I am pleased that FRS is healthy, but let us not forget that this was done on the backs of public education funding.
In 2011 the state of Florida changed in midstream retirement benefits for employees in FRS by then beginning having these employees contribute to the retirement plan. Common and expected in the private sector, where wages/salaries, pay scales and benefits are driven by profits and losses. This is not the case for those that chose noble professions in the public servant sector. Teachers, law enforcement officers, first responders, state and county workers in order to service where willing accept these lesser pay scale positions knowing that some of the offset of the retirement benefits. The public was told that FRS was in such bad financial shape that employees now had to contribute in order to keep FRS solvent.
Instead the state did not really add more to the coffers of FRS. They instead defunded areas like public education and then played a shell game with the funds and used the employee retirement contributes to supplant and fund back some of the losses.
Another better approach could have been to phase in a new contribution for new hires. This would have permitted those new employees to weight the pros and cons of public service over the private sector.
Now again this year district FRS contributes have been increased to further pad FRS. Citrus County’s FRS required contribution was increased by another $370,000. This means less to our students and schools so that the state can claim they saved taxpayers money. It is a shell game and is in the end costing taxpayers more.
Was FRS ever in the poor shape some claimed and said was necessary to make this change? Or was this further justification to reduce the value of those in these noble professions?
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I was proud today, Tuesday, June 27th, 2017 during our School Board meeting to ask our board for support in removing VAM (Value added Model) from the teachers’ evaluation process in Citrus County. VAM was put into law under SB736 in 2011 by the then Florida Legislature and tied teachers’ pay to students’ grades. While we may not have desired everything in the controversial recent HB 7069 law that Gov. Scott signed. One part of HB 7069 was it made VAM optional.
I have opposed VAM and the use to students’ grade being tied to teachers’ salaries, bonuses and steps from the beginning. I was pleased at today’s school board meeting to ask my fellow board members to support the immediate process to remove VAM from Citrus County School Board policy. There was unanimous support of the entire board.
This will not be an overnight process as policy revisions never are, but the change has now begun. Superintendent Sandra “Sam” Himmel shared during the meeting that our Research and Accountability department would be developing and presenting at an upcoming meeting alternative replacements to VAM for teacher evaluations.
This I believe is a small, but good step in the correct direction. Many more steps are still needed.
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National Merit Finalists solves Rubik’s Cube in 15 seconds
Today at our School Board meeting we recognized Citrus’s National Merit Finalists (top 1% in nation). One of these young men, Sasank Desaraju (Lecanto High School), has a unique talent that I asked him to share. He can solve a “mixed up” Rubik’s Cube in less then 15 seconds!
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Florida Senate passes education testing bill– moves back to House
Time is running out…
On Thursday, the Florida Senate passed a large educational train bill. While this bill had hoped to significantly reduce the state mandated assessments students must take, in the end the bill only eliminates one assessment, the Algebra 2 end-of-course (EOC) exam. The bill will also ask the Florida Department of Education to study by January 1st, 2018 in national exams, such as SAT or ACT, can be used as alternatives to the Florida Standards Assessments and other statewide mandated assessments.
In the end I concur with Senator Montford when he said on the floor of the Florida Senate Chambers on Thursday, May 4th, 2017, “Is this bill what I wanted? No. I wanted more, but … I know that, at least, this is a good beginning“.
One of those positive parts to this bill is Senator Mayfield and Rep. Ralph Massullo, M.D. bills which will allow students the participate in two seasons of interscholastic high school sports (varsity and Jr. varsity) to have their athletic participation count as their required physical education credit, rather than take an addition P.E. class. This will provide more equitable options for athlete students, it also provides students with addition elective options and flexibility.
Next the bill will move back to the Florida House of Representatives and House members could make further changes. Identical language must be approved by both chambers before the end of floor sessions on Friday in order for the bill to be sent to Gov. Rick Scott.
Stay tune…
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Twenty-years of military services is a great accomplishment in itself– that on top of twenty-years of educational services to remarkable. On Sunday, April 30, 2017 the City of Crystal River agreed when, Mayor Jim Farley gave Crystal River High School Navy Junior Reserve Officers Training Corps (JROTC) Senior Chief Sparkman, USN (ret.) the key to the City of Crystal River for his 20 years of dedication to the CRHS and the Navy Science JROTC program.
Thank you Senior Chief!
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FRS Petition system up 14 percent 
