HB 7079: How Richard Corcoran and Kelli Stargel plan to blackmail 2 million kids and parents into giving up the choice of public schools

   February 16, 2020  2 Comments on HB 7079: How Richard Corcoran and Kelli Stargel plan to blackmail 2 million kids and parents into giving up the choice of public schools

Education Commissioner Richard Corcoran has reportedly told multiple people that he wants to drive 2 million children out of public schools by the end of Gov. Ron DeSantis’ first term. That, of course, underlines the obvious: Florida doesn’t care at all about school choice. It just hates public schools. Corcoran and DeSantis and Kelli Stargel and the rest believe in school blackmail — not school choice — through selective use of fraudulent test data and fraudulent school grade accountability.

Here’s one recent story and a quote about Corcoran’s vision for blackmailing 2 million parents:

“I met several months ago with the commissioner of education and he made no bones about it. He sees nothing wrong with cutting our traditional public school system by two-thirds,” said Leon County Superintendent Rocky Hanna.

The proof of this is coming before Kelli Stargel’s Senate Education Committee tomorrow, in a suddenly scheduled hearing in House Bill 7079, which was fast-tracked last week.

Through this bill, Ron DeSantis, Richard Corcoran, and Kelli Stargel are mounting a full frontal attack on your right as parent to choose and keep a neighborhood public school that you like. (Kelli, if you don’t support this bill, say so loudly. And I’ll note it. But you’ve supported every other bill to blackmail public school parents, ever.) HB 7079:

  • Changes the fraudulent school grade formula yet again
  • Changes definition of “failure” for schools, again, to include many, many more.
  • Increases punishments of children and teachers in neighborhood schools so it can try to drive them out.

House Bill 7079 is nothing more than DeSantis and Stargel and Corcoran’s attempt to punish you, as parents. It seeks to blackmail your kids out of the Dixieland Elementaries of the world and into the dangerous Kingdom Preps of the world, where none of these rules apply and where there is no oversight.

Monroe County School Board Member Sue “Accountabaloney” Woltanski has a much deeper dive on this  neighborhood school and choice-hating bill. See article here.

Don’t be distracted by the election year posturing of teacher pay increases.

Corcoran and Manny Diaz and Kelli Stargel and the rest are just trying to buy off some silence while they maneuver to destroy your right to choose a neighborhood public school for your children. These people hate choice; and they hate parents who choose neighborhood schools. Here are the phone numbers for the committee members. By all means, call to try stop them.

But don’t expect them to listen.

The key will be for School Boards and districts and parents to defy this if it passes. The key will to be to inflict as many political and moral consequences — in as many different legal and moral ways as possible — on any local legislators who votes to kill your choice for a neighborhood school.

This is all a fraud aimed at hurting your kids and serving them up to Pastor Tigers. There are lines that have to be drawn; and risks that have to be taken with something so fundamental at stake. The Polk County School District’s motto is not “Richard Corcoran First” or “Kelli Stargel First” or “Manny Diaz First” or “Grifters and Criminals First” or “Pastor Tiger First.”

It’s “Students First.” And I take that very seriously, seriously enough to risk whatever punishment people can cook up for me personally. I will be discussing this at our next board meeting.

 

 

2 thoughts on “HB 7079: How Richard Corcoran and Kelli Stargel plan to blackmail 2 million kids and parents into giving up the choice of public schools”

  1. This section is especially rich.
    “Don’t be distracted by the election year posturing of teacher pay increases.”
    No money in Duval for teacher VAM score payments.

  2. A student’s needs are different with every child. Your bill does not speak to this diversity of our student body. A student with disabilities learns at a slower rate than a gifted student. Both need a diverse learning environment and learn at a pace that will have optimal success in their education. You need to do your research instead of taking the word of your colleagues whom have a vested interest in a school being a business. Students are real with emotions, feelings, and diverse needs, don’t treat them with a cold shoulder. Our students need you to say NO to SB 1498 do they can thrive in a welcoming school environment.
    THEY ARE NOT BLUEBERRIES YOU CAN PUSH TO THE SIDE IF THEY DON’T PERFORM TO YOUR TIME FRAME.
    Your reelection will also ride on your poor decisions NOW.
    Please vote NO on SB 1498 because it:

    · Throws a district school into instant turnaround status upon earning its first “D” or “F”

    · If a “D” or “F” turnaround school does not earn a “C” or better within a year, the Commissioner of Education may recommend closing the school, re-purpose it as a charter or assign it to and external operation.

    · Bypasses school board authority by allowing external operators to be state universities or colleges

    · Makes no provision to restore “turnaround” schools to the district

    · Grants the FL Department of Ed $8M in recurring funds to administer expanded turnaround program

Comments are closed.