Rick Patrick: Greene Publishing, Inc.
This is the eighth in a series of articles that will appear in the Madison Enterprise-Recorder. Each article will examine one of the 13 proposed constitutional amendments that will be appearing on the Florida elections ballot on Tuesday, Nov. 6. This week's article takes a look at Amendment Eight.
This November, Florida voters will be making a major decision that will have a significant effect on the way local school boards govern local schools. If passed by the voters, Amendment Eight would make three changes to local schools and the way in which they are governed.
First, the amendment would limit school boards' governing authority to only those schools that are established by the district school board. This could lead the way for a different state institution to have oversight of any public schools not established by the local school board. This could include privately-organized charter schools, lab schools, college or university high schools, etc. Currently, local school boards have authority over all free public schools within their jurisdiction.
Secondly, the amendment would require civics literacy to be taught in the public schools. If passed, this would be the only academic subject specified in the state constitution.
Lastly, the amendment would place term limits on school board members. According to the amendment, school board members would be limited to two terms of service on the school board. If the amendment passes in November, it would take effect immediately, however, for current school board members, terms prior to November 2018 would not be counted against a member's term limits.
Current long-term school board member, VeEtta Hagan, from District Three, had "no comment" when asked about Amendment Eight. District Five school board member, Bart Alford, who has been on the board for 16 years, had some thoughts on the amendment, especially the aspect of charter schools. "I am very proud of our current charter schools (Madison Creative Arts Academy and James Madison Preparatory High School). They do a great job for the students and for the community," said Alford. "I am concerned over 'for-profit' charter schools with no local control. Some of these schools may have a governing board that may even be from another state. We are very fortunate in Madison that we have local boards who oversee our local charter schools." The language of the amendment could leave it up to wide interpretation as to who and what kind of charter schools could be opened. The amendment states, "The amendment maintains a school board's duties to public schools it establishes, but permits the state to operate, control, and supervise public schools not established by the school board." According to Alford, this lack of specific language could be problematic. "[It seems] anyone could start a charter school. At some point, you have to ask, where would the money come from? Would these charter schools have the authority to levy millage rates?" said Alford. "If a charter school accepts public money, they should be held accountable. I am in favor of people having choices. In the end, everyone needs to do what's best for that child. Sometimes that might mean a charter school. Sometimes that might mean homeschool. Sometimes that might mean a [traditional] public school. But the best interest of the child should be the top concern."
Another aspect of the amendment, term limits, carries with it a double-edged sword. "I can understand people's desire to see term limits. It should be left up to the voters. At the same time, term limits could mean a board could lose valuable experience," said Alford. "It takes a while to learn all a board member needs to know in order to be effective. It can take a full term to really get comfortable on the board. With term limits, we could see having a very inexperienced board." Theoretically, if three board members are forced to leave at the same time due to term limits, it could result in an entire board with less than two years' experience. "I can definitely see both sides," added Alford.
On Thursday, July 12, The Southern Poverty Law Center filed a lawsuit in the Second Judicial Circuit of Leon County on behalf of the Florida League of Women Voters to keep the measure off the November ballot. The lawsuit claims that "the measure combines three separate and unrelated measures into one, so voters must either reject or approve all three, the ballot language is misleading and therefore the measure should not be placed on the ballot."
"If Amendment 8 remains on the ballot, there is no way that voters will realize that a yes vote could allow unaccountable political appointees or even private organizations to control where and when charter schools can be established in their county. We know that Floridians overwhelmingly support the constitutional requirement to make adequate provision for the education of all children that is ‘uniform, efficient, safe, secure and high quality.' We are asking the court to ensure that voters aren't tricked into eliminating those protections," said Patricia Brigham, President of the Florida League of Women Voters.
A poll of 605 likely voters was conducted by Cherry Communications and commissioned by the Florida Chamber of Commerce to gauge support or opposition for the various proposed amendments. The sample consisted of 237 Republicans, 249 Democrats and 119 others. The poll was conducted from Friday, May 25 through Saturday, June 2. The results were as follows: 75 percent were in favor of the amendment, 11 percent were opposed and 15 percent were undecided. The poll had a margin of error of plus or minus four percent.
In order to become law, this proposed amendment will have to pass with at least 60 percent of the vote in the November election. As with any proposed legislation, one should carefully weigh both sides of the argument and then make the wisest choice.