By Kim Wilmath, Times Staff Writer
Thursday, September 30, 2010
RIVERVIEW — Three days after unveiling his statewide education plan, Republican gubernatorial candidate Rick Scott presented his ideas to about 50 people in Riverview's quaint Winthrop Barn Theatre.
Scott's plan centers around expanding school choice for parents, rewarding effective teachers and promoting virtual and online education programs.
He said he intends to cut $1.4 billion in property taxes for schools and up to $700 million more in corporate income taxes.
State Rep. Rachel Burgin, R-Brandon, introduced Scott to the crowd of local parents and supporters, who questioned Scott about measuring teacher quality and opportunities for homeschooled kids.
A teacher asked how Scott would ensure that teachers, even those with struggling students, would be evaluated fairly.
He said effectiveness would be based on whether students improve over the course of the year. He noted that one of his daughters teaches special needs children, and he said she should be evaluated differently than a traditional teacher.
"In a business, the only thing that's important there is how well you present the product, knowing that every person, every employee, is different," he said.
Good teachers shouldn't worry, he said. "It's just like in a business. Great employees always do fine."
A parent asked what Scott would do with the FCAT.
"The FCAT has clearly worked," Scott said. "Clearly our education system has gotten better."
But Scott said he wanted to examine ways to improve the statewide test.
"That's what you do in business — constantly change your benchmarks," he said.
Several people asked about homeschooling. They wondered how Scott would ensure that those children have access to the same programs as traditional students. Without going into specifics, Scott agreed that social and sports programs are important for all children.
To pay for new or expanded programs while cutting taxes, Scott said he would look to trim ineffective programs.
He also said he wanted to make sure all students, including homeschooled kids, have access to virtual classes online.
Scott said he thinks of the school system as a business and students as the customers. And as customers, they should be able to spend their money on the education they want, he said.
That means letting parents choose among a variety of schools, whether in their districts or not. "They'll force us all to get better," he said.
Scott said he wanted to study Florida's Voluntary Prekindergarten program and the Florida Bright Futures Scholarship Program for ideas about how to expand Florida's voucher system.
Scott's Democratic opponent, Alex Sink, released her plan a month ago. She has said she does not want to expand the voucher program at this time, and while she also supports merit pay for teachers, she wants to base it on more than test scores, taking into account the views of principals and even parents.
Sink notes that she understands Florida's educational needs because both her children graduated from public schools here. She also served on the PTA.
Scott's two daughters attended mostly private schools, said Scott's wife, Ann. The couple's youngest daughter, Jordan, spent her last two years of high school at a public school in Connecticut.