F.A.C.E. to FACE
F.A.C.E. BULLETIN
6/14/07
June 14, 2007
Dear Friends,
Thousands of New Scholarships Available for Low-Income K-12 Students
(More scholarships available! See bottom of Newsletter!)
Crist gets strong marks in statewide survey, Sun-Sentinel, Tallahassee Bureau Chief, St. Petersburg Times
The Endorsement Elite: Florida Democrats, Interesting article in the Washington Post about most influential Democrats
FCAT tests us: so what? St. Petersburg Times
Parents, not schools, failed these children, St. Petersburg Times
Idea to help black males: Talk to them, Orlando Sentinel
Black school choice advocates say goal is to save poor black kids, The State (Columbia, South Carolina)
Boundary jumpers targeted, School district supports new policy, South Florida Sun-Sentinel. Evidence that school choice solely within the public system doesn’t always work.
Thank you for Stepping Up For Students,
Michael A. Benjamin
Executive Director, F.A.C.E.
Florida Alliance for Choices in Education
Crist gets strong marks in statewide survey
By Linda Kleindienst
Sun-Sentinel, Tallahassee Bureau Chief
June 7, 2007
TALLAHASSEE · The honeymoon continues for Gov. Charlie Crist, still wildly popular with Florida voters who see him as far more principled than most politicians, according to a new statewide poll.In a survey released Wednesday by Quinnipiac University, 70 percent of voters statewide -- and 71 percent in Southeast Florida -- gave Crist kudos for how he's handling his job.
They have less faith in other politicians and aren't particularly happy with the state Legislature, but believe that lawmakers will reach some agreement to substantially lower property taxes when they meet in special session next week.
While 69 percent of those polled said most politicians make decisions based on what's popular, 60 percent said Crist -- who has led the charge for property insurance and tax relief since taking office in January -- governs more on principle.
Even in Southeast Florida, the state's largest concentration of Democratic voters, 61 percent of respondents said Crist, a Republican, makes decisions based on what he believes is right.
"Florida voters like this marriage after five months and at this point things are blissful," said Peter Brown, assistant director of the Quinnipiac University Polling Institute.
"What's even more impressive is that Floridians think he is three times more a man of principle than the typical politician. It's hard for Crist to have better news than that."
The survey of 1,174 Florida voters was conducted May 29 through Monday and has a 2.9 percent margin of error. Quinnipiac University is located in Hamden, Conn.
Crist's popularity, the highest of any sitting governor of a major state and better than any score ever achieved by former Gov. Jeb Bush, is apparently in marked contrast to how Floridians feel about the Legislature.
When asked if they approve or disapprove of how the Legislature is handling its job, only 41 percent of the respondents said they approve. In southeast Florida, state lawmakers fared far worse -- winning approval from only 33 percent.
Nonetheless, more than half, or 53 percent, of those surveyed still think it likely lawmakers will agree on a plan to "significantly" cut local property taxes.
Even in South Florida, 54 percent of those polled have hopes that tax cuts are on the way.
Brown said the low approval ratings could be a result of the Legislature's failure to reach a property tax cut compromise during the regular legislative session. Lawmakers, still grappling with how to reduce local taxes, are set to start a 10-day special session next Tuesday.
"The message is pretty clear," Brown said. "The voters want property tax reduction and they want it to a significant degree."
But the definition of "significant" varies widely among voters.
For 60 percent of those polled, it means between a 10 and 40 percent cutback in local taxes. Another 16 percent say they consider more than 40 percent in tax cuts to be significant. The remaining 10 percent are willing to settle for a less than 10 percent cut.
House Speaker Marco Rubio, R-West Miami, has called for a 50 percent reduction while Senate leaders (Republican and Democratic alike) have suggested 10-15 percent.
Voters told the pollsters that they'll accept fewer government services in exchange for lower taxes, but not to mess with law enforcement, programs for seniors, libraries, school crossing guards, public health clinics or parks.
"It's human nature," Brown said. "They want to have their cake and eat it too."© 2007 • All Rights Reserved • St. Petersburg Times
The Endorsement Elite: Florida Democrats
The many changes in the presidential primary and caucus calendar have fundamentally reshaped how each party will pick its nominee -- changes that the candidates (and the media) are still trying to figure out.Today is the first in an occasional series of looks at the five most important endorsements in the states set to hold primaries and caucuses shortly after the traditional lead-off troika of Iowa, New Hampshire and South Carolina. We call it the "Endorsement Elite."
Why "elite"? Because not all endorsements are created equal. Every one of the states set to vote between Jan. 29 and Feb. 5 has hundreds upon hundreds of elected officials, labor bosses, cash collectors and other political Svengalis being courted by each of the campaigns on a daily basis. But for this feature, we are aiming to identify the cream of the crop -- the people or institutions who bring a candidate something of real value, whether its votes, money or message.
Since Florida recently moved its primary up to Jan. 29, we figured the Sunshine State would be a good place to start. Below you'll find the five most sought after endorsements among Florida Democrats. They are listed alphabetically not by level of influence; look for our take on the five most influential GOP endorsers next week on The Fix.
Our list is meant as a state-by-state guide to the new world of the presidential nomination fight. But like all good guidebooks, we welcome solicitations derived from personal or professional experience to make our list better. Use the comments section to offer your own top five or even -- perish the thought! -- critique ours.
A final note: This is not an exercise in futility; individuals who have indicated publicly or privately they aren't planning to endorse a candidate won't make our list.
THE ENDORSEMENT ELITE: FLORIDA DEMOCRATS
Bob Graham: While Graham's 2004 presidential bid was never treated as anything more than a novelty at the national level, the former senator remains a powerful force in Florida politics. He is an iconic figure in the state's Democratic Party, having spent time in the state House (1966-1970), state Senate (1970-1978) and as governor (1978-1986). Graham currently leads the eponymous Bob Graham Center for Public Policy, which is based jointly at the University of Florida and the University of Miami.
Kendrick Meek: Meek, who won his mother's Miami-area 17th District when she retired in 1992, is a comer both in Florida and in Washington. He earns a spot on our list thanks to his real-world experience in statewide campaigns. In 2002, Meek was the driving force behind a successful ballot initiative that sought to limit the number of students per classroom across Florida; it was strongly opposed by Gov. Jeb Bush (R). Then in 2004, Meek served as Sen. John Kerry's (D-Mass.) Florida campaign chairman. In other words, he knows the state top to bottom.
Alex Sink: Sink is the lone statewide elected Democrat in the state after Sen. Bill Nelson, and as such is the titular head of the party. But she is far more than a symbolic leader. Sink is one-half of a powerful political couple in the state (her husband Bill McBride was the Democratic gubernatorial nominee in 2002) and won 300,000 more votes in her successful 2006 run for chief financial officer than the party's gubernatorial nominee Jim Davis got in his losing effort.
Debbie Wasserman Schultz: Wasserman Schultz won the 20th District in 2004 and has been moving up the Democratic food chain ever since. Her district takes in huge population centers in Broward County, which as of 2005 had 1.76 million people living within its borders. Wasserman Schultz herself wouldn't claim to be able to deliver all of these votes to a particular candidate, but her endorsement would certainly give a presidential candidate entree into some critical communities. And Wasserman Schultz has a reputation as a workhorse -- meaning that winning her support goes beyond just appearing on a stage with the candidate once in a while. COMMITTED TO CLINTON
Robert Wexler: Asked about Wexler's influence in Florida Democratic politics, one plugged-in Democrat said the six-term congressman had an organization in "the condos" that couldn't be matched. Those condos house thousands upon thousands of retirees (Wexler's 19th District has one of the highest percentages of Social Security recipients in the nation) who make up a huge and influential voting bloc in the state. So influential are the condos in the political math of Wexler's district and Florida more broadly that President Bill Clinton once referred to Wexler as "Trinchi's congressman" -- in reference to the unquestioned king of the condos Amadeo"Trinchi" Trinchitella. COMMITTED TO OBAMA
FCAT tests us; so what?
It's easy to hate the FCAT, but its results lay bare some inconvenient truths in our classrooms.
By RON MATUS
Published June 3, 2007A lot of people blame the FCAT. I blame Mr. Miles.
In the summer after 10th grade, Mr. Miles, my driver's ed teacher, gave me the worst grade I ever got in high school.
Every day in class, we'd watch minifilms on safe driving and get quizzed along the way. Real tough questions like: "When approaching a yellow light at an intersection, you should: A slow down, (B) mash the gas, (C) pretend like you didn't see it, or (D) all of the above."
Our desks had little buttons built into them - marked A, B, C and D - and you'd answer by pressing them. The button-gizmo recorded your answers and tallied your score.
Except my button-gizmo (I say "my" gizmo because we had assigned seats) was broken. Every day, we'd go over the answers and I might have one or two wrong, which should have meant a 90 or a 95. But my gizmo kept giving me 60s and 70s.
I complained to Mr. Miles, but he told me through lips half paralyzed by a stroke that the test apparatus wasn't the problem. So day after day, I watched, helplessly, while my test scores got botched.
The test wasn't the problem. The machinery that graded it was at fault. As was the teacher's unwillingness to consider, let alone find, a fix.
I bring up my whiny little story reluctantly, and only to ease into an unpopular point: As flawed as it is, standardized testing has its place. The dreaded FCAT and other standardized tests aren't perfect. But neither are teachers. And as much as I hate to say it, there's a lot of nagging evidence to suggest that in some ways, standardized tests are better measures of student learning.
I know, I know. I hear the boos. What kind of idiot would make a point like that now? After all, the state Department of Education had just admitted it bungled 200, 000 third-grade reading scores on the Florida Comprehensive Assessment Test.
The DOE flub is catastrophic. Parents are upset. Teachers are angry. Even Republican lawmakers - perhaps the last group of FCAT die-hards left on the peninsula - want answers. I'm fairly certain we'll find out whether an honest mistake or gross negligence is at the root of the problem. And who knows? Maybe the rising conspiracy theory - that former Gov. Jeb Bush rigged the results - isn't so wackadoo after all.
But even then, we should keep the mess in context.
Without standardized tests, teachers would be the sole judges of whether students are up to snuff, and there would be no system to measure one teacher's grades against another's.
Earlier this year, the National Assessment Governing Board, a well-respected bipartisan group, put out two reports on the same day. One showed the reading abilities of high school seniors had steadily and significantly declined in the last 15 years, at least according to a standardized test called the National Assessment of Educational Progress, which many education experts, liberal and conservative, consider a good measure of real learning. The second showed high school seniors were taking more rigorous courses than ever before - at least on paper - and that over the same period of time, their average GPAs had risen a third of a letter grade, to an eyelash shy of a B.
How could that be?
Here's one possibility: Too many teachers give students grades they don't deserve.
Anecdotal evidence isn't hard to find.
A complicated 'B'
In his recent series about being a professor at Stillman College in Alabama, St. Petersburg Times columnist and editorial board member Bill Maxwell noted example after example of ill-prepared students - students who for all intents and purposes couldn't write, who didn't hesitate to insult him in class and who refused to buy textbooks even though they had vouchers to cover the cost. You have to ask: How did students like this get a high school diploma?
Not long ago, a Pinellas County teacher I like and respect was telling me about a student in his remedial reading class, a well-mannered 17-year-old who had failed ninth grade twice but came back for a third try. The kid was reading at an elementary-school level and not making progress. And yet, he was on the honor roll.
The teacher gave the kid a B for trying. He said he didn't want to discourage him.
"It's complicated, " he said.
I sometimes wonder why we so reflexively attach the term "high-stakes" to the FCAT, but not to other tests. Is the SAT not high stakes? Surely it is - SAT scores all but dictate which colleges will open their doors to which students - but critics don't regularly issue fatwas denouncing it.
Are the tests that classroom teachers use not high stakes? Surely they are: Grades, credits, diplomas and dreams rise and fall on them. Yet I've never seen a single story on how much time and effort the average teacher puts into making those tests, or what controls are in place to make sure they're accurate, consistent and reliable.
Obviously, the system of checks and balances for making and scoring the FCAT (a system that includes a bunch of classroom teachers) isn't good enough. It has to be better. Maybe even way better. But at least there's a backstop of some kind.
A test of basic skills
What checks and balances ensure teachers' grades are accurate?
In my case, the botched quizzes both mattered and didn't. On the one hand, they dragged down my overall grade in driver's ed to a B, which is kind of funny. (Who gets a B in driver's ed?! Spicoli from Fast Times at Ridgemont High?!) But truth be told (and not even my wife knew until this week) that B was the only grade short of an A I got in high school. I graduated 0.03 points away from being valedictorian. And since the val was not only smart as all get out but our prom queen, I kept the bellyaching to myself.
Did it matter? I still went to the college of my choice. I still got scholarships, which I desperately needed.
For many kids - especially poor and minority kids - the consequences of inaccurate grades are much more dire. Doesn't it mean, ultimately, that they won't get the help they need and deserve?
At many high schools in Florida, it's not uncommon for two-thirds of all ninth- and 10th-graders to flunk the FCAT in reading. Remember: This is a basic skills test. And yet, only a small percentage of those students are flunked by their teachers. In other words, they can't read on a high school level, yet they continue to pass their classes on a steady track to a high school diploma.
But it must be the FCAT that's wrong, right?
Sure, you can debate how the FCAT is used as a grading tool for schools and for students. But that's a different debate than hating the FCAT purely as a test of basic skills. Without the FCAT, what measure do you really have?
I've sat in on classes with high school kids who didn't pass the FCAT. I wasn't surprised. I've read their essays. And as a reporter, I paid especially close attention when they read out loud, often stumbling and slow. (After all, the future of the newspaper industry depends on kids learning to read.)
I wish everybody who hates the FCAT could do the same.
That way, they could hear for themselves whether or not the FCAT is far off the mark.
Ron Matus can be reached at (727) 893-8873 or matus@sptimes.com.
Parents, not schools, failed these children
By BILL MAXWELL
Published June 3, 2007Who's responsible for educating a child?
On its face, this is a simple question. But when we factor in the race of the child, the question becomes one mired in, among other forces, blame, anger, recrimination, self-aggrandizement, history, myth, politics and, of course, litigation.
All of these forces are converging in Pinellas County as the School Board and its attorneys prepare to do battle with Guy Burns, the attorney representing a plaintiff class composed of 20, 000 black children currently attending and who will attend Pinellas schools.
The plaintiffs claim the schools failed to adequately educate black students in violation of Florida law and the state Constitution. Indeed, black students in Pinellas schools consistently score below all other groups on all standardized measures, dubbed the achievement gap, and they have the highest suspension and expulsion rates.
Popularly known as the "Crowley case, " this class-action lawsuit is named for black parent William Crowley. It was filed in August 2000 by Crowley on behalf of his son, Akwete Osoka, then a 7-year-old student at Sawgrass Elementary School in St. Petersburg.
According to the lawsuit, the boy faced academic problems "typical of those difficulties commonly faced by students of African descent." The lawsuit was filed during the time the People's Democratic Uhuru Movement faced obstacles in trying to establish its all-black Marcus Garvey Academy charter school. Crowley had enrolled his son in the Uhuru afterschool tutoring program, and he claimed the boy had begun reading above grade level as a result.
I have no doubt that this is a bogus lawsuit, and the judges who have permitted the case to go forward are patronizing and wrongheaded. They are blaming the wrong side for black children's failure to get a "high-quality" education.
Burns, now supported by a broad group of blacks that includes veteran educators, is blaming the schools for black students' abysmal academic performance. However, a 2005 study by University of Florida professor David N. Figlio and Princeton University professor Cecilia Elena Rouse argues that the moment black children in Pinellas come to kindergarten, they are not as prepared for learning as their peers. The study was commissioned by the Pinellas School District.
The researchers based their findings on precise data the district had collected as it tracked the 8, 400 students who entered kindergarten in 1989 through high school graduation.
Michael W. Kirk, a Washington, D.C.-based attorney for Pinellas schools, summarizes the study's major finding: "Whatever is causing the gap, it, by definition, is something that happened to these children before they set foot in a Pinellas County school."
Everything I know as a teacher and as a parent forces me to agree. Every classroom teacher I know agrees, and every mature, responsible parent I know agrees.
Too many blacks have relinquished their parental duties, a shameful neglect that forces public school teachers and administrators to become surrogate parents to children who have full-blown lives beyond the schoolhouse door.
A few days ago, a white middle school teacher told me that when she tried to speak with black parents about their children's unruly behavior, she faced hostility.
"I can't get through to the kids, and I can't get through to the parents, " she said. "What am I supposed to do?"
I did not have an answer. But I know this much: For sure, the courthouse is not the answer.
I have seen many children born and reared in poor, single-parent households who perform well academically and who do not get suspended or expelled from school. More often than not, these children have caring adults who participate in their intellectual and social lives.
Such adults know the home is life's anchor. They do not wait for strangers to do their job.
Last week, I went to the St. Petersburg Times' archives and read everything that has been written about the Crowley case since it started in 2000. The best thing I read was is the eloquent letter from Margy Kincaid, a high school teacher in Palm Harbor, published this March 28. She discusses the achievement gap in Pinellas schools:
"The achievement gap is bridged in early childhood by the parents, by how cherished the children were, how their questions were answered or how often they were read to at night. It is bridged by how committed the parents are to their education and the value it holds. The children's behavior control starts in early childhood with the way their discipline has been handled by the parents.
"Public school teachers, and administrators and guidance counselors, for the most part, jump through hoops to help these children catch up and learn anger-management and see to it that they get food, clothing or even basic hygiene products. But without the backing of parents the job is next to impossible.
"Graduation rates will not improve, school violence and vandalism will not decrease, the gap will not be bridged until we get the parents to buy into the 24/7 responsibility that began when they created the special and unique individual who is their child."
Guy Burns, the Crowley case attorney, needs to listen to Margy Kincaid and her colleagues instead of listening to parents who fail their own children long before the children enter kindergarten.
Idea to help black males: Talk to them
Jeff Kunerth
Orlando Sentinel Staff WriterMay 31, 2007
Members of the Council on the Social Status of Black Men and Boys listened Wednesday to academics, social-service providers and preachers talk about what needs to be done to save black males.
But the best advice they got was from a 64-year-old black man trying to mentor kids a quarter of his age.
"We have to go out in the streets where the problem is. And that's what I'm trying to do," said Albert A. Jordan of Jacksonville. "I'm trying to learn from these young men and find out why they are so much different than I am."
The council, created in February by the Florida Legislature to address the problems plaguing black males, held a public meeting in Orlando on the eve of the National Conference on Preventing Crime in the Black Community, which runs through Saturday.
Still in its formative stage, the 20-member panel of elected officials, educators and bureaucrats is collecting data and research, forming subcommittees, and creating vision statements.
And listening to people such as Jordan, who warned that the endangered generation of young black men is unlike any that has come before. Their world is different and their lives are different from the professional, well-educated members of the council trying to unravel the causes of violence, incarceration, fatherless families, illiteracy, poor health care and failing students in the black community.
The people who spoke pleaded for practical answers that can be applied at the neighborhood level. What the studies, data and research show doesn't always match up with the reality of what is going on in the street, said Charles Ridley, with the Community Crusade Against Drugs in Miami.
The message of Jordan, Ridley and others seemed to resonate with council members.
"Your point is well-taken. It has to be practical," said chairman Levi Williams. "Our job is very serious and not just to come up with some recommendations to put on the shelf."
The council is scheduled to present recommendations to Gov. Charlie Crist and legislators at the end of the year. Those solutions will be based largely on what members find that works in Florida and other states, vice chairman Christopher Norwood said.
Not all young black men are lost to drugs, violence and jail, Norwood said, and there are lessons the council can learn from the resiliency of those who thrive where others fail.
"We spend so much time studying the failures of black men," he said. "We should spend more time studying their successes."
Jeff Kunerth can be reached at jkunerth@orlandosentinel.com or 407-420-5392.
Copyright 2007 The State
All Rights Reserved
The State (Columbia, South Carolina)May 30, 2007 Wednesday
SECTION: A; Pg. 0
LENGTH: 903 words
HEADLINE: Black school choice advocates say goal is to save poor black kids
BODY: A FEW WEEKS ago, I was walking through the State House talking with consumer advocates and others about a meeting that had just ended when we came upon a news conference.
Someone in the group asked what it was about. I recognized two of the men - the Rev. Richard L. Davis and Thomas Simuel - standing behind Republican legislators and others assembled at the podium.
"That's probably about vouchers or school choice," I said, well aware that the Rev. Davis and Mr. Simuel, both African-Americans, have been lobbying for legislation that would provide private school choice for poor black students.
One of the people walking with me quipped: "If black people are standing behind those legislators, it has to be about vouchers."
And, indeed, it was.
When I talked with the Rev. Davis, co-founder and executive minister for Clergy for Educational Options, and Mr. Simuel, president of the South Carolina Center for Grassroots and Community Alternatives, during lunch a week later, they made it clear that school choice was about the only thing that they could agree on with some of the folks they're allied with on the issue.
They said their goal is to rescue black students from poorly performing schools to give them an opportunity to escape the poverty, crime and unemployment that awaits them if they don't receive a good education.
While I certainly agree that too many of this state's children aren't getting the quality of education they need and deserve, I don't think the answer is to rescue a few by redirecting public school dollars to send them to private schools, which aren't guaranteed to be better, and leaving tens of thousands of others in subpar schools. The answer is for us to put all our focus, resources and emotions into making all public schools better for all students.
Still, I respect the passion and commitment the Rev. Davis and Mr. Simuel have about this issue.
I asked whether they were aware that some people considered Clergy for Educational Options, a nonprofit founded in 2004 by mostly black pastors, a wing of South Carolinians for Responsible Government. Some people think CEO does the bidding of SCRG, a voucher-lobbying group widely believed to be bankrolled by out-of-state interests.
That's hardly the case, they said. CEO isn't funded by SCRG, and purposely located its offices away from that group to make sure people know the difference, the Rev. Davis said.
The Rev. Davis and Mr. Simuel said they share SCRG's and others' desire for private school choice and work with them to help bring that about, but they have no other connection. Their sphere of agreement with SCRG pretty much begins and ends with school choice, they said.
As a matter of fact, Mr. Simuel said, if the discussion strays too far from school choice, their relationship could fall apart.
There are even some differences between the groups they represent and SCRG when it comes to their one area of agreement. Mr. Simuel and the Rev. Davis said they want school choice - vouchers, essentially - for poor black kids who aren't getting a good public education. They don't support tax credits aimed at well-to-do kids. (Mr. Simuel said he believes there are instances where some middle-income parents might need the help.)
"We're about quality education, whether it's public or private," the Rev. Davis said.
He said they're not interested in sending students to "jacked-up private schools" that aren't any better than the public schools. "We don't want to trade off the problem. We want to fix the problem," he said.
The men said too many black students are dropping out, failing or receiving certificates instead of diplomas. "If we continue as we're doing, the achievement gap problem" will widen even more, Mr. Simuel said.
The Rev. Davis said black churches and communities must make sure children have stable influences in their lives. Private schools that cater to children's diverse needs can fill many of the gaps, he said, adding that it's important for children to be loved and taught to believe in themselves.
That takes a special environment that's sorely lacking in public schools, he said. "We want people to educate our children that care about children, who especially care about black boys and little black girls."
The Rev. Davis said he doesn't understand why black people are so willing to take their most precious commodities - their children - and ship them off to public schools that don't have their best interests in mind and do a poor job of educating them.
"I really do believe that black folks need to take back over educating our own children," he said. "We've given our children over to people who don't like us, hated us, to educate them."
The Rev. Davis said he is currently working with churches and community leaders on an initiative called the "School Choice Now Project" aimed at encouraging them to begin starting and expanding private schools to educate black children. "Whether we get a voucher or not we need to make sure our children learn," he said. "It's not white folks' responsibility to take care of our children. It's our responsibility to take care of our children."
The Rev. Davis said black people shouldn't shun frank discussions about choice. As we search for a better education for children, "There needs to be conflicting opinions in the black community," he said.
I agree. But I disagree that their idea is the answer.
Reach Mr. Bolton at (803) 771-8631 or wbolton@thestate.com
LOAD-DATE: May 30, 2007
Boundary jumpers targetedSchool district supports new policy
By Marc Freeman
South Florida Sun-SentinelMay 31, 2007
School boundary jumpers beware: The Palm Beach County School Board wants to come after you.Board members Wednesday supported a proposed policy to crack down on the practice of enrolling students at schools outside assigned campus attendance zones. The new rules, still being modified, are slated to become official in July.
School district officials began developing the guidelines for verifying student home addresses after an uproar this year concerning a boundary change involving Jupiter High and William T. Dwyer High in Palm Beach Gardens.
Jupiter parents complained that the school had an abundance of jumpers, also known as hoppers, including residents of Martin County. A district investigation found 44 students were fraudulently at the school, 22 of them seniors.
The new policy could help popular schools from getting too crowded, but some parents likely will find creative ways to cheat the system, board Vice Chairman Monroe Benaim said.
"You're not going to cover every possibility no matter what this policy says," he said.
But the procedures, which call for possible criminal prosecution of parent violators, should go a long way, board member Bob Kanjian said.
"I'm sure it'll control some of the headaches we've had," he said.
The proposed "Student Residence Enrollment Requirements" are primarily aimed at helping schools that exceed 100 percent of their capacities. If administrators choose, they could request extra proof of a student's residence, beyond the usual copies of utility bills or mortgage or lease documents.
The additional proof can include: Checking the county property appraiser's Web site; calling or writing the parent when conflicting addresses are identified; requiring an "Affidavit of Residence" form and other documents such as vehicle registration and property tax bill.
Parents who submit false information and are caught could face criminal charges. The district would establish an anonymous tip line to aid in finding violators. The district will soon hire an administrator to help schools enforce the policy, said Planning Director Kris Garrison.
Boundary jumpers will be booted immediately back to their proper schools unless their parents file an appeal, according to the proposed policy.
Marc Freeman can be reached at mjfreeman@sun-sentinel.com or 561-243-6642.
5,000 New Scholarships Available
for Low-Income K-12 Students
The Step Up For Students scholarship program, administered through Florida P.R.I.D.E. and Children First Florida--Florida Corporate Tax Credit (CTC) scholarship funding organizations, will award approximately 5,000 new scholarships for the 2007-2008 school year to Kindergarten through 12th grade students who qualify for the Federal Free and Reduced Lunch Program. Applicants must be currently enrolled in a public school, unless they are entering kindergarten or first grade. Those who qualify may receive up to a $3,750 scholarship for tuition at an eligible private school of their choice or a scholarship for up to $500 for travel expenses to an out-of-district public school. The scholarships provide a fresh start for students who are not succeeding in their current school setting.
This year, $70 million in scholarships will be awarded to qualifying Florida students until funding is exhausted so applicants are encouraged to apply as soon as possible. Income limits for scholarship recipients are determined by household size. For example, a family of four can earn no more than $38,203 to qualify. To apply, log on to www.floridapride.org or call (813) 258-2700 for Florida Pride and www.scholarshipfunding.org or call (904) 247-6033 or (407) 702-2607 for a Children First Florida application.
The Step Up For Students (Corporate Income Tax Credit) scholarship program provides K-12 scholarships that currently allow almost 17,000 low-income Florida students to attend an eligible private school or out-of-district public school. One hundred percent of corporate contributions go directly to funding scholarships – not a single penny can be used for administrative costs.
Children First Florida - Serving Orlando, Central Florida, Jacksonville and Panhandle
P.O. Box 54367
Jacksonville, Florida 32216
(904) 247-6033 or (407) 702-2607
cforster@scholarshipfunding.orgAlachua, Baker, Bay, Bradford, Brevard, Calhoun, Clay, Columbia, Duval, Escambia, Flagler, Franklin, Gadsden, Gilchrist, Gulf, Hamilton, Holmes, Indian River, Jackson, Jefferson, Lafayette, Lake, Leon, Liberty, Madison, Martin, Nassau, Okaloosa, Okeechobee, Orange, Osceola, Putnam, Santa Rosa, St. Johns, Seminole, St. Lucie, Suwannee, Taylor, Union, Volusia, Wakulla, Walton, and Washington
School Year 07 - 08 Income Eligibility Guidelines
Persons in Household
New & Add-Ons
(185%)Renewals (200%)
2
$25,327
$27,380
3
$31,765
$34,340
4
$38,203
$41,300
5
$44,641
$48,260
6
$51,079
$55,220
7
$57,517
$62,140
8
$63,955
$69,140
9
$70,393
$76,100
10
$76,831
$83,060
11
$83,269
$90,020
12
$89,707
$96,980
13
$96,145
$103,940
For each additional person, add
$6,438
$6,960
Effective from June 1, 2007 to June 30, 2008
Florida Alliance for Choices in Education (F.A.C.E)
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