SB 6 proponents look to next year for merit pay issue

Gov. Charlie Crist's decision to spurn conservative leaders and veto SB 6 on Thursday does not spell the end of the controversial education plan, its supporters vowed.

The governor's veto ended a week of speculation, protests and fierce lobbying over the proposal to eliminate traditional tenure for new teachers and tie teacher salaries to students' test scores.

But it was clear Thursday that the general concept of merit pay is anything but dead in Florida, as bill sponsors and supporters spoke of filing a version of the same plan next year, if not sooner.

"Absolutely," said Dean Cannon, R-Winter Park, who takes over the House as Speaker next year. "No big ideas often get done in one year, so we'll have to do it again next year.

Crist, meanwhile, said he still supports the general concept of performance-based merit pay, and will continue seeking a large federal grant to implement such reforms.

At a noon press conference on Thursday -- the first that Crist has ever called to announce a veto -- the governor preempted his critics, insisting that his decision was about children, not politics.

Crist then listed "several reasons of concern" about SB 6 -- among them, that the bill did not "appropriately accommodate" children with special needs and their teachers.

The governor voiced concern that the bill robbed teachers of job security and wrested too much control away from local school districts. He also accused lawmakers of ramming the bill through without involving or heeding the concerns of educators and families.

"I find the content of Senate Bill 6, and the manner of its adoption, significantly flawed," said Crist, describing the process as reminiscent of Congress' passage of federal health care reform legislation.

In contrast, Crist said, he will form a task force involving teachers to revamp the state's application to President Barack Obama's $4.35-billion "Race to the Top" education reform grant program, which ties teacher performance to student gains.

Supporters of SB 6, including Education Commissioner Eric Smith, argued that the merit-pay legislation would enhance the state's odds of winning the federal grant.

But Florida, without union support for its bid, lost in the first round of competition this spring. Applications for the next round are due June 1.

"Although Florida's first application was strong, we learned a very important lesson in that process -- the value of stakeholder participation," Crist said. "Like every good competitor, we will make strategic changes and raise our game."

But Jeb Bush, who spearheaded conservative education reforms while he was governor and advocated this session for SB 6, blasted Crist for having "jeopardized the ability of Florida to build on the progress of the last decade."

Bush and other SB 6 supporters in the GOP and business community had argued that ending multi-year contracts and making pay increases contingent on student performancewould inject powerful new accountability into public schools. The best teachers would make more money sooner, while districts would more easily be able to fire teachers deemed to be ineffective.

Many critics viewed the bill, however, as cynical attack on the state teacher's union, which launched a massive statewide protest against it.

In Hillsborough, a county exempt from most provisions in the bill, teacher's union president Jean Clements said there was a moment of relief when she heard about the veto. Then, reality set in.

"I'm bracing myself for what's next," she said. "This isn't the end of reform and this isn't the end of this kind of legislation. We're going back to the table for a do-over.''

Indeed, a few lawmakers were already floating the prospect on Thursday of sending Crist a revamped version of the bill before the end of current session.

But Sen. John Thrasher, lead sponsor of SB 6, said there was not enough time left for that. But with Crist leaving office this year, the senator said he looks forward to filing a version of the plan for the 2010 session.

The Jacksonville senator blasted the union for "misrepresenting" the bill in a campaign of fear-mongering. He also "took exception" to Crist's criticism of the process by which SB 6 passed, noting that the Senate accepted numerous amendments in committee and that panels in both chambers heard and took testimony on the bill.

But Sen. Don Gaetz, former schools superintendent and a future Senate President, said there is room for finding middle ground and soliciting more "buy-in" from Democrats and education stakeholders.

"Maybe this takes more than one year; maybe it takes more than one governor," said Gaetz, R-Niceville.

Sen. Ronda Storms, R-Valrico, called the veto "a mistake" but said it will not slow the advance of merit pay reforms. "Merit pay is like the tide; you can't hold back the tide," she said. "It's a national movement, it is something that is coming."

Crist had spoken favorably of SB 6 earlier in the session. Thrasher said the governor had told him repeatedly that he would sign it, though Crist has denied making that specific pledge.

Lawmakers aren't going to play the game of political payback with Crist's priorities this session, said Mike Haridopolos, who becomes Senate President next year.

Still, said Haridopolos, R-Merritt Island, "Whenever he has asked for assistance, I've been very supportive of our governor. I think that's what caught a lot of people by surprise -- that as this bill went through a heated debate, in a partisan way, the governor weighed in clearly, as did his staff, in one direction. He chose to tack the other way ... In this business, what matters is your word."

While critics of the veto vented frustration and disappointment, Crist celebrated with more than 1,000 teachers, students and staff at Leon High School with an impromptu pep rally.

With tubas, trombones, trumpets and bass drums, the school band blasted pep rally songs as cheerleaders jumped around shaking pom-poms as Crist's motorcade arrived.

The crowd included Pamela Moore, a media arts teacher who just two days ago managed to meet Gov. Crist in the Capitol building and implored him to veto the bill. "He listened -- he really listened!" she said.

Back in the Bay area, Marianne Capoziello, head of the Polk County teachers union, cried when she heard Crist's veto decision.

"The frustration and fear of teachers concerning what would happen to their profession and their students was palpable out there."