{"id":20682,"date":"2013-11-18T11:52:10","date_gmt":"2013-11-18T16:52:10","guid":{"rendered":"http:\/\/stateimpact.npr.org\/florida\/?p=20682"},"modified":"2014-10-31T11:47:53","modified_gmt":"2014-10-31T15:47:53","slug":"school-funding-teacher-evaluations-key-issues-early-in-governors-race","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/stateimpact.npr.org\/florida\/2013\/11\/18\/school-funding-teacher-evaluations-key-issues-early-in-governors-race\/","title":{"rendered":"School Funding, Teacher Evaluations Key Issues Early in Governor&#8217;s Race"},"content":{"rendered":"<div id=\"attachment_20685\"  class=\"wp-caption module image left\" style=\"max-width: 300px;\"><a class=\"fancybox\" title=\"Charlie Crist is seeking the governor's office as a Democrat after once holding the post as a Republican. He's been leaning on education issues early to mark differences with Republican Gov. Rick Scott.\" href=\"http:\/\/stateimpact.npr.org\/florida\/files\/2013\/11\/11-18_CharlieCrist1.jpg\" rel=\"\"><img decoding=\"async\" loading=\"lazy\" class=\"size-medium wp-image-20685\" alt=\"Charlie Crist is seeking the governor's office as a Democrat after once holding the post as a Republican. He's been leaning on education issues early to mark differences with Republican Gov. Rick Scott.\" src=\"http:\/\/stateimpact.npr.org\/florida\/files\/2013\/11\/11-18_CharlieCrist1-300x225.jpg\" width=\"300\" height=\"225\" srcset=\"https:\/\/stateimpact.npr.org\/florida\/files\/2013\/11\/11-18_CharlieCrist1-300x225.jpg 300w, https:\/\/stateimpact.npr.org\/florida\/files\/2013\/11\/11-18_CharlieCrist1.jpg 500w\" sizes=\"(max-width: 300px) 100vw, 300px\" \/><\/a><p class=\"wp-media-credit\">SharingFlorida.org<\/p><p class=\"wp-caption-text\">Charlie Crist is seeking the governor&#39;s office as a Democrat after once holding the post as a Republican. He&#39;s been leaning on education issues early to mark differences with Republican Gov. Rick Scott.<\/p><\/div>\n<p>Charlie Crist has to close a sale.<\/p>\n<div id=\"full_story\">\n<p>The one-time Republican governor now wants to become governor as a Democrat.<\/p>\n<p>But he needs to convince Democrats he\u2019s now one of them if he has any chance of challenging Republican Gov. Rick Scott.<\/p>\n<p>It&#8217;s why Crist is talking about his education record during the early days of the campaign &#8212; especially his 2009 decision to accept federal stimulus money.<\/p>\n<p>That money ensured teachers stayed on the job, Crist said at his campaign announcement earlier this month in St. Petersburg.<\/p>\n<p>&#8220;I am proud of my record as your governor. Investing in public education,&#8221; Crist said, before pausing.<\/p>\n<p>&#8220;Education,&#8221; he said again, to applause. &#8220;And stopping the layoffs of some 20,000 school teachers during the global economic meltdown.\u201d<\/p>\n<p>Crist, Scott and former Democratic state Sen. Nan Rich are using education to distinguish themselves from each other. They are the only announced candidates for governor, though <a href=\"http:\/\/www.miamiherald.com\/2013\/11\/17\/3760285\/bill-nelson-for-guv-could-endanger.html\">U.S. Sen. Bill Nelson or others might enter the race<\/a>.<\/p>\n\n<p><!--more--><\/p>\n<p>Rich said both Scott and Crist <a href=\"http:\/\/www.palmbeachpost.com\/news\/news\/state-regional-govt-politics\/governor-candidate-nan-rich-attacks-charlie-crist-\/nbkGW\/\">support testing students and grading schools based mostly on the results of those exams<\/a> &#8212; policies she opposes.<\/p>\n<div class=\"related-content alignleft\"><h4 class=\"related-header\">Related<\/h4><div class=\"links\"><h5>Posts<\/h5><ul><li class=\"link\"><a href=\"http:\/\/stateimpact.npr.org\/florida\/2013\/08\/21\/this-week-in-education-polling\/\">This Week In Education Polling<\/a><\/li><li class=\"link\"><a href=\"http:\/\/stateimpact.npr.org\/florida\/2013\/05\/13\/crist-teachers-are-smart-and-cannot-be-bought\/\">Crist: &#8220;Teachers Are Smart And Cannot Be Bought&#8221;<\/a><\/li><li class=\"link\"><a href=\"http:\/\/stateimpact.npr.org\/florida\/2013\/10\/16\/supporters-opponents-of-floridas-common-education-standards-have-their-say-in-tampa\/\">Supporters, Opponents Of Florida&#8217;s Common Education Standards Have Their Say In Tampa<\/a><\/li><li class=\"link\"><a href=\"http:\/\/stateimpact.npr.org\/florida\/2013\/09\/23\/gov-scott-wants-another-state-to-manage-parccs-money\/\">Gov. Scott Wants Another State To Manage PARCC&#8217;s Money<\/a><\/li><li class=\"link\"><a href=\"http:\/\/stateimpact.npr.org\/florida\/2013\/09\/23\/explaining-the-unusual-pressure-on-floridas-schools-chief\/\">Explaining The Unusual Pressure On Florida&#8217;s Schools Chief<\/a><\/li><\/ul><\/div><div class=\"topics\"><h5>Topics<\/h5><p class=\"topic\"><a href=\"\"><\/a><\/p><\/div><\/div>\n<p>Scott has emphasized <a href=\"http:\/\/stateimpact.npr.org\/florida\/2013\/01\/30\/gov-scott-proposes-1-2b-increase-in-education-funding\/\">adding money to the K-12 budget<\/a> over the past <a href=\"http:\/\/stateimpact.npr.org\/florida\/2013\/09\/12\/florida-had-second-largest-2013-education-funding-increase-study-says\/\">two years<\/a>. That includes pushing to <a href=\"http:\/\/stateimpact.npr.org\/florida\/2013\/06\/05\/governors-office-answers-questions-about-teacher-raises\/\">raise teacher pay this year<\/a>.<\/p>\n<p>&#8220;Listening to parents and teachers is still the best education,&#8221; <a href=\"http:\/\/stateimpact.npr.org\/florida\/2012\/08\/21\/in-new-ad-gov-rick-scott-says-hes-listening-to-complaints-about-fcat\/\">Scott said in a 2012 web ad<\/a> that kicked off a <a href=\"http:\/\/stateimpact.npr.org\/florida\/2013\/05\/14\/florida-republican-party-ads-praise-gov-scotts-education-record\/\">new emphasis on education amid poor polling<\/a>. &#8220;That\u2019s why this past year \u2013 together with Republican leaders \u2013 we put one billion more into our schools and classroom.\u201d<\/p>\n<p>Crist is talking about adding more money to K-12 budgets \u2013 and pointing out the <a href=\"http:\/\/www.politifact.com\/florida\/statements\/2013\/nov\/11\/charlie-crist\/charlie-crist-says-rick-scott-cut-k-12-13-billion-\/\">budget cuts Scott supported his first year in office<\/a>.<\/p>\n<p>The former governor is also <a href=\"http:\/\/www.tampabay.com\/opinion\/columns\/column-florida-schools-need-course-correction\/2142977\">talking about teacher evaluations<\/a> in an op-ed in the <em>Tampa Bay Times<\/em>.<\/p>\n<p>\u201cIt sets up a stark contrast between the two,&#8221; said state Rep. Karen Castor Dentel, an Orlando-area Democrat, who was a teacher when she launched her campaign.<\/p>\n<p>Crist <a href=\"http:\/\/www.news-press.com\/article\/20100415\/NEWS0104\/100415031\/\">earned some love from educators when he vetoed a 2010 bill<\/a> that would have evaluated teachers based mostly on student test scores.<\/p>\n<div id=\"attachment_14206\"  class=\"wp-caption module image right\" style=\"max-width: 297px;\"><a class=\"fancybox\" title=\"Rick Scott campaigns for governor at The Villages on October 1, 2010. \" href=\"http:\/\/stateimpact.npr.org\/florida\/files\/2012\/10\/Scott-bid.jpg\" rel=\"\"><img decoding=\"async\" loading=\"lazy\" class=\"size-full wp-image-14206\" alt=\"Rick Scott campaigns for governor at The Villages on October 1, 2010. \" src=\"http:\/\/stateimpact.npr.org\/florida\/files\/2012\/10\/Scott-bid.jpg\" width=\"297\" height=\"213\" \/><\/a><p class=\"wp-media-credit\">Shealah Craighead\/flickr<\/p><p class=\"wp-caption-text\">Rick Scott campaigns for governor at The Villages on October 1, 2010.<\/p><\/div>\n<p>A similar bill was the <a href=\"http:\/\/stateimpact.npr.org\/florida\/tag\/senate-bill-736\/\">first thing Scott signed into law in 2011<\/a>. The law ends long-term contracts for new hires. It also requires districts pay teachers based on their evaluation rating starting next year.<\/p>\n<p>The state\u2019s teacher\u2019s union is challenging the law in court.<\/p>\n<p>Dentel says the evaluations are the top complaint she hears from teachers.<\/p>\n<p>\u201cIt\u2019s just all-encompassing, that it\u2019s preventing a lot of teachers from actually doing their job, doing it well,&#8221; she said. &#8220;And it\u2019s making a lot of teachers who are the kind of teachers I want my children to have as their teacher, it\u2019s making them reconsider their career choice.\u201d<\/p>\n<p>Dentel said teachers feel like they have to put on a performance for evaluators ticking off a checklist of classroom practices.<\/p>\n<p>She said teachers want a candidate who proves they\u2019re listening.<\/p>\n<p>Teachers are a valuable constituency for any candidate. That\u2019s because teacher\u2019s unions can help raise money and supply volunteers to knock on doors and spread the word.<\/p>\n<p>That&#8217;s particularly important for Crist, who needs to rebuild much of his political infrastructure after switching parties.<\/p>\n<p>Usually, teacher&#8217;s unions support Democrats. University of South Florida political scientist Susan MacManus said Crist knows that and that education is a good issue for him.<\/p>\n<div id=\"attachment_20686\"  class=\"wp-caption module image left\" style=\"max-width: 300px;\"><a class=\"fancybox\" title=\"Florida Rep. Karen Castor Dentel, an Orlando-area Democrat, says evaluations are the top complaint she hears from teachers.\" href=\"http:\/\/stateimpact.npr.org\/florida\/files\/2013\/11\/11-18_KarenCastorDentel.png\" rel=\"\"><img decoding=\"async\" loading=\"lazy\" class=\"size-medium wp-image-20686\" alt=\"Florida Rep. Karen Castor Dentel, an Orlando-area Democrat, says evaluations are the top complaint she hears from teachers.\" src=\"http:\/\/stateimpact.npr.org\/florida\/files\/2013\/11\/11-18_KarenCastorDentel-300x213.png\" width=\"300\" height=\"213\" srcset=\"https:\/\/stateimpact.npr.org\/florida\/files\/2013\/11\/11-18_KarenCastorDentel-300x213.png 300w, https:\/\/stateimpact.npr.org\/florida\/files\/2013\/11\/11-18_KarenCastorDentel.png 400w\" sizes=\"(max-width: 300px) 100vw, 300px\" \/><\/a><p class=\"wp-media-credit\">MyFloridaHouse.gov<\/p><p class=\"wp-caption-text\">State Rep. Karen Castor Dentel, an Orlando-area Democrat, says evaluations are the top complaint she hears from teachers.<\/p><\/div>\n<p>\u201cIt is absolutely, unequivocally, clear that Charlie Crist is aiming for the teacher\u2019s vote and the teachers\u2019 union vote and a lot of the parents of school children\u2019s vote,&#8221; MacManus said.<\/p>\n<p>But MacManus said education is unlikely to be the most important issue during next year\u2019s election. Schools will still take a backseat to the recovering economy.<\/p>\n<p>\u201cOver two-thirds of Floridians do not have a child in public school,&#8221; she said. &#8220;And it\u2019s not as big an issue to a number of likely voters next year as some other issues, specifically the economy and so forth.\u201d<\/p>\n<p>It&#8217;s unclear how much the general public will base their votes on education policies.<\/p>\n<p><a href=\"http:\/\/stateimpact.npr.org\/florida\/2013\/08\/21\/this-week-in-education-polling\/\">Two recent national polls offer conflicting evidence<\/a>. The annual Phi Delta Kappa\/Gallup poll found 58 percent of those surveyed opposed evaluating teachers based on student test scores. An Associated Press-NORC Center for Public Affairs poll for the Joyce Foundation found 53 percent surveyed thought test scores should be used \u201ca great deal\u201d or \u201cquite a bit\u201d when evaluating teachers.<\/p>\n<p>Expect the candidates to talk about higher education, too.<\/p>\n<p>Scott is proud <a href=\"http:\/\/stateimpact.npr.org\/florida\/2013\/05\/20\/governor-vetoes-university-tuition-increase\/\">he opposed raising tuition at Florida\u2019s colleges and universities<\/a>. Crist wants to increase <a href=\"http:\/\/stateimpact.npr.org\/florida\/tag\/bright-futures\/\">lottery-funded college scholarships<\/a> and offer free degrees to science and technology graduate students who promise to stay in Florida. Rich wants to <a href=\"http:\/\/stateimpact.npr.org\/florida\/2013\/08\/29\/a-q-a-with-gubernatorial-candidate-nan-rich\/\">boost both K-12 and higher education spending.<\/a><\/p>\n<\/div>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"<p>Charlie Crist has to close a sale. The one-time Republican governor now wants to become governor as a Democrat. But he needs to convince Democrats he\u2019s now one of them if he has any chance of challenging Republican Gov. Rick Scott. It&#8217;s why Crist is talking about his education record during the early days of [&hellip;]<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":31,"featured_media":0,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"closed","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":[],"categories":[18],"tags":[849,822,864,1027,90,1119],"acf":[],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/stateimpact.npr.org\/florida\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/20682"}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/stateimpact.npr.org\/florida\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/stateimpact.npr.org\/florida\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/stateimpact.npr.org\/florida\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/31"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/stateimpact.npr.org\/florida\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=20682"}],"version-history":[{"count":10,"href":"https:\/\/stateimpact.npr.org\/florida\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/20682\/revisions"}],"predecessor-version":[{"id":22926,"href":"https:\/\/stateimpact.npr.org\/florida\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/20682\/revisions\/22926"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/stateimpact.npr.org\/florida\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=20682"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/stateimpact.npr.org\/florida\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=20682"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/stateimpact.npr.org\/florida\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=20682"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}