Teacher suspended for remark

The Pinellas School Board on Tuesday approved a one-day suspension for a white teacher who referred to the hair of an African American girl as "nappy."

The board voted 5-2 in favor of the suspension and diversity training for Belcher Elementary teacher Porsha Call.

Board members Linda Lerner and Janet Clark voted against the unpaid suspension, saying they did not consider the word racially offensive. "I don't use the term nappy. I've used the word frizzy for my own hair at times," said Lerner, who agreed with a related recommendation that Call receive diversity training. "I did not realize it was an offensive word."

Fair: 'We have upper echelon candidates'

That persistent grumbling we've been hearing for a few weeks now is from Florida ed watchers who say, behind the scenes, that the pool of applicants to be Florida's next education commission is too small, too thin, too light-weight. But don't count the chair of the Board of Education among the naysayers.

T. Willard Fair tells The Gradebook he is satisfied with the work done by Proact, the headhunting firm, and that Florida's next commish is very likely to emerge from the pool of 26 candidates that filed by last week's deadline. "We have upper-echelon candidates," Fair said. But do we have enough of them? "Who can define what is enough?" he said. "But certainly, if you look at the package that we have … there are people who would meet my expectations."

Fair said he was pleasantly surprised to see several former state education commissioners in the mix (that would be Florida K-12 Chancellor Cheri Yecke, who once ran the education systems in Virginia and Minnesota; William Moloney, who headed Colorado's system; and Tom Watkins Jr., the former top dog in Michigan.) He also said the quantity and quality of applicants must be considered in light of other ed czar openings in other states.

"We're not the only game in town," he said. Kentucky, for one also is seeking an education commissioner.

The State Board is scheduled to receive a list of recommended semifinalists at its August 14 meeting.

- Ron Matus, state education reporter

Correction: Hillsborough enrollment

We got it wrong. The Hillsborough school district is projecting flat enrollment for the coming school year, and slow to moderate growth for the next few years. A St. Petersburg Times article that reported otherwise on Tuesday incorrectly compared enrollment numbers that amounted to apples to oranges.

Growing strong

While surrounding districts are shrinking (Pinellas) or projecting no growth (Hillsborough), Pasco County schools continue to project rising enrollment for the coming school year. The expected 1,211 new students is a smaller percentage rise than in past years, but it's still enough kids to fill a school. So Pasco's construction plans remain.

At 6 p.m. tonight, the School Board will consider budgeting to build three new schools - one high school and two elementary schools - during the current fiscal year. It also will review several renovation projects as part of the spending plan it has to approve by the end of September. Officials expect to have enough money to fund the capital projects.

But even with a 14 percent increase in the tax rolls, and more money in the operating budget than ever before, they harbor concerns that the new money won't cover all the enrollment growth. So tonight's budget hearing could turn into a discussion on cuts, nonetheless. It will be interesting to hear with the Board members say, and if anyone from the public will chime in the discussion. Check back later to see what happened.

Today's news

GETTING READY: The first day of school can be trying for kindergartners and their parents. A growing number of Pasco elementary schools offer a four-day kindergarten camp to ease the angst. While the 5-year-olds learn about things like how to ride the bus, their moms and dads get some helpful advice, too. (Times photo, Julia Kumari Drapkin)

SPEAK UP: Taxpayers have been paying much attention to the way their municipal governments tax and spend. But when it comes to the largest tax-supported agencies in town - the school districts - no one seems to be taking note. School district budget hearings are now. Go, the Times editorial board says.

FEE HIKE: Pasco school officials want to raise the school impact fee by 140 percent. Home builders say the increase will simply serve to hinder already slowing growth.

BAD GAMBLE: Economists figured that slot machines in Broward County would generate $212 a day each for Florida schools. The amount has been closer to $85 each, just piling on the revenue crunch for schools, the Miami Herald reports.

PURSUING POINTS: Six Palm Beach schools are asking the state to re-score their grades or their adequate yearly progress ratings. Cash and prestige are on the line, the Palm Beach Post reports.

BUDGET UNEASE: School officials are still fretting over how they will make cuts without hurting the classroom, if the state reduces their revenue as expected. Here are reports from Manatee (Herald-Tribune), Osceola (Orlando Sentinel) and Broward (Sun-Sentinel). The state will have more details on how much money schools will get after a revenue estimating conference tomorrow.

NEXT STOP, NEW YORK: Fresh off creating a controversial Hebrew-language charter school in Broward, former U.S. Rep. Peter Deutsch is making plans to bring the model to NYC, the New York Sun reports.

MORE THAN MATH: The chairman of the House Education committee says he wants to give states more varied measures to determine whether schools are making adequate yearly progress under No Child Left Behind, the NY Times reports.

NOTE TO READERS: If you're looking for a link to a story about Hillsborough County's enrollment projections, we've removed it after district officials challenged the story's accuracy. Look for more details soon.

What he's not

There's a late entry into the race to become Florida education commissioner. And Tod S. Massa, a policy and research guy at the State Council of Higher Education for Virginia, is making an interesting bid by stressing what he isn't as much as what he is.

"I am not a manager of a multi-million dollar budget. I am not a sitting executive. And I have not led a large, complex agency," Massa writes. "I am not afraid of what I am not nor should you be."

He proceeds to tell the State Board that the qualifications that he does not meet pale in comparison to what he can bring that the state really needs - "a clear vision for the development and execution of data-based education policy that can be linked directly to improvements in student learning outcomes and publicly understood measures of student success."

Massa then offers three pages of what he would do. To see his full packet, visit the search web site.

It's an interesting approach, which may or may not impress the folks at Proact Search who are to recommend semifinalist to the State Board in mid-August. Might not even matter. Massa missed the July 23 application deadline.

President Proctor?

Should FAMU's Bill Proctor be teaching? Maybe he should be president.

A few days before Proctor, a political science instructor at FAMU, was the subject of a front-page story in the July 11 St. Petersburg Times, he e-mailed his response to a series of follow-up questions. He didn't actually answer any of the follow-ups, but he did go on to say he had the credentials "to actually become the President of Florida State University or the University of Florida" and that if Florida had other instructors with similar credentials "we would produce awesome citizens who are well informed and empowered to be competent citizens in their respective communities."

FAMU hired Proctor as a visiting professor in 2000 and has kept him on the job despite a string of embarrassing headlines. The Times story noted, among other things, that in 1995, Proctor was essentially fired from his job as a special assistant to late Gov. Lawton Chiles; that he failed to pass the Florida bar exam; and that he had been reprimanded by a FAMU dean in 2001 for skipping class. Should any of that raise concerns about questionable hiring at FAMU? Proctor doesn't think so.

Here is Proctor's e-mail to the Times, which he copied to several high-ranking FAMU officials. Here is the entire letter he submitted to the Times after the story ran (the version published on July 18 had been trimmed slightly for length.) Here is a podcast of a radio appearance he made after the story ran. And here is the Tallahassee Democrat's coverage of that appearance.

- Ron Matus, state education reporter

Readin', ritin', rithmetic, repeat

It's repeated so often it has become a given: Because of No Child Left Behind and other school accountability measures that stress (and test, test, test) the basics in math and reading, other subjects - art, music, history, PE - are getting short shrift. The latest survey/report from the Center on Education Policy, a Washington D.C. think tank, gives more weight to that line of thinking. Its survey of nearly 350 school districts found that while districts report more time on reading and math in elementary schools since No Child became law in 2002, time spent on other subjects has fallen by nearly a third. "What gets tested gets taught," Jack Jennings, the center's president and former staff director for Congressional Democrats, said in a press release. "Under No Child Left Behind, there is reading and math and then there is everything else."

The CEP report doesn't have a state-by-state breakdown, so we wonder: How much, in fact, has curriculum narrowed in Florida? Is the narrowing affecting students who don't need remedial help? And if it is, who's to blame? Maybe some us at The Gradebook are still groggy after returning from summer vacation, but we can't recall any studies or newspaper reports that have looked at this issue in thoughtful detail. If there is such a study or report, can somebody point us in the right direction? In the meantime, if you have concrete examples of curriculum being narrowed to students' detriment, can you please share them with us?

Today's news

HANDS OFF: Hundreds of parents intend to swamp the Pinellas School Board at its meetings and in its mailbox. They're organizing to fight the possible closure of some schools, and the proposed uprooting of their kids from other schools. "We've just got to keep making noise," one parent says.

NEW RULES: Kids who harass others via e-mail rather than on the playground will find themselves punished all the same in Hillsborough schools in the new school year. They'll also find more strict bans on the use of cell phones on campus, among other things in the district's newly revised student handbook.

ABSTINENCE EDUCATION: Florida has one of the highest levels of funding nationally for the no sex 'til marriage lessons. The message has been heard. But are teens listening? The percentage of teens having sex in Florida, as nationally, is not declining.

THIS IS RELIEF? If voters approve the Legislature's proposed "super homestead exemption," schools would be far from held harmless, Hernando school finance officials say. The reality would be more like 40 percent staff cuts as the money source dries up, they say.

FREE SUPPLIES: The Hillsborough Sheriff's Office gives away backpacks filled with school supplies to some needy families. That way when classmates compare what they have, the kids won't feel left behind.

JUST LIKE ITS NAMESAKE: Florida A&M's K-12 school looks just as troubled as the university that houses it, the Tallahassee Democrat reports.

GAETZ ON BUDGET CUTS: As Panhandle area school districts prepare for budget cuts, one of their key lawmakers - powerful Senate Education chairman Don Gaetz - suggests the slashing should start in Tallahassee. "There are 2,500 people who work in the DOE. Not one of them touches a student," Gaetz tells the Northwest Florida Daily News.

CRIST CHIMES IN, TOO: Gov. Charlie Crist suggests that the Duval school district dump its waterfront administration headquarters as one way to cope with the coming budget cuts, the Florida Times-Union reports. Facing swift and angry reaction, the one-time education commissioner is now backtracking.

Coming up

Monday: Pasco School Board, joint meeting on concurrency with County Commission, 9 a.m.; Hillsborough School Board workshop, 1 p.m.

Tuesday: Pinellas School Board, 5 p.m.; Hillsborough School Board, 5 p.m.; Pasco School Board, 6 p.m.; Hernando School Board, 7 p.m.; Charter School Appeals Commission, 10 a.m., Tallahassee

Wednesday: Florida General Revenue Estimating Conference, 9 a.m., Tallahassee

August 7: Pasco School Board, 9:30 a.m.; Hillsborough School Board, 5 p.m.

August 8: FCAT review panel, 1 p.m., Orlando

August 9: Pinellas School Board, workshop, 9 a.m.

August 14: State Board of Education, Tallahassee

August 20: First day of school, Hernando, Hillsborough and Pasco counties

August 21: First day of school, Pinellas County

Sept. 18: Florida Legislature, special session on budget, Tallahassee

Today's news

MORE THAN GATORADE: The University of Florida's biotechnology incubator is challenging national powerhouses like MIT with its successful business ventures.

DRIVERS WANTED: The Pinellas school district is having a hard time filling all of its bus driver seats. Officials hope the end of the district choice program next year will change that.

FORGET ABOUT VOUCHERS: The Taxation and Budget Reform Commission should focus on what really needs to be done for Florida - tax reform, as its name states - and not get into matters of public education, the Times editorial board says.

MEN NEEDED: The Palm Beach school district wants to have more men volunteering in its classrooms, hallways and mentoring programs, the Sun-Sentinel reports. Maybe the effort will be easier than finding male teachers.

FSU EXPANSION: Florida State University wants to grow its campus. Some neighbors are concerned, the Tallahassee Democrat reports.

PREMIUM DEGREE: Some public universities have begun to charge different fees for different degrees, the NY Times reports. It's a response to rising salaries, increasing costs and lawmakers unwilling to raise tuition. Sound familiar?

A weekend interview with ...

... early childhood education advocate David Lawrence. The former Miami Herald publisher helped push Florida's universal prekindergarten constitutional amendment to victory in 2002. Now head of the Early Childhood Initiative Foundation, he tours the country talking about the importance of educating children ages 0-5. (For a more detailed bio, click here.) Lawrence discussed the pros and cons of Florida's Voluntary Pre-K program as it ends its second year with reporter Jeff Solochek.

Lawrence: On the plus side, there are 115,000 or so 4-year-olds who are going to be in the program. ... That’s a very big number. If you consider that 220,000 children are born each year in Florida, you now have more than half of the 4-year-olds. And when there are only three universal programs in the country - Oklahoma in a very small state, 3-million people and a very different kind of model, Georgia which is a close model to Florida. But in the first year of Georgia’s program, which was 1996, in a state half the size of Florida, they had 8,800 children in theirs. So when you consider the program is only in its second year, that’s a pretty impressive turnout. Clearly parents have said, Boy there’s something valuable for my child here. That’s the big plus.

Here are the things I think folks need to work on. First, there is no requirement from the get-go for a research-based, evidence-based curriculum. We know we can easily identify at least a dozen research-based curricula, and yet the state of Florida isn’t requiring that. You can essentially use anything you want for a couple of years, and then if the program in theory isn’t working, you’ve got to use something the state wants you to use. I would argue since the state is spending close to $400-million ... people are entitled to know that their money is spent on quality.

The second area is, as you know, the pre-k advisory council chaired by the lieutenant governor (Toni Jennings), of which I was a member, voted unanimously for within five years an associate’s degree for the lead teacher, and within eight years a bachelor’s degree in early education for the lead teacher. The Legislature decided that it would make those “aspirational goals.” Aspirational goals is a recipe for never getting it done.

JS: The governor has said he supports that (having degreed teachers). Do you think that his comments will drive anything?

DL: Like so many Floridians, I am optimistic about the new governor. And so, yes, that fuels, energizes, my sense of optimism. But of course, it still needs to be done and it hasn’t been done. And the next regular session of the Legislature is when? Next March. So that’s another area.

The third area I would say ... in a high-quality program of wisdom, your son would go that program and at the beginning of that program - next month when he goes in - he would be assessed. Not tested. I’m not talking about baby FCATs here. He would be assessed for how ready he is. How is he doing? Where is he vis-a-vis early literacy? How is he doing socially and emotionally? Then ... and again I emphasize, not a test but an assessment. That assessment to be shared not only with the teacher, but with the parent. You and your wife are entitled to know how your child is doing.

That assessment would then form your child’s instruction and learning for the next several months. We would say ... he does real well in this and this, but he needs some help in this and this. And then during the course of the year a teacher would help him. And then at the end of the year we would minimally see, where is he now? What did he get from the program? And in an ideal program, this would be done several times during the year.

That isn’t done now. Some programs do it. But it is no requirement for that. And instead, the state talked about this readiness rate for kindergarten kids.

Today's news

MANAGING GROWTH: For years, Pasco County - the nation's eighth-fastest growing county - has struggled to provide enough school seats for its rising population. On Monday, the School Board and County Commission will review plans to control the situation. High on the agenda: the board's request to significantly increase impact fees.

CHOICE GRANT: If you missed it yesterday, the Hillsborough school district is getting a multi-million federal grant to support school choice. Officials plan lots of academic experiments for kids in poverty.

ONE YEAR AND OUT: Former state representative Eleanor Sobel, elected to the Broward School Board last November, plans to resign by next June to seek a state Senate seat. The Sun-Sentinel reports that in October 2006, the Democrat said she would abandon a Senate run to commit to the board.

LOBBYING NO-NO: Florida International University in Miami violated state law by using public money to pay for private lobbying efforts, the Miami Herald reports.

KEEP YOUR PANTS ON: A Martin County teen faces a nine-week suspension for mooning in P.E. His parents say he was simply the victim of too-big gym shorts, the Palm Beach Post reports.

THANKS FOR ASKING: The special task force looking into FAMU's finance and management problems tells university president James Ammons that he can't have their budget, as he requested, the Tallahassee Democrat reports.

TEXAS AND STEROIDS: Like Florida, Texas is implementing a steroid testing program for high school athletes. Texas is more aggressive, though, and will test all of the athletes. And, if students want to challenge the results, they'll have to pay for the retest themselves, the Houston Chronicle reports.

KENTUCKY'S COMMISSIONER SEARCH: If you think Florida's search is problematic, check out Kentucky's efforts, as detailed by the Louisville Courier-Journal.

DID YOU KNOW? The LA Unified School District board makes just $26,000 a year. A citizens panel is recommending a 73 percent raise - if members don't hold any other job, the LA Times reports. How does that compare with the board pay in your smaller district? (LAUSD is the nation's second-largest, with more than 700,000 students.)

Visit the Gradebook at noon for an interview with early education advocate David Lawrence, who speaks about the pros and cons of Florida's prekindergarten program as it enters its third year.

Hillsborough to get millions for choice

To expand school choice options, the federal government is awarding Hillsborough schools $2.16 million next year, the first year of a 5-year grant that could bring as much as $14 million into the district.

Superintendent MaryEllen Elia said the money will be used to create targeted, theme-based programs for two dozen middle and high schools. Plans call for "Rigorous Academic Programs" at high-poverty middle schools and an "Advanced Placement/College Prep" theme at five high schools. Check out the full list of projects here: Download choiceattractors.doc

Hillsborough also is going to experiment with single gender classes at James Elementary. It will expand the offerings at Tampa Bay Technical High School to include a health administration academy. 

This is the second time that Hillsborough has been picked for a choice grant. Since 2002, the district has received almost $11 million to promote choice programs. The initial funding was used to create a choice program intended to maintain diversity when forced busing for desegregation ended. While that program saw disappointing participation, more than 35,000 Hillsborough students took advantage of other choice options to attend schools outside their neighborhoods last year. These included the district's popular magnet school programs, special assignment and charter schools.

Hillsborough is one of 14 projects nationally awarded the choice grant, and one of seven to receive funding twice. Others in Florida include Miami's public schools and the Florida Department of Education.

More upset parents

Parents concerned about the possible closure of San Jose Elementary School in Dunedin have launched a web site and a petition drive to "send a message to the Pinellas School Board" that they're not going to let the school go without a fight.

Using the tag line, "School closings are bad government," Citizens for Schools is urging all public school parents - not just those whose children attend schools mentioned for possible closure - to write to their local, state and federal officials to protest any school being shut down.

They've also enlisted the aid of Dunedin city commissioners, who have scheduled a meeting with superintendent Clayton Wilcox.

"This place is our kids' future," said Heather Bates, a member of Citizens for Schools, whose son will be in first grade at San Jose. "But it's not just about our school. It's about all schools in danger of being closed."

- Donna Winchester, Pinellas education reporter

A 'hidden gem'

Parents of children at Orange Grove Elementary School who were alarmed at the thought that their school was on a list of possible closures tried to enlist some heavy duty support last week. Calling the school a "hidden gem of the city of Seminole," they asked the Seminole City Council to pass a resolution asking that Pinellas superintendent Clayton Wilcox spare the school. The Council has not taken any action, but the city is monitoring the situation.

- Anne Lindberg, Pinellas cities reporter

Merit pay heats up

As Florida's school finance folks talk about delaying the implementation of the new Merit Award Program, it's perhaps instructive to note that they're not exactly on the winning end of this debate. NY Mayor Michael Bloomberg, a possible presidential candidate, is touting performance pay on a national level. So, too, for that matter, are political leaders from all sides, Education Week reports.

Yet the issue is not without its downside, or the implementation without flaws, as the Orlando Sentinel has revealed over the past few days. There have been problems with the year-end tests geared to evaluate teachers, and with the calculations over how much the teachers should get.

Meanwhile, some districts, including Pasco and Pinellas, have refused to participate at all.

Still, at least one powerful Florida lawmaker has indicated an unwillingness to even postpone the state's new $150-million program, saying such a move would reward mediocrity while punishing excellence. The movement's direction should become even more clear when the Florida Legislature meets in September to figure out exactly how to trim the budget. Stay tuned.

Today's news

FEWER OFFICERS: Reacting to Sheriff's Office money woes, Pinellas schools superintendent Clayton Wilcox strikes a deal allowing the department to provide fewer deputies to the high schools. Hall monitors will take their place.

KIDS COUNT: Florida improves slightly in an annual ranking of how well states care for children, but makes less progress than other states. Gov. Crist says there's no higher priority than the welfare of youngsters, but adds that in tough budget times, programs might not change much.

HERNANDO NEWS: Students will have to earn their way into Hernando County magnet schools, as the School Board ends its policy of giving immediate access to siblings of those already enrolled. The board also gives a favorable initial review to a plan that would move thousands of students to new schools next year.

CATS AND DOGS WELCOME: The Pasco School Board makes plans to welcome the pets to at least one of its emergency shelters (if it has to open one).

REDUCE, REDUCE SOME MORE: The Broward school district cuts $60-million from its annual budget to deal with the state's expected revenue shortfall, the Miami Herald reports.

MINORITY GROUP SEEKS ACCESS: The Puerto Rican Legal Defense and Education Fund asks the Osceola School Board to change the way its members are chosen, the Orlando Sentinel reports.

CHECKS DELAYED: Thousands of Palm Beach school employees who expected to get paid this week will have to wait, the Palm Beach Post reports. Union leaders say if they knew this could happen - as teachers did in the spring - they could have challenged the move.

FAMU PREZ SEEKS TASK FORCE CASH: James Ammons wants the oversight group's money to help the troubled university meet audit recommendations, the Tallahassee Democrat reports.

SELL YOUR STORY: When applying to college, students can use their life's tale to win acceptance as the application essay takes on growing significance, the NY Times reports.

Protecting itself

If a hurricane or other natural disaster hits Miami, Florida International University aims to be able to withstand it. The school has become the first public university in Florida, and one of just 28 nationally, to meet federal disaster plan requirements and gain federal Disaster-Resistant University designation.

The program aims to protect the millions of dollars worth of computer systems - and the research data inside them - at the nation's universities.

"In the last 15 years since Hurricane Andrew, we have been at the forefront of developing disaster mitigation processes and technologies," FIU President Modesto A. Maidique said in a news release. "Now we are applying the fruits of our extensive research and our expertise to our own campuses."

University leaders now are looking into which projects need attention first to reduce the school's exposure to harm. The federal government has $100-million available to support such efforts. To learn more, click here for the university's press release.

Not enough

Each year, the Pinellas County school district needs about 800 bus drivers to ferry kids back and forth. It rarely finds enough. And this year looks to be no different.

"We really won't have a good total until they come to bid on the routes." said Rick McBride, manager of transportation services. "But we'll probably be 75 to 100 drivers short."

That's despite the expectation that enrollment will dip about 2,000 students from last year. What's up? Bill Angelus, chief steward for the bus drivers union, blames the chronic shortage on low pay and the fact that most drivers work only three-quarters of the year.

If the shortage remains, McBride said, drivers will have to double up on routes. That means some buses could run as much as a half hour late both in delivering children to school and bringing them home.

Next year could bring some welcome relief to this recurring problem. The district expects as much as a $16-million reduction in transportation costs once a new student assignment plan is implemented in 2008. As a result, the district will not have as many bus routes and, you guessed it, the district won't need as many drivers. (No layoffs are expected then, by the way.)

- Donna Winchester, Pinellas education reporter

Today's news

DEGREE IN MEMORIAM: Melody Adams had planned to graduate from St. Petersburg College this month with her mom, Teresa Fillie. Fillie died before they could walk together, but she was present in spirit at Monday's ceremony.

MAKE THEM EARN IT: The Hernando School Board should do away with its policy allowing siblings of magnet school students a guaranteed seat in the schools, the Times editorial board says.

BUSTED: A Pasco County teacher who was hired to coach boys basketball at Hernando High abruptly quits after being arrested for indecent exposure at a Brooksville park.

PLAYER SCANDAL: The principal of Immokalee High lost his post in the wake of a discovery that he allowed over-age students to participate in athletics for the school. He got another job in the Collier County district. But perhaps not for long. The state is considering whether to yank his certificate, the Naples Daily News reports.

ONE MORE: A Charlotte County middle school principal faces criminal charges for allowing several unauthorized minors to drive his car. The charges come a week after his resignation for "personal health reasons," the Herald-Tribune reports.

POSTPONED: The Palm Beach School Board puts off at least a dozen construction projects in the wake of expected declines in revenue and students, the Sun-Sentinel reports.

WHOOPS: Orange County teachers who expected a $2,000 merit pay bonus will get less - or more - depending on how badly the school district messed up in its first calculation, the Orlando Sentinel reports.

DOUBLE STANDARD? Some schools and universities across the country make time for Muslim students to pray during the academic day, prompting critics to complain that Islam is getting better treatment than other religions, USA Today reports.

TOUGH LESSON: An Oakland youth football coach, tired of losing players to homicide, takes boys and girls to funeral homes and cemeteries to teach them about staying on the straight and narrow path, the NY Times reports.

Elia honored by peers

Hillsborough Superintendent MaryEllen Elia's peers think she's doing swell. The Florida Association of School Administrators has honored her with the Lamp of Knowledge award.

Elia was recognized for giving teachers their largest raises in 20 years. (That was last year's 10 percent raise, but all the more interesting in light of today's spirited debate about whether this year's 8 percent raise can really be called so generous when teachers are having to work longer hours.) Also highlighted: Elia's work with state leaders on a performance pay plan (another sore spot with some teachers) and her collaboration with national leaders on the reauthorization of No Child Left Behind. Plus, people apparently were impressed that the Bill & Melinda Gates Foundation has chosen Hillsborough for a project on addressing the achievement gap.

Elia was nominated by School Board Chairman Jack Lamb, who received the award in 2003.

Two withdrawals, one endorsement

The small field of candidates for Florida education commissioner shrank by two today, giving the State Board of Education even fewer options for its next leader. Stephen Stohla, superintendent of Alliance, Ohio, schools, and Sandra Tuttle, a practice coordinator at an Indiana hospital, pulled out of the process just two days after the extended application deadline.

The Palm Beach Post, meanwhile, trashes some of the remaining candidates - including K-12 chancellor Cheri Yecke and former Michigan superintendent of public instruction Tom Watkins Jr. It lends its support to anyone who would sweep "Jeb's acolytes" out of the department. Read: former K-12 chancellor Jim Warford, whose appointment the Post editorializes would be "historic."

More about that 8 percent raise

There's been a lot of angst over whether Hillsborough County really is giving its teachers an 8 percent raise, or if it's just paying them their going rate to work longer days. Witness comments from this previous post.

But it's not just Hillsborough teachers who are talking about this issue.

The phones are "ringing off the hook" at the United School Employees of Pasco office, too, union president Lynne Webb told the Pasco School Board on Tuesday. Superintendent Heather Fiorentino said she also has gotten confronted with similar questions. The gist: "People want to know, when are we going to match Hillsborough?" Webb said.

Fiorentino then passed out a side-by-side comparison of Hillsborough and Pasco teacher contracts, telling the board that Pasco already does better. Why? Because it doesn't force teachers to work longer hours and then call it a raise.

"They just increased the work load for teachers," Fiorentino said. "They also teach more days than we do."

In fact, Fiorentino explained, even before finishing this year's negotiations, Pasco teachers earn more per hour than Hillsborough teachers will make under their new agreement. Hillsborough starting teachers will work 8 hours daily for 199 days at an hourly rate of $23.25. Starting Pasco teachers worked 7.5-hour days (which won't change) for 196 days at an hourly rate of $24.01 last year.

Webb said active Pasco union members know this. Perhaps the comparison will get more widely spread so the rank-and-file - and the general public - know it too, she added.

Today's news

SPECIAL SESSION: With tax revenue slowing, lawmakers call a special session to begin Sept. 18 so they can revamp the state's recently adopted budget. Education and social services, which account for about two-thirds of the state spending, are expected to be hit hardest.

COMMISSIONER SEARCH CONTINUES: Just 26 people have applied to lead the $23-billion Florida education system. To put that in perspective, Hillsborough County had more candidates for superintendent during its 2005 search.

HOT TOPICS: The Hernando School Board plans to grapple with attendance zones, field trip rules and sibling access to magnet schools this week. All crowd pleasers, to be sure.

SAFETY FIRST: Overhauling the Hillsborough school busing bureaucracy may be a noble goal. But not when the district's proposals could put children in harm's way, as a recommendation to do away with a bus route in rural Wimauma could do, the Times editorial board says.

SUPERINTENDENT'S BONUS: Duval County's achievement gap grew, while student gains shrunk. Yet its top educator still will get a bonus for progress made toward achieving big goals, the Florida Times-Union reports.

PUBLIC MONEY, RELIGIOUS SCHOOL? A discussion over the location and curriculum of a new Hebrew-language charter school ignites a heated debate over whether Broward County taxpayers would be funding what should be a private school, the Sun-Sentinel reports.

UNFAIR PRACTICE: The Public Employee Relations Committee finds that the Manatee school district improperly forced some teachers to work an extra duty period every seven days, the Bradenton Herald reports.

BUDGET WOES: Broward school officials plan to add teachers, give raises and build new schools, but fret over possible cuts, the Miami Herald reports. Similar worries on a smaller scale for Flagler County, the Daytona Beach News-Journal reports.

READING, 'RITHMETIC AND ... Much less of everything else. Schools' increased focus on the two R's since the implementation of No Child Left Behind has meant cutbacks just about every other subject, report the Washington Post and NY Times.

CLASS SIZE LESSONS: A southern California school district continues to struggle with its class-size reduction implementation, as more evidence of lying to gain state money is unearthed, the LA Times reports. A story to keep in mind as Florida moves to the next level - classroom counts - in its class-size plans.

It's over (we think)

No more new resumes have appeared on the commissioner search web site since last night, so it looks like the final tally stands at 22 complete applications, a handful of incomplete letters of interest and a couple of public withdrawals. That's after a month-long advertised search plus a 10-day extension, which yielded just two more names.

Is that field widened enough? Or does the search continue?

Asked if the deadline has passed finally and forever, DOE spokesman Tom Butler e-mailed this reply: "At this point, PROACT has not made any recommendations to further extend the deadline for applications." Recall, the headhunters didn't propose looking further until 72 hours after the July 13 cutoff had passed. We sought comment from several Board of Education members, but none have returned the call.

Trouble with algebra?

The Southern Regional Education Board, which serves 16 southern states including Florida, has developed a new online course aimed at helping students with algebra, the course many educators call a "gatekeeper" to future academic success.

The course, created with the help of Florida Virtual School, focuses on one concept - linear functions - which is considered by many one of the hardest concepts to teach yet key to understanding algebra. Early test runs in Maryland report that the new method worked well for them.

This initiative looks to be the first of many in which SREB states work together to find high-quality teaching methods and then share them. If the course intrigues you, contact your virtual school for more information.

Today's news

FIX IT FOR THE FUTURE: Instead of grandstanding on the Bright Futures scholarship program, Florida lawmakers should review its standards and rules so the merit award doesn't harm the finances of the state's universities, the Times editorial board says.

CATHOLIC SCHOOL - AND TOWN - TAKE SHAPE: Ave Maria University outside Naples becomes the first major Catholic university to open in 40 years. It plans to move into a permanent campus in August. The school aims to have its accreditation in place soon, which it expects will help boost enrollment, the Naples Daily News reports.

RIGHT ON: Praise for the Challenger K-8 principal who kicked out students whose parents failed to meet their volunteer obligations from the editorial board.

PLANNING TOGETHER: The city of Jacksonville and the Duval School Board reach a tentative agreement on a plan for where to build new schools and who will pay for them, the Florida Times-Union reports. The county's school concurrency plan - which every county must eventually have - must be in place by January.

ALL TALK? In the days after the Virginia Tech massacre, Florida leaders made a lot of noise about doing more to make the state's universities safer. A few months later, the results are mixed, the Sun-Sentinel reports.

NOT MOVING: Thousands of central Florida students have the option of switching schools under federal No Child Left Behind guidelines. Just hundreds are making that choice, the Orlando Sentinel reports.

WEIRD WEDNESDAYS: Manatee County will end classes each Wednesday 90 minutes early, letting kids go home so teachers can better prepare their lessons. Some parents - and board members - worry that the extra unsupervised time won't serve the children well, the Herald-Tribune reports.

KEEPING THE ARTS: Not long after threatening to scale back arts education in favor of more basics, the New York school system - the nation's largest - announces that schools must keep the arts in the curriculum. Not only that, principals will be rated on how well the programs are run, the NY Times reports.

Make that, three new names

It's just about 7 p.m., and two new resumes have popped up as candidates for Florida education commissioner, and one offering to step in if the board can't decide from the initial pool. They are:

• Eric Smith, senior vice president for college readiness, the College Board. Smith also served as superintendent of Anne Arundel County Public Schools in Maryland from 2002-2006.
• William Harner, deputy to the chief executive officer of Philadelphia public schools since 2006.
• Thomas Tocco, former Pinellas assistant superintendent and Fort Worth (Texas) superintendent, offered to be considered as an alternative if the Board of Education does not pick anyone from the existing field. But he declined to participate in the search.

Still no word if the 5 p.m. deadline marked the official end of accepting applications. More tomorrow (if anything else needs to be said.)

The list remains the same

They had 10 extra days. But no one bit.

Not one new resume showed up on the Florida education commissioner search web site by today's 5 p.m. deadline that hadn't made the July 13 cutoff. That's despite outreach to the politicians and educators that talked about putting their names in but didn't, plus whatever else it is that headhunting firms are supposed to do. DOE spokesman Tom Butler tells the Gradebook that there's been no move (so far) to further postpone the deadline.

  The most notable names remained K-12 chancellor Cheri Yecke, former chancellor Jim Warford, retired Hillsborough superintendent Earl Lennard, former Colorado education commissioner William Moloney, and former Michigan superintendent of public instruction Tom Watkins Jr.

Butler says that the candidate pool could still grow, if someone mailed an application before the deadline passed. Proact, the search firm, will update its site as quickly as possible, he adds.

If nothing else happens, Proact is scheduled to give the State Board of Education a recommended list of  semifinalists at an Aug. 14 board meeting. If the board doesn't change its time line - it still could readvertise, seek a new search firm or short circuit the process in any number of ways - it aims to have a new commissioner on the job by October. The position has been open since John Winn retired in February.

If you thought this year looks bad...

A group of Florida's school finance officers got word Friday that the budget picture looks no better for 2008-09 or 2009-10, either. "The state of Florida is experiencing fewer visitors, and some of that migration out because of the storms has affected state revenue," says Hernando finance director Deborah Bruggink, who attended a Florida School Finance Council meeting with deputy commissioner Linda Champion in Tallahassee. "That really was the gist of it."

With the income expected to remain down, Bruggink predicts school districts will have to make fundamental changes in the way they deliver services. At a time when districts are trying to offer competitive teacher salaries, she says, the news is "like bad on bad."

Hoping to stave off the most dire cuts when lawmakers meet in special session to deal with an expected $1-billion shortfall - most likely on Sept. 17 - top district officials already are seeking recommendations that would hurt ongoing operations least. The Florida Association of District School Superintendents has sent out a list to kick off a discussion. (The memo pointedly notes these are not proposals - yet.) They are:

• Hold expenditures directly related to the classroom harmless.
• Hold class size reduction funds harmless, because it's a constitutional amendment.
• Significantly modify, reduce or eliminate programs that provide bonuses (such as teacher performance pay and school recognition).
• Eliminate new programs.
• Reduce or eliminate increases over last year, or "level fund" programs.

Some lawmakers have indicated that some ideas, such as delaying the bonus programs, are non-starters because they don't want to penalize excellence. Stay tuned.

Talking education

Want some of the inside scoop on the nation's eighth-largest school district? Show up for a chat with Hillsborough School Board members April Griffin and Susan Valdes, along with USF prof Sherman Dorn, at the Northwest Hillsborough Democrats' meeting Tuesday. The venue is the Northdale Recreation Center, 15550 Spring Pine Drive. The time: 6:30 p.m. Be there.

Today's news

TEST MESS: Florida education officials are battling with the federal government over how best to test the skills of severely disabled students. The state wants to allow an evaluation based on the children's abilities and improvements. The feds contend the assessment isn't linked to grade-level content and has threatened penalties.

NO SWEAT: With their mandate of 150 minutes of weekly P.E., lawmakers intended to get elementary school kids "used to being outside and used to getting their heart rate up." In many instances, though, the new law allows enough "flexibility" that schools need to do almost nothing new to meet it.

LONG OVERDUE: The cost of college has skyrocketed, and lenders have made a killing on the backs of students. The College Cost Reduction Act of 2007 would make things right, the Times editorial board says.

'THIN' POOL: The search for a new education commissioner ends today (purportedly). Some of the applicants have what the Palm Beach Post calls "colorful" candidates, including a former Osceola School Board member who called the board attorney a "dirty Jew" and a woman who served as a principal in Alabama without certification, because she couldn't pass the math competency exam.

REZONING EFFECT: To keep students closer to home, the St. Lucie School Board redrew attendance boundaries that concentrated poor and minority students in Fort Pierce. The upshot: some schools' academic performance plummeted, the Palm Beach Post reports.

INCENTIVE TO READ: Gadsen County, which often struggles academically, offers $100 to the student at each of its schools who reads the most books from a recommended reading list over the summer, the Tallahassee Democrat reports.

ONLINE UNIVERSITY: The Florida state university system wants to expand its "distance learning" programs as it seeks ways to improve efficiency in financially strapped times, the Orlando Sentinel reports. The Palm Beach Post tells of one type of online course that's gaining popularity already.

UNFAIR? Miami-Dade superintendent Rudy Crew proposes that athletes at the district's F-rated high schools must maintain a 2.5 GPA rather than the standard 2.0. They also must sign a pledge saying they respect women, the Miami Herald reports. Crew says it's to eliminate academic apathy. Critics say it will punish poor students, all because of problems at one school.

TEXTBOOK TALES: Israel's Education Ministry will allow books for Arab third-graders to say that the creation of the Jewish state was a "tragedy" for some Palestinians, the LA Times reports. Like they didn't know that already.

Coming up

Tuesday: Pasco School Board, 6 p.m.

Wednesday: Education Practices Commission, 8:30 a.m., Orlando

July 30: Pasco School Board, joint meeting on concurrency with County Commission, 9 a.m.; Hillsborough School Board workshop, 1 p.m.

July 31: Pinellas School Board, 5 p.m.; Hillsborough School Board, 5 p.m.; Pasco School Board, 6 p.m.; Hernando School Board, 7 p.m.; Charter School Appeals Commission, 10 a.m., Tallahassee

August 7: Pasco School Board, 9:30 a.m.; Hillsborough School Board, 5 p.m.

August 8: FCAT review panel, 1 p.m., Orlando

August 9: Pinellas School Board, workshop, 9 a.m.

August 14: State Board of Education, Tallahassee

August 20: First day of school, Hernando, Hillsborough and Pasco counties

August 21: First day of school, Pinellas County

FCAT panel to meet

These things are always subject to change, but, the advisory panel that's helping the Department of Education figure out the FCAT's future is slated to meet at 1 p.m. August 8 at the Rosen Shingle Creek Resort, 9939 Universal Blvd. in Orlando. The last time the group met, it set up a subcommittee to investigate independent reviewers who might evaluate the annual exam in light of the 2006 scoring errors that raised concerns in the first place. The subcommittee should be reporting back to the full group.

USF professor Sherman Dorn also will join the proceedings for the first time, as the Gradebook told you yesterday. In his blog, Dorn took issue with our labeling him an "FCAT critic." He says he's just a critic of the way the test gets used. Apparently, he's also a critic of the photo of him we used, one that, by the way, we took from his web site. Dorn offered up a "Simpsonization" of himself instead, which the Gradebook gladly prints to the left if for no other reason than to direct you to the cool web site where you, too, can have yourself "Simpsonized."

Today's news

FAMU - A FAMILY TRADITION:  Florida A&M University is more than a troubled institution in the state's black communities. It's a way of life, and families remain fiercely true to their school despite its woes. Speaking of which, new president James Ammons will investigate why 242 employees didn't get paid this week, the AP reports. As for the school's problems, former interim president Castell Bryant gives her perspective in a Q&A with Bill Maxwell.

TOO FAR TO WALK: School children who attend Wimauma Elementary are losing their bus route because they live closer than 2 miles from campus. District officials say it's a financial decision. Parents have other concerns, like the 22 sexual predators who live within 5 miles of the school, and the unkempt roadways, and speeding trucks.

YOU PROMISED: To get their children into Challenger K-8, a Brooksville-area magnet school, parents had to sign papers pledging to volunteer at least 8 hours a year. Some failed. Now their kids are getting kicked out.

GETTING IN IS HARD TO DO: Competition to attend the University of Florida is at an all-time high, three years after the school capped the size of its freshman class. This year, just 42 percent of applicants were accepted, the Herald-Tribune reports.

DID THEY REALLY DROP OUT? Nope. In many instances, students simply left high school to attend adult ed programs, the Stuart News reports. But whether they finish or not, they're not considered dropouts, raising concerns about whether the state calculates graduation rates appropriately.

TAKING A CHANCE: Even as several charter schools close, failed financially or academically, a larger number seek to open as parents seek something new for their kids and educators strive to provide it, the Miami Herald reports.

A TRIP TO STAPLES COULD HELP: A disheveled package headed for Eastern Illinois University's admission office prompted emergency officials to evacuate a building. It was, of course, an application, the AP reports. Yes, they kept it.

A weekend interview with ...

... state Rep. Joe Pickens, the Palatka Republican who chairs the House Schools and Learning Council. Pickens has been the attorney for the Putnam County School Board, and served on the Putnam County School Readiness Coalition. First elected in 2000, he contemplated applying for the education commissioner job, but decided to keep his leadership position in the House. He spoke with reporter Jeff Solochek about school funding issues.

Q: The school districts are concerned that they have to cut what amounts to 4 percent, and one of the things they're doing is meeting with people in Tallahassee to see exactly what that means. What do you see as coming forward? Do school districts really have to bite the bullet, and can they?

A: Well, I think that everyone is going to have to tighten their belts, and not just school districts. The shortfall in revenue, the $1-billion everybody has been hearing about ... is across the board. It's recurring general revenue. So it isn't just education that is going to be impacted by the shortfall.

It is, however, correct, that education is a large part of the general revenue budget. ... So that is where the most significant reductions are available. On the other hand, the Legislature recognizes its significant obligation to fund public education. I think in the days leading up to the special session, should we have one and I think we will, and then during the special session our job will be to balance that as much as we can.

But I think it is fair to say that K-12 should be anticipating at least a reduction in the increase that they got in this year's budget. To them I'm sure that that's a cut, and it is based upon the fact that they had a budget that they could see and touch and feel and read and know what it says they're going to get. ... In higher ed, colleges and universities have already been advised to plan to reduce their budgets by 4 percent.

Q: Higher ed can cut back its enrollment, for instance. K-12 doesn't have that option.

A: K-12 does not have the option of capping enrollment. That's correct. They have to take students that come to them. That just means they have to make reductions from other places, where it's non-essential hiring freezes - that's out of the classroom, less expenditures on things that don't involve the classroom. Those types of things. As a school board attorney for 17 years, we went through a couple of times where we had to roll back. They'll do it where ever it is they think they can most afford it. I think you'll find that the Legislature affords them that latitude.

We're not going to say, 'We're cutting here, we're cutting here, we're reducing here.' We're saying, 'The reduction is X,' and each individual school district is able to, within certain parameters, decide where to make those reductions.

Q: One thing I've heard come up is the teacher performance pay plan. It's about $150-million that has been allocated, and I've heard several district officials say that it should be cut, or temporarily canceled, and the money should be put toward the reduction. Would that be a possibility?

New face

The Florida Coalition for Assessment Reform advises that it has replaced Bob Lange as its representative to the Department of Education's FC