JEB BUSH TRYING TO FULFILL HIS GOALS!
THE LIFE OF FLORIDA AMENDMENT 8
In 1999, Bush pushed through the legislature an “Opportunity Scholarship Program” that gave students in “failing” public schools state funding for tuition at religious and other private academies. Americans United for Separation of Church and State and other allied groups immediately challenged the voucher scheme in state court. After years of legal wrangling, the Florida Supreme Court finally struck down the program in January 2006. The 5-2 court majority said vouchers violated a provision of the state constitution requiring a uniform system of free public schools.
Bush reportedly was livid and vowed to press for a constitutional amendment, but he found more difficulty in the state legislature than expected. In May 2006, the proposed constitutional amendment fell short by one vote in the Republican-controlled Senate, despite a lot of hardball political pressure from the governor and his allies.
Bush then went for Plan B - after leaving office in Jan 07, he & his top advisers crafted a back-door maneuver to revise the state constitution and advance vouchers. They decided to stack the state’s 25 member Taxation and Budget Reform Commission (TBRC) which meets every 20 years & has the power, by a two-thirds vote, to place initiatives directly on the ballot, bypassing the legislature and other governmental checks and balances.
Commission members are appointed by the governor (Charlie Crist) (Bush arranged with Crist to appoint Greg Turbeville, a former Bush policy director, the Senate president(Ken Pruitt) and the House speaker(Marco Rubio) () helped the scheme along by appointing Bush education adviser Patricia Levesque and other voucher fans). In all, “nine Bush-era acolytes with financial ties to voucher groups who stand to gain financially” were appointed to the Commission!
Led by three Commissioners who served as senior aides to former Gov. Jeb Bush - Greg Turbeville, Brian Yablonski, and Patricia Levesque (who is currently the Chief of Staff of Jeb Bush’s Foundation for Florida’s Future, Foundation for Excellence in Education & has her own lobbying firm) the TBRC voted to include two unwise ballot Initiatives on the November 4, 2008 ballot. Amendment 7 which is now Amendment 8 and Amendment 9, which would have allowed the state to fulfill its constitutional obligation to provide public education through private schools.
Prior to the 2008 election, the Florida Supreme Court ruled that the TBRC had exceeded its narrow authority of dealing with issues related to taxation or the state budgetary process in proposing the two initiatives and removed them from the ballot.
2010 they tried again as a Resolution and it failed both Florida Houses!
2011 the Florida Legislature approved a resolution to place Amendment 7 on the November 2012 ballot. However a lawsuit ensued & the Leon County court ruled that the language that was slated to appear on the actual ballot to explain Amendment 7 was misleading. The judge ordered it to be re-written and Pam Bondi did that
In 1999, Bush pushed through the legislature an “Opportunity Scholarship Program” that gave students in “failing” public schools state funding for tuition at religious and other private academies. Americans United for Separation of Church and State and other allied groups immediately challenged the voucher scheme in state court. After years of legal wrangling, the Florida Supreme Court finally struck down the program in January 2006. The 5-2 court majority said vouchers violated a provision of the state constitution requiring a uniform system of free public schools.
Bush reportedly was livid and vowed to press for a constitutional amendment, but he found more difficulty in the state legislature than expected. In May 2006, the proposed constitutional amendment fell short by one vote in the Republican-controlled Senate, despite a lot of hardball political pressure from the governor and his allies.
Bush then went for Plan B - after leaving office in Jan 07, he & his top advisers crafted a back-door maneuver to revise the state constitution and advance vouchers. They decided to stack the state’s 25 member Taxation and Budget Reform Commission (TBRC) which meets every 20 years & has the power, by a two-thirds vote, to place initiatives directly on the ballot, bypassing the legislature and other governmental checks and balances.
Commission members are appointed by the governor (Charlie Crist) (Bush arranged with Crist to appoint Greg Turbeville, a former Bush policy director, the Senate president(Ken Pruitt) and the House speaker(Marco Rubio) () helped the scheme along by appointing Bush education adviser Patricia Levesque and other voucher fans). In all, “nine Bush-era acolytes with financial ties to voucher groups who stand to gain financially” were appointed to the Commission!
Led by three Commissioners who served as senior aides to former Gov. Jeb Bush - Greg Turbeville, Brian Yablonski, and Patricia Levesque (who is currently the Chief of Staff of Jeb Bush’s Foundation for Florida’s Future, Foundation for Excellence in Education & has her own lobbying firm) the TBRC voted to include two unwise ballot Initiatives on the November 4, 2008 ballot. Amendment 7 which is now Amendment 8 and Amendment 9, which would have allowed the state to fulfill its constitutional obligation to provide public education through private schools.
Prior to the 2008 election, the Florida Supreme Court ruled that the TBRC had exceeded its narrow authority of dealing with issues related to taxation or the state budgetary process in proposing the two initiatives and removed them from the ballot.
2010 they tried again as a Resolution and it failed both Florida Houses!
2011 the Florida Legislature approved a resolution to place Amendment 7 on the November 2012 ballot. However a lawsuit ensued & the Leon County court ruled that the language that was slated to appear on the actual ballot to explain Amendment 7 was misleading. The judge ordered it to be re-written and Pam Bondi did that
DANGER! DANGER! DANGER! DANGER!
BIO FROM JEB BUSH'S FOUNDATION FOR EXCELLENCE IN EDUCATION: MaryEllen Elia is Superintendent of Hillsborough County Public Schools. Elia began as a social studies teacher in New York. She has served as a reading resource specialist, the district’s first magnet schools supervisor, general director of secondary education, and chief facilities officer. Her honors include the College Board’s Outstanding Leadership award and Florida’s 2007 Superintendent of the Year (both of these awards were given to her by Eric Smith, FL. former Commissioner of Education). Elia holds a bachelor’s degree from Daeman College; a master’s in education from the University of Buffalo; and a Master of professional studies in reading from State University of New York at Buffalo.
Even though Ms. Elia likes to brag her district gets straight A's this is certainly not the current case as the past 2 years they have fallen to a B and this is the "accountability" grade - not the grade through FCAT as to how the children are really doing. Latest report, 24 percent of the county's schools got D's, meaning they failed to meet minimum acceptable standards for student performance and attendance. Fifty percent got C's and 17 percent B's. This says 75% of the schools are at C level or below. Despite earning the highest high school ranking in the county, principal Vince Sussman wasn't celebrating. He questioned the fairness of the whole process. For instance, he thinks the attendance category kept Plant from earning an A, although the school's average daily attendance is 92 percent. "The whole system is designed to not make A schools," he said. "It's a political agenda to force students into private schools." |
WHAT THE BIO DOES NOT SAY!
HILLSBOROUGH SCHOOL DISTRICT IS 38 OUT OF 67! I GUESS ALL THAT EXTRA MONEY DID NOT HELP THEM MUCH! |
JEB BUSH'S FLORIDA RECRUITS!
SOMEONE PLEASE TELL THIS EDITOR WHY, IF JEB BUSH'S IDEA'S & FOUNDATION ARE SO GREAT, HE DID NOT IMPLEMENT THIS WHEN HE WAS GOVERNOR BECAUSE YOU SEE FLORIDA HAS BEEN FLAT-LINED SINCE HE TOOK THE OFFICE OF GOVERNOR. NCLB WAS NOTHING MORE THAN A RE-WORDING & RE-WORKING OF THE 1965 "ELEMENTARY AND SECONDARY EDUCATION ACT (ESEA) OF WHICH IS REQUIRED BY LAW TO BE RENEWED EVERY 5 YEARS. THIS IS WHAT RACE TO THE TOP IS WITH A BRAND NEW NAME AND A BRAND NEW GAME!
THEIR PUSH FOR "CHOICE" SEEMS STRANGE TO ME - WHY ARE THEY NOT FIXING THE PUBLIC SCHOOLS? MY THOUGHTS - BECAUSE WITH CHARTER SCHOOLS NO ONE IS REALLY WATCHING WHAT TEXTBOOKS OR CURRICULUM'S ARE BEING USED, WHO THE TEACHERS ARE & THEY CAN BE NON-UNION, NO ONE WATCHES WHERE THE OUTSIDE FUNDING IS COMING FROM OR CHECKS ON THE FINANCIAL STRUCTURE OF THE CHARTER SCHOOL WHICH IS WHY THERE ARE SO MANY SCANDALS COMING OUT. IN ADDITION, THEY ARE ALLOWING ALMOST ANYONE TO OPEN A CHARTER SCHOOL AND A GOOD SHARE OF THEM ARE FAILING WORSE THAN PUBLIC SCHOOLS. JEB BUSH'S FOUNDATION IS JUST ANOTHER FORM OF CONTROL BUT FROM THE PRIVATE SECTOR. THE MOTIVE IS THE SAME BUT BECAUSE IT HAS THE BUSH NAME ATTACHED TO IT PEOPLE WILL NOT LOOK AS CLOSELY AND BOTTOM LINE IT IS STILL INDOCTRINATION OF OUR CHILDREN!
OF THE 14 ON THIS TEAM, I GUESS FLORIDA SHOULD BE PROUD THERE ARE 11 FROM FLORIDA. FOR ME, IT BRINGS MORE QUESTIONS - SUCH AS IF THESE PEOPLE ARE SO SPECIAL AND EDUCATED WHY WERE THINGS NOT CHANGED IN FLORIDA FOR THE BETTER WHEN THEY WERE HERE?
TEAM FLORIDA RECRUITS: (Florida Trains Them Well!
PATRICIA LEVESQUE -
(From personal experience I can tell you she is rude, believes she is always right and will willingly offer information that is incorrect to further their agenda) Patricia is the Executive Director for the Foundation for Excellence in Education. She served as Governor Jeb Bush’s Deputy Chief of Staff for Education, enterprise solutions for government, minority procurement, and business and professional regulation. Previously, Patricia served six years in the Florida Legislature in the Speakers Office and as staff director over education policy. Interesting note - her husband George is the Chief Legal Eagle for the Florida House of Representatives so when complaints are filed against legislators because they are voting on Charter School legislation and also have financial interest in same - he can decide there is no conflict of interest. CRONYISM TO THE HIGHEST DEGREE! Contact Patricia at Patricia@ExcelinEd.org.
DEIRDRE FINN -
Deirdre Finn is Deputy Director of the Foundation for Excellence in Education and director of Digital Learning Now!, the foundation's national campaign to integrate current and future technological innovations into public education. Previously, she served as Deputy Chief of Staff for Governor Jeb Bush, where her policy portfolio included emergency management, environmental protection and transportation. Prior to public service, Deirdre managed political campaigns around the country. Contact Deirdre at Dfinn@ExcelinEd.org.
FONDA ANDERSON -
Fonda is the Chief Development Officer, and oversees all development aspects of the Foundation. Most recently, she was the National Development Director for the American Federation for Children and the Alliance for School Choice, based in Washington, D.C. Previously she was the senior vice president of development and communications for the Governor's community service foundation, focused on education, while Governor Bush was in office. She brings more than 25 years of marketing and communications experience to the organization, 15 of that in nonprofit management. Contact Fonda at Fonda@ExcelinEd.org.
MARY LAURA BRAGG -
Mary Laura serves as Director of State Policy Implementation for the Foundation for Excellence in Education. A former classroom teacher, Mary Laura directed Governor Jeb Bush’s statewide literacy initiative, Just Read, Florida! As director, she was responsible for crafting and implementing the policies that helped place a command focus on reading instruction in Florida. She has served on advisory groups on adolescent literacy for both the Alliance for Excellent Education and the National Governors Association. She is also a member of Carnegie Corporation of New York’s Advisory Council on Advancing Adolescent Literacy. Contact Mary Laura at MaryLaura@ExcelinEd.org.
RAQUEL CISNEROS -
Raquel is the Development Manager for the Foundation for Excellence in Education. Prior to joining the Foundation she served as the Associate Director of the Romero Britto Foundation in Miami where she was responsible for the charitable contributions to hundreds of organizations. Previously, she served as the Communications Coordinator for the Governor’s Office of Film and Entertainment where she administered a multi-million dollar financial incentive and oversaw the design and execution of Florida’s film marketing campaigns. Contact Raquel at Raquel@ExcelinEd.org.
JARYN EMHOF -
Jaryn is Director of State Initiatives and Communications for the Foundation for Excellence in Education. As Director of State Initiatives, she leads the advocacy team, in coordination with the policy team, as they work with state policy organizations, business leaders, lawmakers and state policymakers to advance bold reforms to improve student achievement. As the Communications Director, she serves as spokeswoman for the foundation and facilitates media inquiries and interview requests. Jaryn joins the foundation from the Florida Senate where she served for 10 years, working as a legislative assistant and, most recently, Communications Director for Senate President Jeff Atwater. Contact Jaryn at Jaryn@ExcelinEd.org.
CHRISTY HOVANETZ, Ph.D. -
Christy is a Senior Policy Fellow for the Foundation for Excellence in Education. Dr. Hovanetz served as the Assistant Commissioner at the Minnesota Department of Education and Assistant Deputy Commissioner at the Florida Department of Education. She has worked in education policy for the state of Florida since 1999 serving as the Director of Evaluation and Reporting, Director of Reading First and a Policy Analyst for Governor Jeb Bush. She graduated summa cum laude from St. Cloud State University with a Bachelor of Science Degree in Education with a minor in mathematics and is a certified teacher in the state of Minnesota. She earned her Masters of Public Administration at the University of Minnesota and a Doctor of Philosophy in Public Administration and Policy at The Florida State University. Contact Christy at Christyh@ExcelinEd.org.
CARRIE JENKINS -
Carrie Anne Jenkins manages the accounting and finance operations of the Foundation. She has over 10 years of related experience in both public accounting and private industry and is a Florida licensed Certified Public Accountant. Carrie earned two undergraduate degrees from The Florida State University, graduating magna cum laude in Accounting and summa cum laude in Finance. Contact Carrie at Carrie@ExcelinEd.org.
LOWELL MATTHEWS, JR. -
Lowell serves as a Senior Policy Advisor for the Foundation for Excellence in Education. He previously served as Staff Director for the Florida Legislature's Senate Committees on Education Pre-K-12 and Higher Education, which oversee all aspects of education in Florida. Lowell is a graduate of the University of Michigan and Vanderbilt University Law School. He also served in the U.S. Army. Contact Lowell at Lowell@ExcelinEd.org.
CARI MILLER -
Cari Miller serves as a Policy Advisor for the Foundation for Excellence in Education. A former elementary teacher and reading coach, Cari most recently served as the Deputy Director of Just Read, Florida!, Governor Jeb Bush's statewide literacy initiative. At Just Read, Florida!, she served in various capacities: Elementary Reading Specialist, Director of Reading First and Director of Elementary Reading. In all of her roles, her sole mission was to improve student reading achievement across the state. Contact Cari at Cari@ExcelinEd.org.
LISA KAMMEL RAGUSO -
Lisa is the Arts for Life! Scholarship Program Director. Lisa previously served as the Program Director for Arts for a Complete Education with the Florida Alliance for Arts Education, a statewide arts education alliance. She has also worked with former First Lady, Columba Bush, in carrying out her arts initiative. Lisa has also worked for the Florida Department of Education, Nova Southeastern University in Miami and the Southeastern Center for Contemporary Art in Winston-Salem, North Carolina. Contact Lisa at Lisa@ExcelinEd.org.
THEIR PUSH FOR "CHOICE" SEEMS STRANGE TO ME - WHY ARE THEY NOT FIXING THE PUBLIC SCHOOLS? MY THOUGHTS - BECAUSE WITH CHARTER SCHOOLS NO ONE IS REALLY WATCHING WHAT TEXTBOOKS OR CURRICULUM'S ARE BEING USED, WHO THE TEACHERS ARE & THEY CAN BE NON-UNION, NO ONE WATCHES WHERE THE OUTSIDE FUNDING IS COMING FROM OR CHECKS ON THE FINANCIAL STRUCTURE OF THE CHARTER SCHOOL WHICH IS WHY THERE ARE SO MANY SCANDALS COMING OUT. IN ADDITION, THEY ARE ALLOWING ALMOST ANYONE TO OPEN A CHARTER SCHOOL AND A GOOD SHARE OF THEM ARE FAILING WORSE THAN PUBLIC SCHOOLS. JEB BUSH'S FOUNDATION IS JUST ANOTHER FORM OF CONTROL BUT FROM THE PRIVATE SECTOR. THE MOTIVE IS THE SAME BUT BECAUSE IT HAS THE BUSH NAME ATTACHED TO IT PEOPLE WILL NOT LOOK AS CLOSELY AND BOTTOM LINE IT IS STILL INDOCTRINATION OF OUR CHILDREN!
OF THE 14 ON THIS TEAM, I GUESS FLORIDA SHOULD BE PROUD THERE ARE 11 FROM FLORIDA. FOR ME, IT BRINGS MORE QUESTIONS - SUCH AS IF THESE PEOPLE ARE SO SPECIAL AND EDUCATED WHY WERE THINGS NOT CHANGED IN FLORIDA FOR THE BETTER WHEN THEY WERE HERE?
TEAM FLORIDA RECRUITS: (Florida Trains Them Well!
PATRICIA LEVESQUE -
(From personal experience I can tell you she is rude, believes she is always right and will willingly offer information that is incorrect to further their agenda) Patricia is the Executive Director for the Foundation for Excellence in Education. She served as Governor Jeb Bush’s Deputy Chief of Staff for Education, enterprise solutions for government, minority procurement, and business and professional regulation. Previously, Patricia served six years in the Florida Legislature in the Speakers Office and as staff director over education policy. Interesting note - her husband George is the Chief Legal Eagle for the Florida House of Representatives so when complaints are filed against legislators because they are voting on Charter School legislation and also have financial interest in same - he can decide there is no conflict of interest. CRONYISM TO THE HIGHEST DEGREE! Contact Patricia at Patricia@ExcelinEd.org.
DEIRDRE FINN -
Deirdre Finn is Deputy Director of the Foundation for Excellence in Education and director of Digital Learning Now!, the foundation's national campaign to integrate current and future technological innovations into public education. Previously, she served as Deputy Chief of Staff for Governor Jeb Bush, where her policy portfolio included emergency management, environmental protection and transportation. Prior to public service, Deirdre managed political campaigns around the country. Contact Deirdre at Dfinn@ExcelinEd.org.
FONDA ANDERSON -
Fonda is the Chief Development Officer, and oversees all development aspects of the Foundation. Most recently, she was the National Development Director for the American Federation for Children and the Alliance for School Choice, based in Washington, D.C. Previously she was the senior vice president of development and communications for the Governor's community service foundation, focused on education, while Governor Bush was in office. She brings more than 25 years of marketing and communications experience to the organization, 15 of that in nonprofit management. Contact Fonda at Fonda@ExcelinEd.org.
MARY LAURA BRAGG -
Mary Laura serves as Director of State Policy Implementation for the Foundation for Excellence in Education. A former classroom teacher, Mary Laura directed Governor Jeb Bush’s statewide literacy initiative, Just Read, Florida! As director, she was responsible for crafting and implementing the policies that helped place a command focus on reading instruction in Florida. She has served on advisory groups on adolescent literacy for both the Alliance for Excellent Education and the National Governors Association. She is also a member of Carnegie Corporation of New York’s Advisory Council on Advancing Adolescent Literacy. Contact Mary Laura at MaryLaura@ExcelinEd.org.
RAQUEL CISNEROS -
Raquel is the Development Manager for the Foundation for Excellence in Education. Prior to joining the Foundation she served as the Associate Director of the Romero Britto Foundation in Miami where she was responsible for the charitable contributions to hundreds of organizations. Previously, she served as the Communications Coordinator for the Governor’s Office of Film and Entertainment where she administered a multi-million dollar financial incentive and oversaw the design and execution of Florida’s film marketing campaigns. Contact Raquel at Raquel@ExcelinEd.org.
JARYN EMHOF -
Jaryn is Director of State Initiatives and Communications for the Foundation for Excellence in Education. As Director of State Initiatives, she leads the advocacy team, in coordination with the policy team, as they work with state policy organizations, business leaders, lawmakers and state policymakers to advance bold reforms to improve student achievement. As the Communications Director, she serves as spokeswoman for the foundation and facilitates media inquiries and interview requests. Jaryn joins the foundation from the Florida Senate where she served for 10 years, working as a legislative assistant and, most recently, Communications Director for Senate President Jeff Atwater. Contact Jaryn at Jaryn@ExcelinEd.org.
CHRISTY HOVANETZ, Ph.D. -
Christy is a Senior Policy Fellow for the Foundation for Excellence in Education. Dr. Hovanetz served as the Assistant Commissioner at the Minnesota Department of Education and Assistant Deputy Commissioner at the Florida Department of Education. She has worked in education policy for the state of Florida since 1999 serving as the Director of Evaluation and Reporting, Director of Reading First and a Policy Analyst for Governor Jeb Bush. She graduated summa cum laude from St. Cloud State University with a Bachelor of Science Degree in Education with a minor in mathematics and is a certified teacher in the state of Minnesota. She earned her Masters of Public Administration at the University of Minnesota and a Doctor of Philosophy in Public Administration and Policy at The Florida State University. Contact Christy at Christyh@ExcelinEd.org.
CARRIE JENKINS -
Carrie Anne Jenkins manages the accounting and finance operations of the Foundation. She has over 10 years of related experience in both public accounting and private industry and is a Florida licensed Certified Public Accountant. Carrie earned two undergraduate degrees from The Florida State University, graduating magna cum laude in Accounting and summa cum laude in Finance. Contact Carrie at Carrie@ExcelinEd.org.
LOWELL MATTHEWS, JR. -
Lowell serves as a Senior Policy Advisor for the Foundation for Excellence in Education. He previously served as Staff Director for the Florida Legislature's Senate Committees on Education Pre-K-12 and Higher Education, which oversee all aspects of education in Florida. Lowell is a graduate of the University of Michigan and Vanderbilt University Law School. He also served in the U.S. Army. Contact Lowell at Lowell@ExcelinEd.org.
CARI MILLER -
Cari Miller serves as a Policy Advisor for the Foundation for Excellence in Education. A former elementary teacher and reading coach, Cari most recently served as the Deputy Director of Just Read, Florida!, Governor Jeb Bush's statewide literacy initiative. At Just Read, Florida!, she served in various capacities: Elementary Reading Specialist, Director of Reading First and Director of Elementary Reading. In all of her roles, her sole mission was to improve student reading achievement across the state. Contact Cari at Cari@ExcelinEd.org.
LISA KAMMEL RAGUSO -
Lisa is the Arts for Life! Scholarship Program Director. Lisa previously served as the Program Director for Arts for a Complete Education with the Florida Alliance for Arts Education, a statewide arts education alliance. She has also worked with former First Lady, Columba Bush, in carrying out her arts initiative. Lisa has also worked for the Florida Department of Education, Nova Southeastern University in Miami and the Southeastern Center for Contemporary Art in Winston-Salem, North Carolina. Contact Lisa at Lisa@ExcelinEd.org.
THE ABOVE DID NOT INCLUDE THE FOLLOWING FROM FLORIDA
FL. REPRESENTATIVE ERICK FRESEN
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FL. REPRESENTATIVE JOHN LEGG
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FL. REPRESENTATIVE WILL WEATHERFORD
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FL. SENATOR DON GAETZ
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SENATOR JOE NEGRON
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SENATOR JOHN THRASHER
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SENATOR ANITERE FLORES - Miami-Dade District
Recently recruited by Academica Charter School Consortium headquartered in Miami-Dade County to be the Administrator for a new Charter School college named Doral College which is to open next year. Academica is owned by Maggie and Fernando Zulueta - they are the sister and brother-in-law of Florida Representative Erik Fresen - above.
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THEIR REFORM PLAN!
Our reform agenda is based on 5 principles:
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JEB BUSH'S "CHIEF'S FOR CHANGE"
Chiefs for Change is committed to putting children first through bold, visionary education reform that will increase student achievement and prepare students for success in colleges and careers. CHILDREN FIRST - TOO BAD ERIC SMITH DIDN'T CONSIDER THAT WHEN HE WAS COMMISSIONER OF FLORIDA OR GERARD ROBINSON DOES NOT NOW!
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ANYTIME YOU SEE AN ORGANIZATION RECEIVING DONATIONS FROM SOMEONE LINKED TO GATES FOUNDATION, PEARSON FOUNDATION, MICROSOFT, OR HAS GLOBAL IN THEIR NAME -RUN!
