Teachers and education staff professionals from Orange County Classroom Teachers Association (CTA) and Orange Education Support Professionals Association (OESPA) plan on wearing black tomorrow, Thursday, April 15 to send a message to Governor Crist to VETO Senate Bill 6.
“Now is the time for everyone to get involved in our public schools and send a message to Tallahassee asking the Governor veto this bill (Teacher Merit Pay) that is so detrimental to the Florida education system,” a statement released from the Teachers Union said.
Meanwhile, as Governor Crist continues to mull over the very controversial “Teachers Merit Pay Bill’ (SB 6), there are reports that he has issues with it. These are: the lack of clarity on how teachers will be evaluated; the diminished powers of local educators and inadequate public input, as it was pushed though the House and Senate.
Those who support the bill like the Florida business community argue that it would raise professional standards and help retain the best teachers, as they would be paid on students’ results and not years of service.
Opponents however, say here are too many unknowns in the bill and learning gains and testing mechanisms to measure those gains, are not yet defined.
Crist has until April 16th to sign or veto the bill.
