DO WE HAVE REASON TO BE CONCERNED?

By Mindy Gould, Legislation Chair, Florida PTA

A recent article in the Miami Herald, written by Education Reporter/Tallahassee Bureau, Kathleen McGrory, addresses the selection by House leaders of State Representative Manny Diaz to take the helm on a controversial bill that would revamp the way hundreds of charter schools statewide would enter into agreements with local school boards.  Representative Diaz's selection would most likely receive little fanfare, but what stands out in this selection is Representative Diaz's direct ties to the charter school industry.

By no means am I stating that the Representative is not a respected leader in our state government and his community.  Rather my concern is that this, and other, appointments to key legislative committees, is not being questioned by Florida's Commission on Ethics.

Why bring ethics into this?  To begin, the Representative referenced above is employed by Doral College and serves as the Academic Dean of the college.  Also employed by Doral College is Senator Anitere Flores, who serves as President of the college. Senator Flores is currently a member on the Senate Ethics and Election Committee. The for-profit management company for Doral College is Academia, the state's largest charter management company. Academia, itself, has direct family ties with Representative Erik Fresen, Chair of the House Education Appropriations Subcommittee.

Though I would like to think these "relationships" stop here, they do not.  Other elected officials having direct ties to charter schools and the charter school movement are Senator John Legg, Founder and Business Administrator of Dayspring Academy in New Port Richey.  Senator Legg is Chair of the Senate Education Committee.  Representative Seth McKeel, Chair of the House Appropriations Committee, is on the board of McKeel Academy.  House Appropriations Committee member, and future House Speaker, Richard Corcoran's wife Anne plans to open a charter school in Pasco County, and the husband of Senator Kelli Stargel who sits on the Senate Education Committee, is on the board of McKeel Academy, according to a Lakeland newspaper.

This is not to say that Florida PTA opposes charter schools when, in fact, PTA supports the original intent of charter schools - to serve as one of many avenues to improving student achievement in our underserved communities.  We do believe though, there must be a set of principles that are designed to keep the integrity of public schools intact and a level playing field in the areas of fiscal responsibility and accountability must be established.

This is about trust, truth, and integrity.  In other words...ethics.  As a citizen who puts faith in our elected officials when they took their oath of office regarding their paramount duty to provide a uniform, efficient, safe, secure and high quality system of free public schools, I have concern.

My purpose of writing this is to keep you informed of issues and legislative activity regarding the health, safety and education of all children.  I, along with Florida PTA's Legislative Team, will continue to provide this information to you throughout Legislative Session.

If you have not already done so, please sign up for Florida PTA's Take Action Network by going to our website (www.floridapta.org) and click on the Advocacy link.  Share the updates provided with your friends and families.  Organize registration opportunities for your fellow members at PTA/PTSA meetings and events.

Our power is in our numbers.  We can, and will, secure our children's future if we do so together.