in opposition. Only four people spoke in favor, and those four were either Chamber of Commerce members or employed by one of Jeb Bush’s foundations. Representative Will Weatherford (R. 61) of Panama City acknowledged the turnout and inferred that everyone in opposition was “misinformed.”

Meanwhile, Governor Charlie Crist according to several sources has indicated that he may veto the legislation. Crist, who is running against Marco Rubio in the Republican primary for the US Senate is also thinking about running as an independent candidate. Advocacy groups from across the state and now, through social networking, across the country are flooding the legislators and the Governor with phone calls, e-mails, as well as holding rallies in support of the teachers.

Diane Ravitch has now joined the opposition forces. She sent a letter to the Florida legislators urging them to defeat the legislation. Here is the text of her letter:

To: The Honorable Members of the Florida LegislatureFrom: Diane RavitchDear Members,I wish that I could be in Tallahassee to address you personally but prior commitments make it impossible to do so.

I am a historian of American education at New York University. I served as Assistant Secretary of Research and Improvement in the administration of President George H.W. Bush. I was a founding member of the Koret Task Force of the Hoover Institution. I was
also a founding trustee of the Thomas B. Fordham Foundation. I have been studying and writing about American education for 40 years.

I write to oppose SB 6/HB 7189.
http://www.nbc-2.com/global/story.asp?s=12259427

I understand that this bill would prohibit districts from paying teachers in relation to their experience and education, but would base teachers’ salaries mainly on student gains on standardized tests. I further understand that it is the law’s intent to develop new tests for every subject area, paid for by reducing operating expenses by 5 percent in the schools.

I strongly believe that this bill will have very negative consequences for the children of the state of Florida. I believe that it will dumb down their education. I believe that it will cause many of your best teachers to leave the profession or the state because this legislation is so profoundly disrespectful towards the education profession.

I urge you not to pass this bill.

My new book, “The Death and Life of the Great American School System,” demonstrates that pay-for-scores schemes don’t work. The main reason they don’t work is that the measures were not intended for that purpose.

Standardized tests are intended to evaluate whether students have learned what they were taught. They are not designed to assess teacher effectiveness or teacher quality. The more that teachers focus on these measures, the more they rob children of time for instruction and for the activities that engage children in their education and promote comprehension.

Teachers are not solely the cause of student progress. If students fail to make progress in their studies, there are many reasons for their failure. The causes of academic success or failure include the students’ own effort; the students’ regular attendance or lack thereof; the family’s support or lack thereof; the family’s poverty and its effects on the student’s health and well-being; the school’s resources; the district’s oversight or lack thereof; and the quality of the test itself, which may be subject to random variation. It makes no sense to hold the teacher alone accountable when student performance is affected by so many different influences.

Should the teacher get a bad evaluation if students have a poor attendance record? Should the teacher be harshly judged if her students don’t speak English or move frequently from school to school? Should the teacher get an F if the student has poor eyesight or suffers from other undiagnosed health problems? Should the teacher be considered a failure if the student’s family offers no support for his learning?

Since the 1920s, American schools have experimented with merit pay plans. None has ever demonstrated success. Teachers will bend their efforts to raise test scores, but achievement nonetheless lags. The reason for this is that teaching-to-the-test does not yield good education. The students may learn test-taking skills, but they don’t learn how to generalize what they have learned to new situations. Thus, even when state reading scores go up, in response to intensive coaching, national test scores remain flat. As the national tests become more demanding—in 8th grade—the scores don’t rise at all.

Our nation has now had eight consecutive years of rising reading scores at the state level, yet the national scores for 8th grade students have not budged from 1998-2009. The reason for the discrepancy is that students are learning test-taking skills, but they are unable to understand complex materials or to demonstrate their progress on a test that is not the state test.

Test scores do not identify the most effective teachers. A teacher who produces big score gains one year may produce none the next year, depending on which students happen to be in his or her class.

The legislation now under consideration will not improve education in Florida. It will harm kids and their teachers.

I urge you to stop and reflect. The research on teacher effectiveness does not support the policies of SB 6/HB 7189. Please defeat this legislation.

Yours truly,

Diane Ravitch

Her reasoned, yet passionate appeal to the legislators states factual evidence that their approach will be harmful to Florida education in general, yet they seem determined to run our educational system off a cliff. I would add my own P.S. to her letter for the Republicans:

“Dear Messers Atwater, Thrasher, Cannon, Weatherford, Cretul et al,

Diane Ravitch has exposed your proposed legislation for what it is-no good at any price. Her background, credentials, and experience by far put to shame any of your experts whom you seem to put your trust in. If anyone is misinformed, look to yourselves. Intellectually, she can run circles around you and your experts, even when she’s asleep. Take her advice and shove your legislation where it will not see light of day. Our kids and teachers deserve much better.”…………………….Oh, yes, Sincerely yours

By Jerry Waxman

As submitted to The Huffington Post

Public education in Florida is about to be tested to its very core. The Florida Legislature has come up with some Machiavellian legislation (SB 6  HB 7189) which will start chasing the most qualified teachers out of either the profession, the state or both. If that happens the void will be filled by people much less qualified who will teach to arbitrary tests rather than educating our kids properly. We will raise a generation of Pavlovian robots rather than thinking, reasoning adults. The full floor vote is April 7. At the moment there are a few Republicans ready to vote no, but probably not enough to defeat passage. Fortunately, this legislation does not take effect for a few years, which is good for legal challenges and the other strategies that can be applied

We can fight back effectively and we have a lot of tools at hand to do so. So far, the letter writing and e-mailing and local press coverage has had little effect on the Republican controlled legislature and our feckless imitation of a governor. We need to continue that pressure and I’ll continue to advocate on my blog and the Huffington Post, but even more is needed. Here’s my plan:

1. Take every opportunity to mock and embarrass the Republicans on a national scale. Contact the President, Registrar, Admissions Office, Board of Trustees, Director of PR  and Alumni Association of every College or University outside the state and alert them of the impending legislation. Get the Alumni lists. Urge them all to not accept any Florida public school graduates because they will have received (in your opinion) a substandard education and detail the legislation along with your refutations. If you are an alumnus of that school, be prepared to either donate or withhold depending upon which works best and urge other alumni to do the same. After all, no institution wants its reputation sullied by accepting (non-legacy) unprepared students.

It makes no sense to write to Florida State colleges as they are part of the system, however, enough educators on those campuses will get the message and perhaps join in. Private Colleges in Florida should be urged to join in, and for heaven’s sake why hasn’t anyone gotten Donna Shalala involved in this?  Also, contact every parent of every child in your classes and passionately give them truthful, rational reasons why this legislation must be defeated.

1. Go Global. It’s obvious that the American mainstream media will not cover this adequately unless forced or embarrassed into it. Through my writings I have been invited to be interviewed on an internet talk show from Paris, France. The show’s host is Max Keiser and you can access his page maxkeiser.com anytime. I‘ll be interviewed on April 12 at 9:30 AM. If any of us can get on shows like Amy Goodman, Ed Schultz, Thom Hartmann it can’t hurt. I’ve already suggested to my editors at Huffington to add an Education page to their ever expanding list. Go on the blogs like Firedog Lake, Daily Kos, Alternet, etc. Contact Media Matters. Get our issues in the foreign press so relentlessly that the mainstream media can’t ignore us.

1. Get involved in your local political campaigns. Volunteer for your local state senate and house candidates (and school board candidates) that share your beliefs. Start canvassing, phone banking, fund raising and anything else you can do to change Tallahassee. When you canvass neighborhoods and talk to people they listen.

1. Game the system. Every chamber of commerce has a membership list that they will gladly give you. Local businesses depend on your support. With 175000 public school teachers in this state (and untold thousands of others involved in education at every level) that has a lot of economic impact. Letting every one of these businesses know how you feel and what you are prepared to do is a very powerful tool, but don’t merely threaten; be prepared to follow through. If any of these businesses are publicly held corporations, buy a couple of shares of their stock. They have a list of shareholders. Access that list and ask these people if they would assign you their proxies. This is an extremely effective tool that has worked successfully in the past.

These are but a few of the strategies we have at our disposal, and they work. The missing ingredient is your willingness to be more involved than just writing on Facebook. We all need to be willing to sacrifice watching 24 or Dancing with the Stars and take to the streets. We need to inspire legions of others (friends, neighbors, etc.) to get involved. This really is a war. This war needs to be won.

By Jerry Waxman

As submitted to the Huffington Post

There’s this great scene in the movie, All That Jazz featuring Anne Reinking and Erezebet Foldi doing a dance routine to the Peter Allen-Carole Bayer Sager song, Everything Old is New Again. In Florida the title needs to be convoluted somewhat as it applies to our education policies, or as I now prefer to call it Karen Anijar-Appleton’s “Fruitcake Theory”. Dr. Anijar-Appleton, writing in the American Journal of Bioethics in 2004 said:

“Twelve years ago cultural theorist L. Grossberg (1992) wrote a theory surrounding “the rock formation” (as in rock ‘n’ roll). What initially might seem to be an oppositional genre of expression is modified in order to gain wider acceptance, usurping libidinal and affective qualities for hegemonic purposes. I often speak about educational reforms as fruitcake. I believe that there are only a few Christmas fruitcakes in the world. Every year somebody somewhere (perhaps you) receives one of the fruitcakes as a gift. The next year you take the fruitcake out of storage, rewrap and send it on to someone else. But, no matter how you repackage it, it is still the same fruitcake.

Fruitcake (as in nutty as a) aptly describes the goings on in Tallahassee right now. HB 7189 is due to be voted on in committee on April 5. There will be widespread protests in Tallahassee, as well as Florida representatives’ local offices throughout the state by teachers and the teacher unions, parents, school board administrators and many other concerned citizens. Rather than rehash the details, everything we need to know is on Facebook at Stop Senate Bill 6. These bills have been inspired by research done at think tanks like The Heritage Foundation and The American Enterprise Institute just to name two. The whole idea is to scare all of us into thinking that our schools are lagging behind. They even fooled premiere educators like Diane Ravitch for a while to think that corporate style accountability for teachers and rigid standardized testing are the proper things to do. Also taken in by the US Chamber of Commerce was The Center for American Progress who unwittingly collaborated on publishing Leaders and Laggards a basis for the reforms, proving that we must always be vigilant of their motives and tactics. Ravitch has acknowledged that she was wrong and has since published her new book, The Death and Life of the Great American School System, which is a scathing criticism of the arguments currently being proffered by the reformers. She recently wrote an article in the Washington Post dealing with this called A New Agenda For School Reform. John Podesta, head of the CAP still has egg on his face for trying to be “bi-partisan”.

This all started more than 50 years ago during the Eisenhower Administration. Sputnik changed everything. There were articles published in every news magazine stating that Russian schools were superior to ours and that we had focused too much on well rounded education rather than dealing with hard specifics, you know…..readin’ ritin’ rithmetic and results, and we bought it, hook, line and sinker. Of course, none of it was true. The late Gerald Bracey, a highly respected education professor spent his career fighting that kind of thinking and approach to education. I didn’t know him other than he was a fellow Huffington Post contributor and an age contemporary. We were both in high school when Sputnik launched. He passed away late last year discounting Leaders and Laggards as having no impact. It’s probably one of the very few times in his career that he was wrong. His article was published in September 2009 shortly before his death. Here is his article titled Leaders and Laggards-Vanishes.

His article dealing with the Sputnik debacle, The Big Engine That Couldn’t, deals with the fact that we could have beaten the Russians easily and that our schools had nothing to do with our failure to launch first. This was a political decision by our government to let the Russians go first. Since somebody had to take the blame for this why not the schools? They were and continue to be a convenient scapegoat. It’s a fascinating read. Another post by Bracey titled The Center For American Progress: Progressively Regressive takes the Center and, indeed, all of us to task for ever trusting any of the right wing reformers ever. This next article by Bracey, The Evolution of the Schools Suck Bloc, details the history of the fact-free reasoning behind the thinking processes. These references are merely thumbnail sketches, but you can Google Gerald Bracey and become familiar with his work and research, and I suggest you do. To further examine the phenomenon of our failing schools and our failing kids Dr. Anijar-Appleton sent this link to an article by Mike Males, a Sociology Professor at the University of California, Santa Cruz. Dr. Males specializes in youth issues and in this article, Coming of Age in America, he compares youth statistics from years ago to today and finds the adults coming up short.

I also wonder why there are provisions in the bill to allow non-traditionally trained people into the classroom. What would cause someone with a marketing degree working in the private sector suddenly want to become a classroom teacher for a lot less money? There’s one logical answer. The logical answer is simple; they don’t intend to be teachers forever. They can get valuable OJT for a couple of years and then apply to start their own charter schools on the public’s money, where they can make a profit. The other answer is it would attract people adept at gaming the system-those who would only be in it to teach to the testing, thereby making as much money as their scores will allow. If test scores are the indication of a good teacher there’s going to be a bunch of opportunists with top ratings who couldn’t actually teach their way out of a paper bag. Here’s a great article by Dade County teacher Jennie Smith called Senate Bill 6 will improve public education–True or False which really gets to the point.

The implications go far beyond the State of Florida. Florida will become the laboratory test for this kind of legislation in many other Republican controlled states. If it passes here it will spread to Alabama next then Georgia, Mississippi and…..well, you get the picture. Last year my article, Florida Voter Suppression, detailed how the legislature tried to limit voter registration by third parties, specifically ACORN, but the bill never made it to the floor. Since ACORN is no longer a force there is no need for the bill to be resurrected. The damage has been done and we’re going to feel its effects for a long time to come. ACORN could have been a positive force in working in the poorer neighborhoods with disadvantaged kids helping them improve their academic efforts. Had that legislation passed other states like Ohio and Missouri were ready to fall in line.

The invisible hand behind these machinations is Jeb Bush. Bush now has Florida Senate President John Thrasher as head of the Florida Republican Party and together they can accomplish what Bush was not able to during his last term as Governor. Thrasher controls the purse strings for all Republican candidates. If it is successful here watch it spread across neighboring states. Fruitcake anyone?

By Jerry Waxman

As submitted to the Huffington Post

The heavily Republican controlled Florida Legislature has been hard at work for the last few weeks drafting draconian legislation that would strip teachers of tenure, negate their advanced degrees and length of service for salary consideration and install a merit pay system that would reward results based on test scores rather that how well they teach. It would also accept new teachers with less than a college education as long as they follow the guidelines of the Florida Dept. of Education and obtain a Bachelor’s degree from an accredited university or a FDE approved non-accredited school, thereby lowering the standards for teacher certification. If this kind of thinking were to be applied to the medical profession the kid flipping burgers today could possibly be taking out your appendix in three years without a medical degree or board certification in surgery. At best it’s a ludicrous situation. If it’s not okay for other professionals, why is it okay for teachers? In addition, School Boards would have to comply with the legislation or risk losing five percent of their funding which would have to be augmented by a property tax assessment. Basically, SR 6 and its companion HR 7189 hold teachers hostage to teaching to the test and reduce School Boards to being merely ATM’s.

Florida educators and other concerned parties are not taking this lying down. All over the state teachers unions and independent public school teachers, as well as PTAs, politicians in opposition, civic activists and concerned citizens are speaking out and social networking their resistance. Several rallies are being held outside Republican State Representatives’ offices throughout the state urging them not to pass the bill. The Senate passed HB 6 last week, and if HB 7189 passes the House it is expected that Governor Crist will sign it into law.

Activists were alerted by several Facebook opposition pages that a rally would be held Tuesday afternoon at 4:00 PM outside Rep. Dean Cannon’s (R. District 35) office. Over a two hour period over 120 people came by waving signs at traffic and talking to the local press. Among the demonstrators was Amy Mercado, Cannon’s Democratic opponent in the 2010 election. Cannon is slated to be House Speaker in the next term; however, Mercado was cited by the Orlando Sentinel as Cannon’s first viable opponent in years. Here’s what Mercado had to say.

Chris Spiliotis from Seminole County spoke at length about the legislature’s lowering of teacher standards and why the public must support public education. Steve Barnes, a House candidate (District 34) from Seminole County spoke in support of the teachers. Orange County CTA president, Mike Cahill spoke about the bill being bad legislation. Further support came from Leona Rachman, a candidate for Orange County School Board Chair. Orange County voters chose to have a county wide elected chair with tie breaking powers in the last election. Rachman is a very vocal opponent of the pending legislation. The rally ended with the crowd chanting “Nix Bill Six” for several minutes while local TV crews broadcast them live.

This was the first of many Stop SB 6 rallies throughout the state. Opposition is already mounting in every corner of the state. Today’s article in the St. Petersburg Times details the groups that are involved, as well as some of the legislators who are being pressured. Republican legislators are in a hard place on this because even though they might want to vote against the legislation they need campaign money that is supplied by Senator John Thrasher, who is also head of the Republican Party in Florida. Thrasher is the sponsor of SB 6 and he also controls the purse strings.

Things could be possibly modified by the US Dept of Education. Florida will not receive any “Race to the Top” funding this round. Secretary of Education Arne Duncan has so far been silent on Florida’s situation, however, it is thought in some circles that the denial of funding in this round was the Federal Government’s way of saying “we’re very displeased with you” which is sending them a message to change the legislation although no one has provided any evidence that this was the case. The next Orlando rally, “Seeing Red” will be on Thursday, April 1 at 4:00 PM. The location is the intersection of Mills and Colonial, one of the busiest in Orange County. Attendees are asked to wear red.

As submitted to the Huffington Post

by Jerry Waxman

March 19. 25 Central Florida organizations consisting mostly of labor unions and union affiliated groups wrote an open letter to Rep. Suzanne Kosmas (D. FL Dist. 24) this morning urging her to vote yes on the health care bill currently being considered in the House of Representatives. Kosmas, whose district includes Volusia County and parts of Brevard and Orange as well, voted no the last time and incurred the wrath of many of these same unions. She is now going to get another chance. Below is the full text of the letter with the names of the signers:

An Open Letter to Representative Kosmas from 25 Central Florida Organizations

Representative Kosmas,

Now is the time to pass comprehensive health care reform.   We’re counting on You!

Too many Florida families have faced financial ruin because of skyrocketing health care costs, and even more are just one medical emergency away from disaster.  In 2008, the 24th Congressional District of Florida saw 1,400 health care-related bankruptcies—that’s 1,400 families who can’t even choose between paying for prescription drugs and buying food anymore, because they can’t afford either.  Also, in your district, 11,700 seniors every year are forced to pay the full cost of their prescription drugs, and many of them can’t afford it.  Florida’s families and seniors can’t wait for reform any longer.

Right now insurance companies routinely deny coverage to individuals with pre-existing conditions.  Ten percent of Florida residents have diabetes and 28 percent have high blood pressure – two conditions insurance companies can cite to reject coverage.  Our family members and neighbors continue to suffer at the hands of insurance companies that deny coverage due to pre-existing conditions and cancel coverage if people file a claim.  A ‘Yes’ vote on reform puts an end to this discriminatory practice.  

Working families are facing another year of big health premium increases that will threaten more jobs and family health benefits.  Your constituents need relief that only comprehensive federal health reform can provide.  If nothing is done, more and more of those with insurance, won’t be able to afford to use their coverage.

We dare not lose this opportunity for comprehensive health care reform.  Floridians know that it’s time to fix the system, we’re counting on you to vote ‘Yes’ on Health Care reform.

In Unity,

Stacy Stepanovich, President
Volusia/Flagler AFL-CIO

Mike Williams, President
Florida AFL-CIO

Steve Williams, Business Manager
IBEW Local Union 756

Claudie Pouncey, President
Space Coast AFL-CIO

Andrew Spar, President
Volusia Teachers Organization

Matty Rose, President
Florida State Association of Letter Carriers

Laura Goodhue, Executive Director
Florida CHAIN

Ed Chambers, President
UFCW Local 1625

Mark Ferrulo, Executive Director
Progress Florida

Tom Wenz, President
AFSCME Local 850

Gary Cotton, President
CWA Local 3102

Elizabeth Albert
Volusia Teachers Organization

Bill Albert
IBEW 756

Kathleen Aterno
Clean Water Action

Tony Fransetta
Florida Alliance for Retired Americans

Brad Ashwell
Florida Public Interest Research Group

Denise Diaz
Central Florida Jobs With Justice

CJ Allen
Volusia Teachers Organization

Suzy Smith
Volusia Teachers Organization

William Moore
New Smyrna Beach Organize Now

Lu-Anne Blankenship
Volusia Education Support Association  

Brett Mirsky, Business Manager
UA Local 295

Marc Schwartz, Assistant Business Rep.
IATSE Local 631

Harry Brown, Business Manager
IBEW Local 606

Jennifer Kenny
Alliance for Retired Americans

The vote in the House is thought to be taking place on Sunday.

By Jerry Waxman

 As submitted to The Huffington Post

Dear Rep. Kosmas,

I am writing to you, as a constituent who worked for your election last year, to urge you to support the current Senate Health Care bill now being considered in the House of Representatives. While this bill is far from perfect it will ease the real problems of millions of Americans who cannot afford to see a doctor and whose lives and health are in real jeopardy because they are either not insured or underinsured.

I’ve been covering the Health Care debates for the Huffington Post for over a year now and I have been collecting individual stories from strangers as well as my own friends and family members, many of them your constituents that would break your heart. I would like to share some of them with you:

Bill Doherty is 41 years old. He is the Artistic Director of the Central Florida Lyric Opera and he does an amazing job given the lack of funding available to him. His productions, for their size and scope, are superb and he has been recognized by the White House for his contributions to the art form. He’s a great vocal coach and one of the most talented musicians I’ve ever met. Several of his students have gone on to fame on Broadway as well as in professional opera. At the moment he is reduced to playing piano in a restaurant at night to eke out a living. His house and studio were in jeopardy of being foreclosed on and that still could happen. Bill suffers from Diabetes and he is uninsurable under the current system. He has to pay for his medications out of pocket and if there is a medical emergency it could mitigate a disaster. Several months ago Bill had to go to Winter Park Hospital to have a boil on his neck treated. By the time he received his bill it was over $1400.00 and he was hard pressed to pay it. Just imagine if he had something really serious happen. He would be out on the street with nothing in addition to still needing insulin and other medications. Bill was a stranger to me in October 2009. Today I consider him a close friend. He owes me considerable money for work I did for him and I know he can’t pay right now. I’m not going to let that stand in the way of our friendship, and I want him to get back on top. He deserves it. The only thing I can do for him right now is to advocate for everyone in his position and ask you to help him get the proper health care he deserves.

Sara Grimes wears a support belt around her waist 24 hours a day. She can’t walk without it. She was the victim of three traffic accidents back in 2004 and her case has never been handled properly in all these years. At the time of her accidents Sara was an employee of the State, and her second accident was caused by a state vehicle. That set off a string of events that cost Sara her job and benefits. She has hired an attorney to untangle the web of events that have left her jobless and almost a cripple, however in the ensuing years her condition has worsened and she can’t get proper treatment. Several specialists have refused to see her because she is not insured, and they say they will not accept cash which she has offered them on numerous occasions. Under separate cover I am enclosing a letter which she wrote to me describing her plight. Meanwhile, she is a bright capable person who is prevented from being productive because of the system. She should be out dancing instead of facing life in a wheelchair. When she’s able to she does come to the rallies to urge you and our other lawmakers to make affordable health care possible to all. I cannot imagine her despair and I feel for her. You can help her.

My daughter, Julie, decided several years ago to go back to college and get her degree. To her credit she graduated with honors. Along that journey she met the right man in her life and today they have a beautiful daughter, Jillian, who is now almost three years old. My son-in-law is diabetic so there’s no insurance for them. He’s also a student so Julie is working two jobs to make ends meet. Jillian is covered by Medicaid, but if her parents have any serious medical problems or emergencies they are ill-prepared to deal with them. I want my children and grandchildren to lead healthy, productive lives as well so that they can make their contributions to society.

These are not isolated incidents. They occur every day and in every neighborhood and in every family to some degree. You have the power to change their lives for the better. Within the past year there have been factions arising that have a totally different view of the role of government. I’ve interviewed these people and I can tell you from personal experience they have no credible or cohesive argument. They did not vote for change in 2008, nor would they ever give any progressive initiatives any thought. They are loud, but they are a definite minority and you need to remember that. They would actually deny themselves things that would benefit their own families. Therefore, I respectfully urge you to vote yes for the pending Health Care bill as well as asking Speaker Pelosi to include the Public Option which Senator Bill Nelson has now agreed to support. We’ll all be better off, and you can feel the sense of satisfaction that the country is finally moving in a positive direction. Thank you for all the positive things you do for your constituents.