SBOE member Donna Callaway resigns

Donna Callaway, the state Board of Education member best known for her opposition to the state's new science standards, has resigned to become a middle school principal in Tallahassee again.

"I have always held a special love for Raa Middle School, and I am thrilled to accept this unique opportunity to return to the school where I was able to positively influence students on a daily basis," she said in a press release sent out by the Department of Education this morning. "Having direct connection with students and teachers allows me to continue the education successes our state has achieved in these last several years."

Callaway previously served as principal at Raa from 1994 to 2004.

BOE: Budget cuts threaten progress

Sometimes, it's who bears the bad news that matters.

Members of the state Board of Education aired concerns about education cuts today, fearful that continued budget woes could undermine the progress Florida students are making in academics.

School boards and superintendents, of course, have been ringing alarms for months. But today's clanging was different: Nobody can accuse the 7-member Board of Education of being a pack of tax-and-spend liberals. Five members were appointed by Gov. Jeb Bush and one, Kathleen Shanahan of Tampa, served as Bush's chief of staff.

"I'm very concerned about the loss of financial support," board member Roberto Martinez, who also has close ties to Bush, said at today's meeting in Tampa. "I think this board has a responsibility … to be more vocal, starting today. This board has an obligation to use our bully pulpit."

Top FLDOE spokeswoman to depart

For about two years (is that some sort of record?), Jennifer Fennell has led the Florida DOE's communications department, making changes that we reporters at the Gradebook can attest were for the better when it came to getting information from the department that hasn't always been known for its openness, Sunshine Law or not.

Now Fennell is headed back to the private sector. "I've enjoyed my time with the department, but I am looking forward to something that will give me more flexibility and time with my family," Fennell said. Her last day with the state is Wednesday, and then she will join CoreMessage, the Tallahassee PR firm run by former Jeb Bush adviser Cory Tilley and populated by folks like former Jeb spokeswoman Elizabeth Hirst and former Charlie Crist spokeswoman Vivian Myrtetus.

That's good news for Fennell, her husband and 8-month-old son. We can only hope that her spirit of helpfulness remains behind at the Florida Department of Education.

Where in the world is Cheri Yecke?

When we last checked in with Cheri Yecke, she had just announced her resignation as Florida's K-12 chancellor and was negotiating for a job at one of two universities in a state she wouldn't name, except to rule out Florida. (Yecke suffered four bouts of serious pneumonia while in Tallahassee, and was seeking a healthier climate.) She expected to make an announcement within weeks.

That was back in January.

Yecke now has contacted the Gradebook to let us know where she has landed. That would be Harding University, a private Christian school in Searcy, Ark. She'll be the dean of graduate programs and an associate professor of education.

"For some time I have felt called to work in a Christian environment," Yecke told the Gradebook. "This position gives me that opportunity, as well as the chance to get back into the classroom, which is something I have really missed. Several opportunities came my way, but Harding was by far the best fit. It feels good to be able to follow my heart."

A weekend interview with ...

... State Board of Education member Phoebe Raulerson. Raulerson, a former superintendent of Okeechobee schools, frequently has pushed for more hands-on training for high school students, voicing the concern that existing school curriculum does not work for every student. She now serves on a 26-member national task force charged with finding innovative ways to integrate career and technical education opportunities into the nation's high schools. She spoke with reporter Donna Winchester about career education.

A lot of school districts are working hard to meet the legislative mandate to create rigorous career technical education programs. What are some things school districts should keep in mind as they move forward in this area?

They have to keep in mind they need to see data on each child. I like the idea of the accountability, that a percentage of the students need to be involved in the industry and pass whatever the state test is. That will show that the program is strong, that we're preparing students for a good life. We're also helping our lifestyle by keeping each of those industries strong.

One of the other things districts need to do is give teachers enough in-service so they can earn their own national accreditation. Another thing I'd like to see is more English and math embedded in the career technical programs. There are very few programs where there is enough of that crossover. Hopefully, as time goes by, we will build more of that into the programs so kids can see the real reason for knowing the English, the math, the science. The whole point of teaching children math and science and language arts is that it is something they can use. It's not just, "You can use this some day." For a lot of kids, they need to see the relevance of it.

Do you foresee a danger in districts creating too many programs too quickly?

There could be a question of quantity over quality. But there is that piece that says a percentage of kids need to pass those national standards. If they can do that, it tells you the quality of the program is good. If you can't get kids successfully through the program to the point where they can meet those national standards, you need to shut that program down and start something else. There are programs that won't immediately produce results. You've got to do the teacher training and so forth. But you can't give it too much time. We'll use the data to help us know what we're doing right and how to fix it if it's wrong. If we can't fix it, we'll need to turn to something else.

What else appeals to you about this new foray into career technical education?

Back-door system?

The push to create a new "state college system" may be chugging with ease through the Legislature, but at least one state education official is ringing alarms.

"I don’t think we should do a back-door creation of a state college system," State Board of Education member Kathleen Shanahan (left) told The Gradebook today. "We should do it in a sunshine, transparent, strategic way. And I don't think that's being done."

The bills in question would convert the state's 28 community colleges into a State College System, and unofficially use St. Petersburg College as a model (read more in this St. Petersburg Times story here). Supporters say the new system would allow more community colleges to offer more bachelor's degrees – something only a handful of them do now – while they stay true to their core missions.

Shanahan, a Tampa businesswoman with close ties to Gov. Charlie Crist, said Florida might need state colleges. But the current plan is being rushed, she said, because it's politically tangled up in an even bigger proposal to fundamentally revamp the state’s education system – a proposal that includes giving the Legislature more power over universities (which many Republicans favor) and returning to an elected education commissioner (which many Democrats like). "It's based on politics," she said. "It's not based on any kind of study."

Accountability adjustments

Meeting in Tallahassee today, the Florida Board of Education tweaked the state's school grading formula and nixed a new FCAT graduation requirement.

Until today, a school dropped a full letter grade if at least half of its lowest performing students failed to make gains in reading and math. Now, a school will not face that penalty if it gets at least 40 percent of its lowest-performing students over the hump and that percentage is higher than the year before. Also, a school with less than 40 percent making gains will not be penalized if it improved by at least five percentage points from the prior year.

The board approved the change following a recommendation from the FCAT external advisory committee, which was created last spring after the disclosure of a botched FCAT in 2006. An earlier suggestion to suspend that part of the grading formula caused a minor ruckus, and even prompted former Gov. Jeb Bush to weigh in.

The board also gave Education Commissioner Eric J. Smith the go-ahead to scrap a new provision requiring high school students to pass the writing portion of the tenth grade FCAT to graduate. This year's tenth-graders would have been the first to face that hurdle.

Smith cited "technical issues" and pending budget cuts for his recommendation. As in the past, high school students must still pass the reading and math portions of the FCAT to graduate.

- Ron Matus, state education reporter

Florida considers national reform effort

Florida could be joining a national high school reform program that stresses rigor and accountability but comes with bipartisan credentials. State education officials are considering signing on to the American Diploma Project, an effort led by Achieve Inc., a group started in 1996 by governors and business leaders and now headed by Michael Cohen, a former senior education official in the Clinton administration.

Cohen is slated to address the Florida Board of Education at a Monday workshop in Tallahassee. Since it kicked off in 2005, 32 states have joined Achieve's diploma project, which aims to better prepare high school students for college and the work place (which of course is something Florida ed officials have been talking about a lot). The project is "definitely something we're interested in," Department of Education spokesman Tom Butler told The Gradebook.

- Ron Matus, state education reporter

A plug for appointed commish

If you want the Florida education commissioner to be more focused on politics than schools, then elect him, says state Board of Education member Phoebe Raulerson. "I just hate for us to go away from that, where the concentration is away from education, it’s on getting elected," Raulerson told The Gradebook.

Raulerson, a former Okeechobee County superintendent, was referring to a proposed constitutional amendment, now winding its way through the Legislature, that would return Florida to the not-long-ago days when education commissioners were elected and state Cabinets served as the BOE. Under the current set-up, governors appoint BOE members to staggered terms, and the board picks the commish.

Raulerson said that system is better: Current BOE members are devoted to one issue, she said, while elected Cabinet officials (currently the governor, the attorney general, the chief financial officer and the commissioner of agriculture) would not be.

In case you're thinking Raulerson has a dog in this fight, she notes her 4-year term (she was appointed by Jeb Bush) expires this year. "So this is not my future we're talking about," she said.

- Ron Matus, state education reporter

A new look

The Florida Department of Education has heard your complaints. They know you couldn't navigate their web site, that your searches turned up random responses, that you kept running into bad links and outdated information.

In response, the department has updated its Internet home, giving it a fresh look and, better yet, improved content. The site, launched Monday, uses Google to drive its searches. It has eliminated much of the education jargon. And it has gotten rid of the information that's no longer current.

"What we wanted to do was make it easier to navigate," director of communications and public affairs Jen Fennell said. "A lot of things weren't easy to find."

She said the department welcomes any comments - especially ones that help to further improve the site. In the meantime, folks in the communications office offer this hint: If you get really lost, click on "site index" on the upper righthand corner or at the bottom of the main page. It takes you to a list of departments and programs - sortable by alphabet, subject or office - that should help you find what you want.

In Tallahassee, it’s a small world after all

Some stories can only happen in the Twilight Zone, or in Tallahassee. Back in August, The Gradebook asked: "How can Jeb Bush, DOE, the FBI, intelligent design and religious discrimination all find its way into the same story?" Now add this to the list: A federal indictment of a former FAMU official.

As the St. Petersburg Times reported in this story Saturday, somehow the religious discrimination suit filed by Kay Stripling of Marianna and the criminal charges against Patricia Walker McGill (left), the former director of FAMU's Institute on Urban Policy and Commerce, all fit together. We’re not sure exactly how yet, but it seems likely that more details will spill out as both cases slog through their respective courts. In the meantime, anyone out there have any insights, conspiracy theories, or better yet, tips?

Maybe this isn't the biggest education story out there, but it just might be the most entertaining. For your reading pleasure, we’ve compiled all of our reporting to date in this one spot. (Aren't blogs great?!)

To see the original Times story on Stripling's case, click here, and for related blog posts, click here, here, here and here. To read about McGill’s indictment, click here.

- Ron Matus, Times education reporter

Two views on the State Board vote

State Board of Education member Donna Callaway, who first announced her opposition to a proposed science standard dealing with evolution in the Florida Baptist Witness, has returned to those pages today to explain why, in her view, "the biggest losers were the students in Florida's public schools." Here's an excerpt:

If there is a victory for those who oppose the evolution standard as written or amended, it is that they stood shoulder to shoulder, not in a fanatical, demanding way as many may have expected. Rather, they stood kindly with a sense of calm assurance, with open and transparent reasoning that confused their opponents who expected a religious battle. This was never that battle; it was a battle over student rights. Those rights were not recognized.

On the other hand, Dr. Paul Gross, lead author of the 2005 Fordham Institute report that panned Florida's science curriculum, issued a news release today blasting the board's decision to add the words "scientific theory" to describe evolution. Gross previously had praised the state's proposed standards as written. He said:

The Board of Education's attempt at a compromise on the teaching of evolution is a political sop to a large and concerned population of Florida voters who believe that on the core issues of science, some other way of knowing (religion, perhaps) is equal or superior to science itself. This may well be good politics. But it is not serious; and, so far as excellent science education is concerned, it is dishonest.

Go ahead and speak

After some extra consideration - and some pressuring by a large group of anti-evolution Floridians - the State Board of Education has decided to hear from the public on proposed new science standards at its Tuesday meeting in Tallahassee.

A maximum of 10 speakers favoring the evolution standard and 10 opposed will get to make comments of three minutes each. And it's first come, first served, with the sign-up period beginning at 8 a.m.

"We have received a lot of good public input on the proposed science standards and have heard from interested citizens who would like the opportunity to speak on these standards before the State Board of Education," Education Commissioner Eric J. Smith said in a news release. "To honor these requests, we are making time available at next week's State Board meeting for additional public testimony. I am privileged to serve a board that truly listens and responds to the concerns of our parents, students and teachers."

To sign up, go to the Cabinet  meeting room in the state Capitol, beginning at 8 a.m.

FLDOE's new, more expensive, leadership

In removing the "interim" from Will Holcombe's title as community college chancellor, the Florida Department of Education has completed its permanent leadership. If you think that, in these tight financial times, its salary package is less than that of the team it follows, you're wrong.

As a group, commissioner Eric J. Smith (left), K-12 chancellor Frances Haithcock and Holcombe will earn $625,000 annually. That's $12,065 more than the team of John Winn (right), Cheri Yecke and David Armstrong.

The biggest reason? Smith's deal.

Smith, who took over the department in December, makes $275,000 a year, compared to Winn's $254,925. The two other newcomers receive slightly less than their predecessors. Haithcock is getting $160,000 a year, while Yecke made $162,822. And Holcombe will receive $190,000, compared to Armstrong's $195,188.

Proud to be a Jebbie

After Cheri Yecke announced her resignation as Florida's K-12 chancellor, several critics cheered her departure as the end of an era - the Jeb Bush era - in education accountability. Yecke, who's no stranger to criticism, said she doesn't see the system or her admiration for Jeb going away any time soon.

I am proud to be associated with Jeb Bush. He really was the education governor who made some bold and dramatic changes. He is the reason I left Minnesota and came to Florida. The opportunity to work for Jeb Bush, how could you pass that up? You have to consider from outside the state of Florida what the perspective is. That is he is the person who had the courage and the boldness to make some dramatic changes. And you know what? When you're a leader like that, you're not going to make everyone happy. You're going to make some waves. Certainly I'm aware of that from Minnesota. So I very proudly am a person who worked under Jeb Bush and I wouldn't change that for the world.

For more of Yecke's views on Florida education and her role in it, visit the Gradebook at noon Saturday.

A bit about Haithcock, and Yecke, too

After learning that Frances Haithcock will take over as Florida's K-12 education chancellor - a key position in the operations of the state's public school system - we immediately sought to find out more than what the department press release had to say. You know, in case she had any Cheri Yecke-sized disputes in her past.

Lacking contact information, we turned to the clip files, and found one editorial from the Charlotte Observer that offered hope. It starts like this: "Admiring Frances Haithcock is easy to do."

It then talks about how, as interim superintendent of Charlotte-Mecklenburg schools, she was "gutsy" and able to make headway despite a "dysfunctional school board" and a "distrustful public."

"Her focus on (students) has been unwavering since she started in CMS as an associate superintendent six years ago, and the system has reaped the rewards," the paper wrote.

High school students must go higher

For the past year, a task force called Go Higher, Florida, has been trying to find ways to increase postsecondary enrollment, reduce the need for remedial education in the colleges, and improve the readiness of Florida high school graduates to enter the work force.

Judy Bilsky, executive vice chancellor of the community college system, reviewed the group's recommendations with the State Board of Education today. They include

• Develop a definition of "college and career readiness."
• Require relevant and rigorous courses for all high school students.
• Adopt high school/postsecondary assessments that are clear in focus and function.
• Participate in the American Diploma Project.
• Campaign to improve public awareness and understanding of current and future assessments.

It's that last one that piques some interest. Because Bilsky explained that too many people in Florida think that if a student graduates from a Florida high school having passed the FCAT and received a general diploma means that he or she is college ready. "They're not," she said, saying it takes more.

The State Board expects to take up the Go Higher, Florida, recommendations next year.

Children first

Eric J. Smith made his debut with the full State Board of Education this morning, and he made clear that his primary commitment will be to Florida's school children. Of his entire letter of employment, Smith spoke of just one line, the one that talked about his role in the care and education of the state's youth.

"I take that most seriously," Smith told the board. "Kids in Florida today as they enter classrooms are counting on us to make the right decisions."

He then made a state of the department report that raised several key concerns for the future. Smith noted that revenue estimates for the next two years are headed backward, and that the state of district-level investments is in doubt. He talked about how enrollment dropped by more than 10,000 across Florida, and that the about half of all districts are having trouble meeting the class-size amendment requirements.

Board members welcomed Smith, but didn't give him much of a honeymoon. Akshay Desai pressed Smith and his staff about the financial picture and investments, asking, "What kind of contingency planning do we have or want to have?" The state must make sure that districts can keep running, Desai said.

Smith and his team promised to keep on top of the matter. And with that, they were off and running.

Moms Against Darwin Dogma?

The state's proposed new science standards aren't on today's Board of Education agenda, as we far can tell. But a handful of influential Northeast Florida moms who are active in their PTOs and the Republican Party say that with the help of state Sen. Stephen Wise, R-Jacksonville, they’ve been given the green light to come to Tampa to tell the board they don’t like what they consider to be a dogmatic, all-or-nothing take on evolution.

"It's just evolution and that's it," Kim Kendall, a St. John’s County resident and self-described mom-who-won't-go-away, told The Gradebook. She said she and her group "want to make it clear we are not advocating creationism, or anything that's illegal by Supreme Court ruling. (But) there’s a lot of different scientific data out there showing different things … Science told us forever that the earth was flat."

Kendall said Wise, the chair of the Senate education appropriations committee, intervened to get her and the other moms some time before the BOE. She said she doesn’t represent any particular group, but a press release she sent out to dozens of media outlets (including Disney, Rush Limbaugh and Sean Hannity) refers concerned citizens to the Florida Coalition for Academic Freedom, which credits the Center for Science and Culture, which is part of the Discovery Institute, which is the nation’s leading think tank for intelligent design.

- Ron Matus, state education reporter

For an update, click here.

More priorities

The State Board of Education will consider its legislative agenda for 2008 when it meets next Tuesday in Tampa. The proposed list includes just four items. They probably won't surprise you.

First, the board would push for a more "seamless and efficient movement" of students between the K-12 system and the postsecondary system. It's "critical to the future of Florida," the document states.

Second, it wants to focus on tightening the laws relating to the ethics of teachers. Maybe all those stories about Debbie Lafave, plus that Herald-Tribune special report, has made an impact after all.

Third, the board would pursue House Speaker Marco Rubio's "world-class education standards."

And finally, it would amend exceptional student education laws, in part to make the terminology used "less stigmatizing."

To read more, click here. To see the full board agenda, click here.

Not all opposed

The opponents to Florida's proposed science education standards, particularly the one about evolution as a key "big idea," have gained much attention lately. That has many members of the State Board of Education hedging their bets in their public comments.

But not board member Roberto Martinez, a Miami lawyer.

In today's Times story about the standards, Martinez unambiguously stood firmly in favor of the proposal.

"I respect the people who have beliefs in creationism and intelligent design, but I do not believe it should be included as part of the science standards," he told the Times. Those ideas can be addressed in other parts of the curriculum, such as social studies, he said.

He had more to say that didn't make print.

"I'm a very strong supporter of including evolution. And I think it's long overdue," Martinez said. "It is clearly supported, not just as a theory, but as a fundamental principle of biology. All one has to do is look at all the findings and research in the field of molecular biology, DNA and genetics to understand that evolution should be a part of our science curriculum."

Just didn't think that should get lost in the shuffle.

BOE member: "I want God to be part of this"

The other shoe has dropped. State Board of Education member Donna Callaway says she’ll be voting against the proposed new state science standards because evolution “should not be taught to the exclusion of other theories of origin of life” and says she hopes “there will be times of prayer throughout Christian homes and churches directed toward this issue.”

"As a SBOE member, I want those prayers," Callaway said, according to a Nov. 30 column in the Florida Baptist Witness, a weekly newspaper based in Jacksonville that is an official organ of the Florida Baptist Convention. "I want God to be part of this. Isn’t that ironic?"

Blomberg to retire

Florida interim education commissioner Jeanine Blomberg has announced her retirement from the Department of Education after more than 30 years on the staff.

Blomberg took over the top job in March, replacing her more high-profile and controversial boss John Winn, considered by many the architect of Florida's A-Plus plan. She had been his chief of staff to that point.

During her brief tenure as commissioner, Blomberg did not shy from controversy. Most notably, she dealt with a scoring snafu on the 2006 third-grade FCAT reading test. She won much praise for adding transparency to the testing system, bringing together a panel of experts that now is reviewing much more than just the way the annual exam is written and scored.

"Her steadfast commitment to student achievement, clear devotion to public transparency and unwavering personal integrity make her legacy one that is sure to live on," State Board of Education chairman T. Willard Fair said in a prepared statement.

Eric J. Smith will take over as the state's education commissioner on Monday.

To read the press release on Blomberg's announcement, click here. Check back at noon Saturday for an interview with Jeanine Blomberg.

$275K for Eric J.

Florida's new education commissioner has a start date, and a starting salary, the Gradebook has learned. According to the Department of Education, Eric J. Smith's first day on the job will be next Monday, Dec. 3, and his annual salary will be $275,000. John Winn, Florida's last permanent ed commish, made $255,000 a year.

Since the commissioner serves at the pleasure of the Board of Education, there is no contract. Smith's benefits are the same as those for a senior management service position, which you can read about here. To read about the BOE's selection of Smith in October, click here.

- Ron Matus, state education reporter

Should she get $2.7 million?

A North Florida woman who says the state Department of Education discriminated against her because she’s a Christian would get $2.7 million in relief from the state under a bill filed by Sen. Bill Posey, R-Rockledge.

Posey filed the bill in August on behalf of Karen “Kay” Stripling, an evangelical Christian who alleged in a lawsuit filed in June that she and her company, Read & Lead, were targeted by DOE officials in 2003 and 2004 during a “witch hunt” of faith-based providers – a witch hunt that led to an FBI investigation and the threat of a federal indictment (see St. Petersburg Times story here and Gradebook post here.) According to the bill language, DOE offered to pay Stripling $163,000.

Posey’s bill was referred to the Senate rules committee in September. Stripling’s lawsuit was served Oct. 23. An FBI spokesman told The Gradebook in July that matters referenced in Stripling’s suit are now the subject of a wider investigation. He said Monday night that the investigation is ongoing.

- Ron Matus, state education reporter

Start date: Dec. 1

Once upon a time, the Florida Department of Education had high hopes that its new full-time, permanent commissioner would be in his Tallahassee office conducting business by October.

Like many stories that involve bureaucracy and negotiations, though, this one also has gotten dragged out. The State Board of Education picked Eric J. Smith (left) on Oct. 8, but to date, all he has in the state capitol is an e-mail address, eric.smith@fldoe.org. You get a link to it in his auto-reply when you send him an e-mail to his old job at the College Board.

Wondering when he'll finally show up, we contacted Dr. Smith and asked. Here's his brief e-mailed reply: "The transition is going well. I will officially start the 1st of December." Until then, Jeanine Blomberg remains in charge. Then we'll see how the rest of the story plays out.

Exclusive control

Forty school districts asked the State Board to let them have sole authority over charter schools in their counties. Just three prevailed.

Now, if charter school operators wish, they can ask the state-sponsored Florida Schools of Excellence Commission for permission to run the publicly-funded, privately run schools - unless they want to do business in Sarasota, Orange and Polk counties. Those were the three that rated high enough in a state evaluation of services to win the exclusive oversight that so many wanted. To see how each county rated, visit this searchable web site.

The board discussed altering the criteria, which might have meant giving more districts full control. But in the end, only board member Roberto Martinez supported exclusivity for more than the three.

Before you raise the issue, we understand the concerns by some that Florida's constitution allows only the county school districts to operate public schools. But so far, the Florida Schools of Excellence Commission hasn't done anything to be challenged legally. So until someone files that suit, we're going to keep reporting on it as an entity that's currently legal in statute.

On to next year

So Florida's budget looks bleak for the next couple of years. So lawmakers just trimmed per-student funding by $100 each. That doesn't make the need go away. So the State Board of Education is asking for $24.7-billion, or about $592-million more, for the 2008-09 school year that begins next July.

The board's request, approved today, would increase the operating budget by $1-billion, or 5 percent, to $21-billion. It would decrease the capital outlay budget by $426-million, or 10 percent, to $3.7-billion. The largest line item increase would be class-size reduction funding, which would rise $615-million, or 22 percent. The biggest single decrease would be in State University System "projects," which would drop $236-million, or 37 percent.

To see the full budget request, click here. To see the 95-page presentation that explains the request, click here.

A weekend interview with ...

... state Rep. John Legg. The New Port Richey Republican serves on the House Schools and Learning Council, and runs a charter school in Pasco County. He spoke with reporter Jeff Solochek about a growing controversy over whether the State Board of Education should grant school districts exclusive authority to issue charter school contracts. (It's item 4 on the board agenda.)

What is the issue at hand?

You've kind of got to go back a little bit on the issue. What are charter schools? Basically, charter schools are a unique way to provide education for students. But the way they are set up is through a contract. Since it's a contract, basically the school district acts as a contract manager. And I think sometimes the school districts forget that process that they are not in the job of running the school ... they are in the job of basically being the contract manager, which is definitely a new role for them.

What we've seen is, since there is some ambiguity in the state constitution - it depends on who you talk to, they'll give you a different perspective. But my perspective is that the state constitution says, one, that education is under the purview of the State Board of Education. Another provision of the state constitution says that local schools are under the purview of the local school board.

Because there are conflicting issues, we began to address that. One of the issues is this concept that charter schools in some counties could be perceived as competition to the traditional public schools, and they view that as a threat. Some of them do. Others embrace it as a way of providing unique learning experiences for students. What we've seen in certain districts, because of that potentially hostile environment, in order to make charter schools more efficient ... multiple authorizers are in order. States such as Colorado, cities such as Indianapolis, Washington D.C., have multiple authorizers. In those areas with multiple authorizers, the quality of the charter schools, according to the studies, tend to be higher quality....

And that's why you created the Florida Schools of Excellence Commission?

Fair: More budget cuts no big deal

During Monday's candidate interviews in Tampa, Board of Education Chairman T. Willard Fair told then-candidate and now-commissioner-to-be Eric J. Smith that the next commish will face a budget cut of 4 to 10 percent, and asked where Smith would start paring. But Smith's answer (he'd used the board's strategic plan as a guide) may not be as interesting as Fair's take on more cuts.

Asked by The Gradebook if another round of cuts would be frustrating or distracting, Fair said no, and no.

"If you say 50 percent, I'd be in a state of shock. If you say 25 percent, I'd be concerned. But 4 to 10 percent? Nah," Fair said. "If it's like any other governmental budget, there is some fat there."

- Ron Matus, state education reporter

What's next for Yecke?

Florida K-12 Chancellor Cheri Yecke said whether she stays on as the No. 2 at the Department of Education depends on the new No. 1, Eric J. Smith. The Board of Education voted 7-0 yesterday to make Smith the next education commissioner, choosing him over Yecke and Joseph Marinelli. Asked by The Gradebook after the vote if she'd be staying at DOE, Yecke nodded to Smith and said, "It's at his pleasure."

Former Gov. Jeb Bush hand-picked Yecke for the chancellor's job in 2005, after a short, tempestuous run as the education commissioner in Minnesota. Her tenure here has been largely free of controversy. But during yesterday's candidate interviews in Tampa, Board Chairman T. Willard Fair asked Yecke about the turmoil at her previous jobs, both in Minnesota and Virginia, where Yecke had also been commish. "There's quiet, there's a storm and then there's productivity," Fair said. What about you added fuel to the fire, he asked?

Yecke said she arrived in Virginia and Minnesota when those states were just beginning battles over accountability. "Florida is a different situation," she said. "You've already won the accountability wars." In response to another question, she said political trends in Minnesota – where she was appointed by a Republican governor - made her relations with a Democrat-led Legislature that much more tense. Minnesota is "a blue state trying to go purple," she said. And Democrats "wanted to extract a pound of flesh from the governor."

- Ron Matus, state education reporter

Dr. Smith comes to Tallahassee

The state Board of Education just moments ago chose a former superintendent from out of state to lead Florida schools in the post-Jeb Bush era. The vote was unanimous, and it came less than 10 minutes after ending a second round of interviews with three finalists.

Eric J. Smith, 57, will be the first permanent commissioner since Bush ally John Winn resigned in February after a rocky, 30-month stint. He's a former schools superintendent in Charlotte, N.C. and Anne Arundel County, Md., and currently a senior vice president with the College Board. He began his career as a teacher and principal in Florida. (For more on his background, click here.)

Smith said he looks forward to joining Florida's education debate, no matter how polarized it might get.

"Wherever you have groups of individuals who are passionate about education, that's a preferred place to be rather than apathy," he told the Gradebook. "At least then we can have honest, substantive discussions."

Who voted for who

Yes, this is inside baseball, but we know some of you die-hards need this stuff as bad as we need that first cup of coffee by 7:01 a.m., so here it is, a list of who the seven Board of Education members put on their individual shorts lists after interviewing the ed commissioner candidates Monday. (On Tuesday morning, the board chose Eric J. Smith, Cheri Yecke and Joseph Marinelli as the finalists. The other four candidates were Jim Warford, Earl Lennard, William Moloney and William Harner.)

• T. Willard Fair: Smith, Marinelli, Harner
• Kathleen Shanahan: Smith
• Donna Callaway: Smith, Yecke, Marinelli
• Linda Taylor: Smith, Yecke, Harner
• Phoebe Raulerson, Smith, Yecke, Lennard
• Akshay Desai: Smith, Yecke, Lennard
• Roberto Martinez: Smith, Marinelli

Aside from the fact that everyone included Smith, who quit his last superintendency amid a great deal of controversy, perhaps the most notable thing is that chairman Fair had Harner - one of two candidates with no Florida experience - as his top choice. Harner's career has been on a fairly downward spiral, with the former military man unable to find a job of much substance since being forced out of the 63,000-student Greenville, S.C., superintendent's chair.

Also, it's perhaps notable that Yecke, a holdover from the Jeb Bush era, did not appear on the lists of Bush appointees Fair, Shanahan or Martinez (the latter two served on Gov. Crist's transition team). Any message there?

While we're on the subject, give us more of your thoughts about the board's decision: Did anyone foresee that Smith would be the across-the-board favorite? Can anyone explain how Marinelli, who told the board he wasn't a fan of vouchers, still made the final cut? Why didn't Warford, who the Palm Beach Post reported as being the leading candidate a few months back, make a single board member's list?

- Ron Matus and Jeff Solochek

Kinder, gentler Board of Education?

Over and over during their marathon interview session in Tampa on Monday, board members asked the candidates for ed commish: How will you bring stakeholders together? How will you galvanize the education community? The questions made some observers wonder: Is the Jeb-stacked Board of Education headed in a – dare we say it? – more inclusive direction? And, if so, is it Gov. Charlie Crist with his hands on the wheel?

The question of stakeholder relations was one of five key areas of interest outlined by board members before they began their marathon interview session in Tampa. It was also an obvious acknowledgment that the previous gov's policies remain not only unpopular, but hampered by the persistent notion that they were hammered into place without input from teachers, principals and others on the front lines. Are those days over?

Said board member Akshay Desai (left), a Crist appointee: "We need, instead of confrontation, cooperation." And said board Chair T. Willard Fair, a longtime Bush loyalist: "The new commissioner must be aware that, real or imaginary, stakeholders did not have access."

As to the Crist factor, it doesn't seem to be mere coincidence that the three board members closest to Crist – Desai, Roberto Martinez and Kathleen Shanahan – were the ones pushing to name a new commish immediately, or that their favorite appeared to be Eric J. Smith, the candidate who talked about teachers the most. What do you think? Is the board changing? Is Crist re-shaping its tone? Will the board walk the walk, too?

- Ron Matus, state education reporter

Charter school rule

It seemed like a simple enough endeavor. Forty Florida school districts wanted exclusive rule over charter school operations in their counties. State law allowed it. And the State Board of Education stood ready to act on the requests.

Then came the public.

Who knew they cared so passionately about the issue?

Charter school proponents and operators urged the board to hold off, saying school districts don't treat them fairly now. District officials, including Hillsborough superintendent MaryEllen Elia, pressed the counties' position, saying they want to maintain that so-called even playing field when it comes to the privately run yet publicly funded schools.

State Reps. Trey Traviesa of Tampa and John Legg of New Port Richey, who wrote the law, meanwhile suggested that the board wait a year before granting exclusivity to districts. The Florida Schools of Excellence Commission, which has yet to get up and running, should have a chance to issue charters at the state level and see if that system works first, they posited.

The discussion took hours.

Faced with such commentary and criticism, the board decided not to decide. It tabled the discussion until October when, perhaps, it will take action without having to listen to everyone again. To see a backgrounder on the issue, as prepared by the department, click here.

Commish list shrinks

And then there were three. The Florida Board of Education this morning narrowed its list of education commissioner candidates, choosing Eric J. Smith, Cheri Yecke and Joseph Marinelli (shown in order) out of a field of seven candidates.

The decision followed a marathon, 7-hour interview session yesterday in a conference room at the Marriott airport hotel in Tampa. A final decision is slated for next month.

The education commissioner will oversee 2,700 employees, help shape a $24 billion budget and drive policy for 2.7-million pre-K-12 students and 170,000 classroom teachers. He or she will likely get paid at least $255,000 a year, which is what the BOE paid the last permanent commissioner, John Winn. And he or she will face a prickly public relations battle, given stagnant graduation rates and a barrage of criticism from teachers about the test-based accountability system installed by former Gov. Jeb Bush.

Smith is a former superintendent of school districts in Charlotte, N.C. and Anne Arundel County, Md., and now a senior vice president with the College Board. Yecke is a former state commissioner of education in Virginia and Minnesota and now Florida's K-12 chancellor. Marinelli is a regional state superintendent in upstate New York.

The naming of three finalists came after three board members pushed to make a choice today. A tally by the search firm this morning showed all seven board members had Smith on their short list. Four listed Yecke and three included Marinelli. William Harner and Earl Lennard had support from two, as well. But a board majority decided instead to whittle the list, with another round of interviews scheduled for Oct. 8 in Tampa.

"This is a humongous job," said board Chairman T. Willard Fair, a close ally of Jeb Bush who was re-appointed to the board by Gov. Charlie Crist. "You can’t do this job … if you don’t have the ability to do 10,000 things at one time" and still establish prorities.

Who you know

It's commonly said that when it comes to getting a job, who you know matters as much as what you know. If that's the case, the State Board of Education has to weigh some powerful friends as it considers who to select as the next Florida education commissioner.

The candidates' references started popping up on the web overnight (to see them, along with any additional material the candidates have provided, click here and follow the simple instructions to the "Candidates and Interviews" section). And they are telling.

Do it right

To launch their marathon interview session this afternoon, State Board of Education members stressed that they want maximum flexibility in deciding how to make the short list for education commissioner shorter. Maybe they'll move four names forward, they said, and maybe they'll like one candidate so much they'll offer the job right away.

And maybe, they'll try again.

"This is really the first time we've heard, seen and touched the applicants. I read some stuff and it sounded good," but it might not be the same in person, chairman T. Willard Fair (left) said. "If we have to take some additional time to do it right, let's take it. We ought not to rush. ... This is the most important decision we have to make."

The board is scheduled to meet 45 minutes to an hour with each of the seven hopefuls, with the final interview slated to end around 9:30 p.m. They're going in alphabetical order, and the meetings are open to the public, if you want to stick your head in. They're in the Hillsborough Ballroom West of the Tampa Airport Marriott, where the board also will have its regular monthly meeting at 8 a.m. tomorrow.

To see profiles of each of the candidates, click here.

- Ron Matus and Jeff Solochek

Commissioner candidate a finalist - in Colorado

William Harner, one of seven hopefuls for Florida's education commissioner post, must really want a new job. Just days before he's scheduled to visit with the State Board of Education about the state's top job, Harner has been named a finalist today for the superintendent's position in Steamboat Springs, Colo., the Steamboat Pilot and Today reports. Earlier this year, he was selected to lead the Toledo, Ohio, school district but walked away from negotiations. (See the Toledo Blade story here.) Guess we'll have to wait and see if he makes it to Tampa for his interview Monday. Harner currently is a deputy to the chief executive of Philadelphia (Penn.) public schools.

Marathon session

Seven candidates. One hour each. Who will emerge to see another day?

Each of the remaining hopefuls for Florida's education commissioner post will get 60 minutes to make their case to the State Board of Education on Sept. 17. The board has announced it has blocked off eight hours - one for prep time, and seven for interviews - at the Tampa Airport Marriott, in hopes that the best and brightest will shine beyond what they've already provided on paper. The sessions, which are open to the public, begin at 1 p.m.

The board intends to whittle the list to a more manageable few the following day, and to make its final selection at its Oct. 16 meeting.

All next week, the Gradebook will provide profiles on the seven aspirants, including links to things they've written and things written about them. Look for the first installment on Monday. For past coverage, click here.

Jim Warford and his resumes

On Saturday, the St. Petersburg Times reported in this story that ed commish short-lister Jim Warford made some recent changes to his resume. Are the changes a big deal? We'll let you decide. We'll also let you take a look for yourself. For what it's worth, here are the resumes that figure into the story. Click here for the one that was posted on the Department of Education website. Click here for the new one. And click here for chatter about the story on our sister blog, The Buzz. The State Board plans to interview Warford, along with six other job hopefuls, on Sept. 17.

- Ron Matus, state education reporter

Was Pickens snubbed, too?

State Rep. Joe Pickens (left) said last month he wasn't interested in the ed commish job because he wanted to finish his House term and didn't want to uproot his kids (see Gradebook post here). But state Sen. Don Gaetz, who was among those encouraging Pickens to apply, says that the powers-that-be behind the search "put out the un-welcome mat" for Pickens and "sent him a message that he would not be considered very seriously."

"It is my understanding that those in charge of the search made clear that they really didn't want an independent, dynamic leader" like Pickens, Gaetz, R-Niceville, tells the Gradebook. Gaetz said Pickens, a Palatka Republican who chairs the House Schools and Learning Council, is too much of a "gentleman" to say the search process is flawed.

But Gaetz is willing to go there. The cold shoulder he thinks Pickens got, and then the sorry-but-you're-too-late response given to former Leon County Superintendent Bill Montford (see Gradebook posts here and here), has "not inspired confidence on my part," the chairman said.

Pickens tells the Gradebook that he appreciates Gaetz's comments and support. And indeed, he adds, Gaetz offers an accurate depiction of his experience with the commissioner's search (though he didn't want to get into too many details).

"During the period of time that I was involved, it was certainly less than satisfactory, from my point of view," Pickens said. "There were a number of factors that resulted in my deciding not to apply, and that was one of them."

The State Board of Education is scheduled to interview seven finalists on Sept. 17-18 in Tampa.

- Ron Matus and Jeff Solochek

School grade appeals decided

Twenty-seven Florida schools got some good news today, when the state Department of Education announced it had approved their appeals on either their state grade or adequate yearly progress rating for the 2006-07 school year.

Locally, Dover Elementary in Hillsborough got boosted from a C to a B. Sheehy, Alexander and Egypt Lake elementary schools in