The clock is ticking on teacher tenure bill

Teachers and students were out in force this afternoon and Historic City News reporters caught up with them as they picketed to the sounds of car horns, supportive gestures and cheers; just outside of the local legislative office of District 20 Representative Bill Proctor.

According to House spokesman Jill Chamberlin, Senate Bill 6, the so-called teacher tenure bill, was hand-delivered to Governor Charlie Crist’s office this morning by the secretary of the Senate.

That means the clock has started on the seven days he has to act on bills sent to him during session.

At the beginning, Crist supported the bill that would link teacher pay to student performance. Proctor has continued to support the teacher tenure bill which passed the House after a marathon session that ended at 2:27 a.m. The vote was 64-55 in favor.

Crist said he watched the debate until about 1:00 a.m., adding, “I’m forming an opinion.” Those watching the story unfold in Tallahassee agree that disposition of the controversial education bill is anything but certain.

Appearing in Lithia, near Tampa, for the dedication of Mosaic headquarters, Crist said he hasn’t decided yet if he’s going to veto the bill.

“We want to make sure it does what’s right for our state,” he said.

Crist seemed surer of himself regarding the Class Size Amendment; releasing the following statement a short while ago:

“I want to commend the Florida Senate and the Florida House, particularly sponsors Senator Don Gaetz and Representative Will Weatherford, for the passage of the Class Size Amendment. Since the voters approved the initial amendment, the State of Florida has provided nearly $16 billion toward the important goal of smaller classes,” Crist said. “I believe it is the right time to offer Floridians a chance to provide more flexibility to local schools.”

The Governor concluded, “By passing this amendment, we can keep classes small and direct more money toward other education priorities such as quality teachers, books, and technology.”

Photo credit: © 2010 Historic City News staff photograph