The Orlando Sentinel argues that "Lawmakers should give reduced class size a chance to work before asking for a repeal." The Sentinel's sister paper in Broward has a different view in "Repeal Needed To Fix Mistake".
These newspapers - which "Jeb!" complains "are slanted to the left", are owned by the notoriously conservative Tribune Company, endorsed "Jeb!" for a second term, and the Orlando Sentinel actually makes its employees available to serve as scabs in labor disputes. How on earth, then, can "Jeb!" consider these papers "left[y]"? Then again, our esteemed "Jeb!" and the Jebbites that adore him exist on the extreme right wing fringes of the Florida GOP (the centrist elements of the Florida GOP reside in the senate, led by Jim King), and any newspaper that does not read like the wacky editorial pages of the Florida Times Union seems "left[y] to our "Jeb!".
You Get What You Pay For -Good Alternatives to the class-size amendment probably exist. But Florida's Board of Education lacks credibility to offer them until, among other things, it advocates closing sales-tax loopholes that rob the education budget. e board on Tuesday called for repeal of the amendment. It has not been honest about the amendment's cost or the state's ability to pay. They colluded with Gov. Bush to produce a $27 billion estimate calculated to panic voters. When that didn't work, the board acquiesced in this year's budget scheme to "pay" for smaller classes by shifting money from other essentials. That tactic had the effect of cutting school budgets across the state.
Total lack of faith that Gov. Bush and the Legislature would treat public education as a priority provoked the class-size amendment in the first place. The budget games, to this point, have validated the public's distrust.
New FDLE Chief -Bay County Sheriff Guy Tunnell is Gov. Jeb Bush's choice to be the new Florida Department of Law Enforcement Commissioner, sources familiar with the decision told The Associated Press on Friday. "Bay County sheriff to be named FDLE chief".
The FCAT Debate -The number of Florida students being forced to repeat third grade is about five times greater than last year because of a new policy that bases retention largely on the Florida Comprehensive Assessment Test. . . . But many experts agree that holding children back and having them simply repeat the same instruction hurts them. Other experts say students who are held back with the promise of extra help are still at a disadvantage. "The negative affect is less but it still doesn't turn a negative into a positive on average," said Lorrie Shepard, dean of the University of Colorado School of Education. Students, on average, are still hurt academically and socially and years down the road end up dropping out at significantly higher rates, Shepard said. She suggests students be passed into the next grade and given intensive instruction to catch them up. But other experts say retention policies similar to Florida's will work, though they acknowledge research is still limited.
"Water Wolves" -The water wolves are making another raid, this time in the guise of a self-appointed task force comprised of, and energized by, some very wealthy Florida developers. Al Hoffman, a Fort Myers developer and the national finance chairman of the Republican National Committee, said he decided to create the task force from the Council of 100, which is a group of wealthy businessmen who counsel the governor. He got Gov. Jeb Bush's blessings and appointed Clearwater developer Lee Arnold to chair the task force.
Hoffman, by the way, was also Bush's chief fundraiser in the last two elections.
The task force has now formulated some recommendations, and Arnold has run them by Bush, though has not made them public.
Arnold has acknowledged that the recommendations do include (surprise, surprise) providing for the transfer of water from water rich counties north of I-4 to water poor areas south to feed their insatiable growth - which makes people like Arnold and Hoffman a lot of money.
Oliphant Cleared-State prosecutors cleared Broward County Elections Supervisor Miriam Oliphant of wrongdoing Friday in their nine-month investigation of financial mismanagement and voting irregularities during her stormy 21/2-year tenure in office. "Broward elections chief won't be charged".