FL Teachers Required to Work Longer Without Compensation?

Huck/Konopacki Labor Cartoons

Modern School has covered several of the ways that No Child Left Behind and the testing/accountability mania benefit private business (see here, here and here), such as forcing schools to convert to charter schools, hiring private tutors and increasing purchases of canned curriculum and test preparation materials. Florida is on the verge of implementing a new backdoor gift to private education profiteers: using state tests to increase workloads, thus decreasing hourly wages for teachers.

As wages and working conditions deteriorate at traditional public schools, they start to look more and more like private, for-profit charter schools, where unions are rare and working conditions and pay have always tended to be poor.  Not only does this make it harder for the traditional public schools to hire and retain the best teachers, thus harming students by depriving them of quality teachers, it allows the bottom-feeding charters to continue paying poorly and demanding longer hours, which helps their bottom line.

The Florida state legislature passed a law in March, the Huffington Post reports, that requires the 100 lowest-performing schools on the reading FCAT test to provide an additional hour of reading instruction each day. Considering that this extra hour is over and beyond their normal work day, teachers should be recompensed at an overtime rate of at least time and a half. Yet there is no guarantee that they will even be paid their normal hourly rate.

The state supposedly has earmarked $30 million to pay teachers. However, according to Karen Aronowitz of United Teachers of Dade, this is not enough to cover all the affected teachers’ actual hourly rate. According to the Palm Beach Post, their district, alone, will require $7-8 million to cover the new program. Miami-Dade is expected to suck an additional $3 million for the program, leaving only $19-20 million for the rest of the state.

Florida Wasted $10,000’s Trying to Bust Poor People

Florida passed a law requiring those seeking welfare to first pass a drug test. The rationale was ostensibly to protect taxpayers from the horror of feeding the drug habits of low life scum who used welfare for drugs instead of feeding their babies. Proponents argued it would save the state money. Less people would apply (out of fear of getting busted), saving the state tens of thousands of dollars, while those who did apply but were caught would be rejected from the program and save the state tens of thousands of dollars more.

New research indicates that the program actually cost the government far more than it saved. Only 2.6% of applicants failed the test, mostly for marijuana use. Data obtained by the American Civil Liberties Union showed that the state spent over $118,000 for the tests, or $46,000 more than it would have spent on benefits for the few people who were disqualified, according to Democracy Now. Furthermore, the program dissuaded very few people, if any, from applying for welfare, with no change in the total number of people applying for welfare.

Florida, A Great Climate For Charters?

Royal Poinciana in the Keys (Image by Averette)

A lot of plants thrive in sunshine, warmth and rain. Apparently, so do charter schools.

(From the Orlando Sentinel)

Orange County, FL will have 32 charter schools this fall, but they received applications for an additional 33 charters schools for 2012, nearly double the 17 applications received last year. For the 2009-2010 academic year, Florida ranked third in the nation in the number of charter schools, with 411 statewide. Florida school districts received 252 applications for new charter schools last summer. Many believe they have received even more this summer, but totals won't be available until after Aug. 15.

State Budget Lunacy

The following was sent out by the California Teachers Association (CTA). It is a pretty good summary of some of the more egregious examples of how states are squeezing working people for the benefit of the rich. It is no coincidence that California has been left out of their list. CTA is complicit in the state’s gouging of working people, including their own members, the teachers. They are even trying to rally teacher support for a state capital protest to force legislators to allow an extension of regressive taxes that would further squeeze working people, while letting the rich off the hook. 

Florida

In Florida, Governor Scott is proposing a K-12 education cut of 10% or $700 per student. Schools are considering cutting football and athletics programs. At the same time, Scott has proposed cutting the corporate income tax from 5.5% to 3%, and fully eliminating it by 2018. The tax cut will cost the state $459 million in 2012. Florida is already 50^th in per capita state government expenditures for all education and 43^rd among the states in state tax revenue per capita [Center on Budget and Policy Priorities, 3/21/2011; News 4 Jacksonville, 3/14/2011; Highlands Today 2/10/2011; Florida Times-Union 3/29/2011]

Maine 

In Maine, Governor LePage is cutting the alternative minimum income tax in 2012, lowering the top income tax rate from 8.5% to 7.95% in 2013, and in 2014 doubling the tax exemption in the estate tax. These cuts will cost the state $203 million over the next two years, but Mainers earning between $28,139 and $48,050 would only get a tax break of about $83 in 2013. Meanwhile, LePage is cutting health care for seniors, including a $14 million cut to Maine's Medicare Savings Program that would drop 40,000 people from the program which helps seniors and the disabled afford prescription medication. [Center on Budget and Policy Priorities, 3/21/2011; WABI, 3/31/2011]

Michigan 

In Michigan, Governor Snyder wants to eliminate the state business tax, replacing it with a flat 6% corporate income tax. He is also wants an additional $1.8 billion in business tax cuts. Yet, Snyder recently signed a law cutting unemployment benefits from 26 to 20 weeks. He also wants to cut $470 per pupil from K-12 education spending and a 15% cut in state support for public universities. [Center on Budget and Policy Priorities, 3/21/2011; Detroit Free Press 3/29/2011; Detroit News 4/1/2011]

Minnesota

In Minnesota, the Republican Senate has enacted new tax cuts costing $200 million in 2012-13 and $435 million in 2014-15. The tax breaks will be paid for by cutting the “Renter’s Credit” which provided a tax refund to over 300,000 low and moderate income households. [MN Budget Project 3/29/2011]

New Hampshire

Gov. Lynch wants to cut 23% of state funding from public universities ($750 per student) and 21% from community colleges ($400 per student). The New Hampshire house just passed a budget bill cutting $115 million from hospitals, $5 million from childcare aid for mothers trying to get off welfare, $90 million from the University System and $11 million from the Community College System. At the same time, the bill adds funding for charter schools and eliminates a $30 per vehicle registration fee.  [Center on Budget and Policy Priorities, 3/21/2011; Union Leader 3/31/2011]

New Jersey

Gov. Christie is proposing a 25% reduction in the corporate minimum tax, and he wants to raise the estate tax exemption from $675,000 to $1 million. These cuts will cost the state $200 million in 2012. He also gave away $800 million in corporate tax cuts through his “Back to Work NJ” program, while rewarding millionaires with tax breaks. At the same time, he cut $1.3 billion in state support for education. [Center on Budget and Policy Priorities, 3/21/2011; Daily Record, 12/28/10; Office of Legislative Services Budget Analysis, April, 2010; NJPP Report 1/24/2011]

Ohio

Gov. Kasich is proposing a K-12 education cut of 10% ($489 per student) and a higher education cut of 11% ($510 per student), while giving away $1.2 billion vouchers and charters schools subsidies. Kasich cut Medicare by $1.4 million. Meanwhile, Kasich left 128 business tax exemptions, credits and deductions worth $7 billion in lost revenue and he is implementing an income tax break that will cost Ohio $800 million in revenue. [Policy Matters Ohio 3/25/2011; Center on Budget and Policy Priorities, 3/21/2011; Policy Matters Ohio 3/29/2011; Toledo Blade 3/20/2011; Columbus Dispatch 3/17/2011]

Pennsylvania

Gov. Corbett refuses to collect revenue from new natural gas drilling, while proposing a k-12 education cut of 10% ($550 million), plus an additional $500 million in cuts to implement effective educations practices, train teachers, and maintain tutoring programs. He is also wants to cut more than 50% from higher education ($271 million) and reduce community college funding by 10%. Yet, there is plenty of money for tax breaks for businesses, like the elimination of capital stock and franchise taxes. [Center on Budget and Policy Priorities, 3/21/2011; Pennsylvania Budget and Policy Center, 3/11/2011]

Wisconsin

Gov. Walker gave away $117 million in tax breaks for corporations and has promised to corporate taxes by $82 million. Meanwhile, he wants to cut education by 8% ($749 million) over the next 2 years, with an addition $250 million cut from state universities. He also wants to slash Wisconsin’s SeniorCare program. [Associated Press 2/4/2011; Center on Budget and Policy Priorities, 3/21/2011; WHBL News 3/31/2011]

Drug Testing Teachers & the Poor for Fun & Profit in Florida

Latest in Ed Deform, More Tea Party Lunacy, or Just Gold Old Capitalism at its Finest? 

Image by Francis Storr

Florida’s Republican Governor Rick Scott has signed an executive order requiring drug tests for all state workers and welfare recipients. According to the OB Rag, Scott plans to test at least 100,000 workers on the state payroll at least four times a year, as well as 58,000 welfare recipients, who would have to pay for their own drug screening. Rita Solnit, of Parents Across America, says that the drug testing will also apply to teachers.

This is not really news, as it has been reported extensively over the past few weeks, particularly by Chris Guerrieri, at Education Matters. Yet Scott’s hubris and his success up until now are so astounding I couldn’t resist writing about it. In order to become governor, Scott had to do more than just ride the wave of anti-Obama hatred that got so many Tea Party candidates elected. He also had to successfully whitewash a sordid past that included his forced resignation as CEO of the massive healthcare company Columbia/HCA over illegal business dealings and Medicare theft. The Miami Herald reported that the company ultimately admitted to fourteen felonies and had to pay a record $1.7 billion in fines for Medicare fraud, while Scott, himself, was found to have taken part in illegal business dealings.

This history of corrupt medical business dealings set the stage for Scott’s current foray into the anti-drug side of healthcare. In 2001, Scott founded an urgent care clinic called Solantic, which offers drug and alcohol screening tests. During Scott’s election, he disclosed that he had holdings in Solantic worth $62 million. The company was transferred to his wife’s name when he was elected governor and he assured the public that Florida would not do business with the company, thus implying that there would be no conflict of interest. Yet the Palm Beach Post News reported that Solantic had received $110,657 from the state in 2010 and $20,061 so far in 2011, mostly in Medicaid payments. According to the St. Petersburg Times, Scott is expected to force millions of Medicaid patients into managed care organizations, which could funnel millions of dollars more into his family’s business.

According to Education Matters, the ACLU of Florida is calling Scott’s move an attempt to resurrect a policy that a federal judge found unconstitutional back in 2004. Clearly there is no public benefit to drug testing workers who have no direct responsibility for public safety, while it is a huge waste of taxpayer dollars to screen everyone, especially welfare recipients, who have no responsibility whatsoever for public safety. Imposing anti-drug morality on teachers and welfare recipients is the epitome of Nanny State invasion of privacy. Interestingly, the ACLU has come out on the side of state workers but, according to the OB Rag, has not provided much support for the rights of welfare recipients to keep their urine private.

All this comes on the heels of so many other attacks on students, teachers and working people it makes the head spin. (See Solnit’s article here for more).

Huck/Konopacki Labor Cartoons

• Teachers in Florida will now have 50% of their evaluations based on student test scores, which will force many of the best teachers to transfer out of low performing and low income schools and/or to focus even more heavily on test prep, at the expense of critical thinking, inquiry-based teaching and the promotion of student curiosity and love of learning. 
• Teachers and judges will be compensated through merit pay schemes, yet there has been no money allocated to pay for it. Thus, those teachers and judges deemed “excellent” will possibly see their wages remain constant, while everyone else will either be fired or get pay cuts. This too will exacerbate teaching to the test and flight from low income schools, while it will encourage judges to ram through cases quickly, without regard for justice or fairness.
• All new teachers will be on one-year contracts, with no job security, while existing teachers must choose between keeping their existing contracts, with the possibility of never seeing another raise, or joining the newbies with yearly contracts that may or may not be renewed. Of course, this is not a real choice. Anyone who has been in a district for more than a few years will have higher pay than the newbies, so giving up their existing contract will likely result in either not getting hired again, or having to accept entrance level wages.
• Seniority rights for teachers will be eliminated.
• Private charter schools will be expanded.
• Support for the developmentally disabled will be slashed.