Which political body adopted the Common Core State Standards in the State of Florida?
Luz Gonzalez, South Florida Lead Activist for FreedomWorks, addresses the Miami Dade County School Board on August 11, 2013 on Common Core. School Board member Raquel Regaldo explains that the Common Core State Standards were enacted into law by the Florida State Legislature. Ms. Gonzalez asks Ms. Regalado to please post the bill on the Miami-Dade County Public School website because, based on Ms. Gonzalez’s communications with Florida Congressional representatives, Ms. Regalado’s assertions are inconsistent with those of the members of Florida’s Congress.
School Board Member Regalado, who is also an attorney, insisted: “This is a legislative fact…we are not making it up.” Watch the video here.
Yet, the Florida Department of Education website clearly provides that it was the State Board of Education which adopted the Standards. Moreover and more specifically, it states that the “Florida’s Legislature does not adopt academic standards.” Read more here.
Use of Intimidation in School Board Meetings: Are school employees making less today than 5, 7 years ago?
In addition to correcting Ms. Regalado on matters that should be known to and by school board members, Ms. Gonzalez also admonished Superintendent Carvalho for calling one of the speakers (me) a liar for stating that Miami-Dade County Public Schools’ employees had not, in effect, received a raise in the past seven or so years. Whereas it may be true that educators were given a raise, for most, it was a nominal $300+/- which can be described as symbolic at best.
When one takes into account that: (1) contractually (emphasis added) provided for step raises based on years of experience were whimsically eliminated; (2) pensions that were once fully funded by the school board now require a mandatory 3% employee contribution; and (3) employees now subsidize more of the health care insurance costs with their direct earnings, it is clear that employees take home less. Moreover, when the concept of the ”time value of money” is applied to the analysis, it becomes even more apparent that a $300+/- raise, when coupled with newly accounted for deductions and inflation, does not, in fact, represent a raise. Stated bluntly, teachers are making considerably less in 2013 than they were in 2007 when all the “budget problems” started.
Maybe it is time that the Board start trimming the fat in other meatier places of the budget and restore teachers’ personal budgets.
