Huge Committee Day Yesterday in Tallahassee for Membership Association Bills

The Florida Coalition of School Board Members had an excellent day in Tallahassee yesterday.  Members of the coalition made their presence felt in the House Education Subcommittee and in the Senate K-12 Education committee.  As a result of some diligent effort by various members of both chambers of the legislature, as well as some discussions individual school board members from our coalition have had with legislators face to face, the membership association bills  (HB 1155 and SB 1426 ) that we all strongly support made their way favorably through both committee stops.  In the House, 1155 moved favorably through the committee by a 10-2 margin.

In the Senate, the vote was a bit more precarious, with 1426  moving favorably through the committee by a 5-4 vote.  Former Senate President Don Gaetz made a rousing endorsement for the bill, the reasoning behind the need for such a bill, and why he was proud to be the bill's co-sponsor ( minute 85:30 of this video )---- explaining this all to his colleagues just prior to the vote.

Erika Donalds, the current president of the Coalition, gave her testimony before the committee at minute 72:40 of the meeting

Andrea Messina, the Executive Director of the FSBA gave testimony in opposition to the bill at minute 78:00 of this video

I spoke in favor of the bill in this video at minute 81:50

The next stop for HB 1155 in the House is in the full House Education Committee.

The next stop for SB 1426 in the Senate is in the full Senate Appropriations Committee. 

FCSBM Releases Legislative Priorities for 2016

The Florida Coalition of School Board Members  (FCSBM) Legislative Task Force (LTF) has approved the following positions and priorities for the 2016 Legislative session. After a three day comment period by the voting members, it was unanimously ratified by the executive board October 27, 2015.

The 2016 platform can be characterized under three main themes: 

1. Flexible Accountability; 2. Equality; and 3. Freedom of Choice 

Select 2016 Legislative Positions & Proposals

• Assessment and Accountability -
  • Allow flexibility for Districts to use concordance scores on nationally normed assessments, including those offered with paper and pencil, to meet the statutory requirements of FSA.
  • Progressively raise Florida’s proficiency “cut scores” to align with, and surpass, the NAEP standard over a 4-year period. This allows years 1 & 2 to provide a “soft landing” as we transition to even higher levels of expectation.
  • Continue use of standardized test scores, including growth rates, as part of a revamped multi-factor accountability system, to include a “balanced scorecard” approach with transparent metrics outlining each aspect of the school and district grading system.

• Public Charter Capital Outlay Incentive - Districts that voluntarily and equitably, on a per-student basis, share capital outlay resources with public charter schools may levy up to 1.75 millage (vs 1.5 millage currently allowed). 

• Relating to Membership Organizations that Receive Public Funds - FCSBM believes that individual School Board Members should determine the organization, if any, to which their membership dollars flow. Repeat of HB 549 (2015) - Sponsors pending.

We believe these ideas will provide the unity and focus needed to drive legislation forward this year, furthering FCSBM's mission statement "Relentlessly Dedicated to Student Success" ^SM. 

The FCSBM Board is also pleased to announce commitments from key education lawmakers to join FCSBM Members for webinars and tele-townhall events during session.  FCSBM will provide the 'face time' you need to ensure School Board members have an effective voice in Tallahassee.

If you are a sitting school board member interested in volunteering for the Legislative Task Force in the coming year, please email Shawn Frost at info@shawnfrost.com

We look forward to your participation in these exciting times! 

Jeff Bergosh, School Board Member Escambia County, President of FCSBM
http://FCSBM.org

The Florida Coalition for School Board Members

Because of a roll-out media conference call that was conducted with impeccable skill by the professionals at Sachs Media Group in Tallahassee Monday, our new coalition has garnered more than 27 individual news articles and television pieces around Florida over the last several days.  Watchdog.org picked up a piece I wrote about our newly founded group:

As it became clear throughout the state that the Florida School Boards Association would not listen to their members and drop their support of the lawsuit, several school board members in Florida decided it was time for a new organization. In January 2015, a group of board members decided to create the Florida Coalition of School Board Members, to become a conservative voice of advocacy for statewide educational policies and positions.  This group includes School Board members from throughout Florida. The goals of this organization are fairly straightforward; Erika Donalds, a founding member of FCSBM who serves in Collier County (Naples), Florida, voiced some of these concerns on a media conference call on Monday from Tallahassee, Florida.“The FSBA has lost touch with the citizens whose tax dollars fund their existence—but our new coalition will represent the interests of ALL Florida