President Ford Comments on NBC Program Cuts

One of the most perplexing actions taken by the Florida Legislature this mystifying session has been its apparent disregard for many of our excellent public school teachers. More than 11,000 teachers in Florida have earned the designation of national board certified teacher over the last 10 years and they have been recognized and rewarded by the state through the Dale Hickam Excellent Teaching Program.

This program has grown as teachers complete a rigorous evaluation of their teaching skills and must complete hundreds of hours of demonstration that they do indeed pass the national certification requirements. By their actions this year, the Legislature has made it clear that the incentives offered for achieving this lofty position are no longer valued. The funding for the program has been cut by 46 percent over the budget passed by the Legislature a year ago. But even more troubling are the permanent changes made to the program. State support for the fee subsidy to seek certification has been permanently removed; support for the portfolio preparation fee is permanently cut; paying the retirement benefit of those who earn national board bonuses has been eliminated; and the program was restricted to a single 10-year period.

The most troubling aspect is that these permanent changes made to a popular performance pay program that teachers support were made with no debate in House committees and little debate in Senate committees. Teachers who have benefited from this program were given little or no chance of defending the program.

We continually hear only about performance pay for teachers from many of the same lawmakers who voted to decimate this program. Many in the Legislature have tried to impose performance pay plans that were unrealistic or unfair. Yet they bulldoze a popular program that will result in a pay cut of more than $4,000 to the teachers who earn this prestigious certification.

This kind of decision makes it difficult for teachers to trust Florida’s commitment to public education and its employees. The national certification program has been the sole successful merit pay program ever in the state. It encourages our best teachers to stay in the classroom here in Florida. Isn’t that what everyone wants?

The Florida Education Association is the state’s largest association of professional employees, with more than 140,000 members. FEA represents pre K-12 teachers, higher education faculty, educational support professionals, students at our colleges and universities preparing to become teachers and retired education employees.

Andy Ford

President
Florida Education Association
NEA, AFT, AFL-CIO
850.224.1953
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