Seminole teachers to protest legislation

posted by daveweber
March, 1 2011 1:11 PM

Seminole County public school teachers and other district employees plan to show up at the offices of three local state legislators after school Thursday to protest proposed laws that they say herald “the impending doom public education is slated to endure.”

The protest organized by Seminole Uniserv, the umbrella for the school district’s four employee unions, targets representatives Chris Dorworth, Scott Plakon and Jason Brodeur. Among the local legislative delegation, the three are considered the staunchest proponents of the changes to school law that the unions oppose.

Organizers say the protests are “to mourn the passing of Florida’s great public schools.”

Going with the “doom” theme, the protesters plan to wear black and protest outside of the legislators’ offices. Organizers say they hope to meet with the three ahead of time to discuss their concerns – although it’s uncertain how cordial such meetings might be with a bunch of folks set to picket outside your office.

The Legislature is expected to hit the ground running when the session begins next week, with immediate action on a proposed teacher merit pay bill. The law would tie teacher pay and job security to student performance on the FCAT and other tests.

Union officials say the changes aren’t needed, pointing to high achievement in the schools.

“Legislators have stepped up the attack on public education by filing bills that will make drastic and unnecessary changes to a system that is working well here in Florida,” Tony Gentile, executive director of Seminole Uniserv, said in a news release about the planned protests.

Gentile says that linking teacher evaluations to test results will be expensive, requiring millions more to be spent on testing. This comes at the same time that the state is talking about cutting education funding and requiring employees to pay up to 5% of wages toward retirement.

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