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Jeb Bush's Legislative Report Card Doesn't Make The Grade

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The Tampa Tribune

Published: September 19, 2008

Jeb Bush isn't content to have remade Florida's education system. Now, the former governor is grading lawmakers on how well they continue to follow his lead.

It's nice to see Jeb hasn't lost his leadership touch, even if it still comes with an aura of arrogance.

Not surprisingly, Bush gave passing grades to the state Republican majority and Ds and Fs went to Democrats. He based his grades on how lawmakers voted on legislation dealing with school grades, private-school vouchers, merit pay for teachers and pet projects such as reading coaches.

Bush has every right to be proud of his legacy. By force of will, he brought unprecedented accountability to public schools, implementing a school-grading system based on student test results. His efforts empowered parents and communities to be true partners and watchdogs over their children's education. He took on the teachers' union and shook up a system resistant to change.

His push for vouchers continues to make sense to all but the unions. Why shouldn't parents be able to send their children to private schools if our public schools are failing them? In higher education, private colleges have become partners in educating students that public universities can't fit or don't suit. Secondary schools might benefit from a lessening of their load.

But while Bush's continued involvement is admirable, it's off-putting for him to suggest that his agenda is the standard by which others should be judged.

After all, Bush had his share of missteps. The school-grading system didn't initially account for the challenges faced by different schools. As a result, schools in wealthy neighborhoods, where parents are more involved, got high grades, while schools in impoverished neighborhoods were penalized. Revisions were made, but not before the governor had demoralized and embittered many teachers.

Also during his tenure, Florida's dismal high-school graduation rate held steady, a fact his Department of Education deftly concealed by counting dropouts who later passed the GED test.

The Sunshine State Standards, which determine what children are taught, also were a mess, with no correlation between high school curriculum and college preparedness. As a result, an outrageously high number of Florida high school graduates must take remedial classes to be prepared for college classes.

Despite these shortcomings, Bush clearly reformed and improved Florida's public schools by creating a culture where excuses were unacceptable. Principals were expected to move their schools up, or get out of the way.

But his strong stewardship did not extend to the state university system. Bush eliminated the Florida Board of Regents and replaced it with a multi-layered governance structure that took the universities back a decade. He also stacked local university boards with partisan developers more focused in construction than acquiring top-flight professors. In response, citizens passed a constitutional amendment creating a new statewide Board of Governors that would provide oversight and coordination.

So it's disheartening to see Bush give an "A" to Senate President Ken Pruitt, who this year tried to dismantle the Board of Governors and unleashed an attitude of anti-intellectualism not seen in Florida since the 1950s.

Not surprisingly, Bush failed to grade members of the state's Tax and Budget Reform Commission. His emissaries on the commission hijacked the agenda in the push for school vouchers. For taking their eye off the state's inequitable tax code, his friends deserve an F.

Bush may know more about education policy than anyone who has ever sat in the governor's mansion. His words hold weight.

But in issuing this silly report card, Bush missed an opportunity to become an education statesman - someone who can articulate a vision beyond accountability. It's a role Gov. Charlie Crist has largely abdicated, and which Florida sorely needs.

So in the category of audacity, Bush gets an A. But for statesmanship, he gets an F.

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