Dean Comes Out Against SB830

Controversial bill targeted at public unions in Florida losing some support

Senate Bill SB 830 – Labor and Employment, is a bill that would prohibit a state agency from deducting from employee wages funds for political activity. A county, municipality, or other local governmental entity would be prohibited from deducting from employee wages funds for political activity.  This includes automatically deducting union dues from employees’ paychecks. According to SB830, union members would also have to give written consent before their dues are used for political purposes.

The Miami Herald has reported that, Scott made rare personal visits to the offices of four Republican state senators and pleaded with them to support the measure on Wednesday. All of them, it appears  were unpersuaded.

One of Citrus County’s own Senator Charlie Dean said, “I’m a conservative Republican, I support the governor and I support the (Florida Senate) president and (Florida House) speaker. But I also reserve the right somehow to make up my own mind.”  Senator Dean’s aide, Kevin Sweeny shared with The Huffington Post that the senator objected to the fact that the bill only singles out public employee unions for making automatic paycheck deductions. Within Florida, there are at least 364 groups or agencies that deduct money from employees’ wages at employees’ request for charitable donations, life insurance, taxes and other deductions. SB830 only focuses only on union dues.  Sweeny went on to say that, “(Senator Dean’s) main objections are that he doesn’t believe it’s his money to say; it should be left alone, what he would really like to see is if we’re going to take away the option for the state to take the money out of the checks, we should do it across the board.”

Another GOP Senator Miguel Diaz de la Portilla, said the bill would, “It creates division and turmoil, and doesn’t create jobs.”

The Huffington Post reported that in an interview with Florida Senator Rene Garcia that Garcia met with Scott on Wednesday and that he too would be opposing the bill. Senator Garcia expressed that many of his constituents who were union members and they contacted him and wondered why the legislature was targeting them rather than going after all automatic deductions.

SB 830 was on the legislative calendar on Wednesday but delayed.  A Florida state labor official said, “This legislation is, at this point in time, for all intents and purposes, completely stalled.  We won’t call it dead, simply because there is a Republican supermajority. For that matter alone, I won’t call anything dead until the gavel goes down on the final day of the legislature.”

The HuffingtonPost.com, Inc. and The Miami Herald were used in this blog.

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Students swings $12K for heart health

Inverness Middle School continues enviable fundraising record for AHA

By Matt Beck, Citrus County Chronicle
Wednesday, April 27, 2011

Jasmin Pryor spins a half-dozen hula hoops around her waist Wednesday morning at the Inverness Middle School as part of a reward program for raising money for the American Heart Association.

Nearly 500 Inverness Middle School students jumped, shot baskets and hula hooped their way through the morning as a reward for collecting more than $12,000 for the American Heart Association.
As part of the physical education department’s community-service project, students have been collecting money for research and education projects for the AHA to work on defeating America’s number one killer of men and women — heart disease.

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Education foundation applauded

Tuesday, April 26, 2011

THE ISSUE: Citrus County Education Foundation.
OUR OPINION: Partnership moves forward with funding and support.

No one ever said it was easy to keep an education system going on all cylinders. In good times, in shaky economic periods, during technological transitions, amid anticipated demands and unexpected legislative actions, that treasured target for excellence can sometimes appear like a long shot.

So when a “little help from your friends” is offered, we say thank you. And when years of support, assistance and funding is produced by a foundation of community and business members, we say thank you very much.

Since 1988, the Citrus County Education Foundation has raised and invested more than $700,000 in teachers, staff and students in Citrus County public schools and actively works to support vital learning initiatives. With its longstanding mission to provide resources to enhance the quality of education, the projects and assistance this foundation has brought to this community are numerous. These include such endeavors as Teacher Mini Grants to fund innovative teacher-driven projects; scholarship programs such as Aspiring Teachers, which offers support staff members in the school system an opportunity to apply for financial assistance as they purse a degree in education; the annual Galaxy of Stars dinner awards program to recognize the best teachers and support staff across the county; support for field trips and academic events such as Math Field Day and Regional Science and Engineering Fairs; and the facilitation of the Dolly Parton Imagination Library program, which brings books to more than 2,000 children who are learning to read.

Its newest signature event is ALLEGRO — which stands of Advanced Learning and Literacy Education through Grants and Resource Opportunities. This inaugural spring concert features award-winning a cappella singers on stage at Curtis Peterson Auditorium on May 1, with proceeds to provide funding for art and music programs in Citrus County schools. For ticket information call (352) 726-1931, ext. 2240.

As this foundation moves forward with new programs and new methods of fundraising, our community must not only be appreciative of these efforts, but must also add its support and participation. Through this ongoing involvement, promotion and recognition, that foundation will remain strong and able to continue this vital partnership with our public schools.

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