For our story this week about all the pressure facing Florida’s education commissioners we spoke with two former education commissioners — one elected and one appointed. Florida elected education commissioners until 2003, when a state constitutional amendment made the job appointed. Gov. Jeb Bush appointed Jim Horne as commissioner in 2003. Now, the governor appoints […]
The State Board of Education is expected to choose Florida’s new Commissioner of Education this week. The three finalists will be interviewed this afternoon in Tampa. They were chosen from an applicant pool of more than sixty. Interim Commissioner Pam Stewart did not apply. She also serves as Florida’s Chancellor of Public Schools. Stewart took […]
We interviewed Tony Bennett back in the spring to ask him about his relationship with former Florida Gov. Jeb Bush. With news Bennett has applied to be Florida’s next Education Commissioner, this quote from Bennett seemed relevant: “But I think Indiana was really the first state to really adopt the Florida model…I would say to […]
The State Board of Education will hold an emergency conference call next week to consider extending the deadline to accept applications for a Commissioner of Education. The current application deadline is Thursday, September 27, but the Iowa search firm Ray and Associates recommended an extension because of a lack of highly qualified applicants. The firm, […]
With a tougher grading formula looming for Florida’s schools, state Education Commissioner Gerard Robinson is recommending a plan that would keep any public school from falling more than one letter grade this year. In a list of recommendations, Robinson asks the Florida Board of Education to “authorize a maximum one school letter grade drop for […]
Voters would once again choose Florida’s top education official if a bill proposed by a state senator becomes law. Stuart Republican Sen. Joe Negron introduced the constitutional amendment to elect the Commissioner of Education Monday. The commissioner has been appointed since voters amended the state constitution in 1998. Negron’s bill would also dissolve the state […]
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