Crist Vetoes Education Bill

Every once in a while a politician does the right thing:

TALLAHASSEE, Fla. (AP) -- Florida Gov. Charlie Crist on Thursday vetoed the most far-reaching education bill of its kind in the nation, legislation that would have made it easier to fire teachers and linked their pay to student test scores.

The veto put him at odds with Republican legislative leaders and former Gov. Jeb Bush, who worked hard for the bill's passage and touted it in national media interviews.

Crist denied the veto was a signal he's about to drop out of the Republican U.S. Senate primary, where he badly trails in the polls, and instead campaign for that seat as an independent.

He said the veto was not about politics but about the state's children though he acknowledged an outpouring of opposition by teachers, parents and local school officials around the state had an affect. Phone calls and e-mail ran 65,259 against to 3,090 for the bill.

Crist once favored the legislation and said he still supports the concept of pay for performance and holding teachers accountable.

He said he began having second thoughts about how the bill would achieve those goals when a friend back home in St. Petersburg called him and questioned how his special needs child could be fairly tested.

"It touched my heart, frankly," Crist said. "His son's teacher came to him and was crying about how she might be evaluated."

Crist cited several other problems with details of the bill and the way his fellow Republicans, who control both legislative chambers, rushed it through.

He compared it to GOP criticism that the Democratic Congress had rammed through President Barack Obama's health care overhaul.

"A month later, the very same thing happens here in education," Crist said.

The bill was sponsored by Sen. John Thrasher, chairman of the Florida Republican Party.

Thrasher, of St. Augustine, said he'll keep pushing for such a measure although probably not this year as only 15 days remain in the session.

"Major legislation like this sometimes takes years to pass," Thrasher said. "I'm confident this is an idea that's going to sweep across America."

For his part, Crist said the merit pay proposal, tying teacher pay to increased test scores, along with the mandate to increase testing in every grade in every class, violated the principal of local control and probably the Florida constitution, and was a major reason he vetoed the bill.

Thrasher and education reform proponents say education reform is too important to worry about such things as local control, constitutionality, and the law.

Sound like anyone you know in New York?

Anyway, a narrow victory for teachers, though a significant one.

For now.

As Thrasher says, the ed deform people will be pushing this stuff in every state.

It is paramount that we fight this until the vast majority of the American public come to see the voodoo education policy for what it is - the same crap that brought us the financial disaster.

And remember, with Walmart, the hedge fund industry, the for-profit school industry and the media on their side (and remember that much of the media is actually owned by test prep companies these days!!!), they will be well-funded and well-positioned to get their propaganda out.

But you can see where most people stand in this battle - witness the calls and emails that Crist got pro and against - 65,000 to 3,000.

That's a bit heartening.

But it's still tough to fight these guys because they get so much free publicity - in the News, the Post, the Times, the WSJ, the networks, et al. Don't forget that the Washington Post media conglomerate is owned by Kaplan Test Preparation, so you know where they stand even if you didn't see Evan Thomas's charter school slobber job in NEWSWEEK a few weeks back.

And they've got all that money the hedge fund industry and the Wall Street CEO's have stolen from the middle and working classes to pay to get their message out.

Not to mention direct access to the corridors of power.

I heard Joel Klein has a special Batphone that only takes calls from Eva Moscowitz.

Still, savor Crist's veto tonight. It was an important one and it showed how a politician can be swayed to do the right thing.

Remember, just last week Crist was going to sign this abomination.