News & Public Affairs
Activists rally against Scott, GOP legislature over a slew of issues listen
03/28/11 Kate BradshawWMNF Drive-Time News Monday Listen to this entire show:
Tags: unions, teachers, SB6, SB736, Fight Back Florida, Awake the State, Rick Scott, Dana Young, education
Since the start of the legislative session, droves of people unhappy with Rick Scott and the Republican-controlled legislature have been spending Friday afternoons rallying against numerous state policies. Protesters don’t think they’ll be changing the governor’s mind any time soon, but they do hope to draw attention from fellow voters.
Republican State Representative Dana Young’s Tampa office...
Be the first to commentRick Scott signs teacher pay and tenure bill then is protested at Tampa charter school
03/24/11 Janelle IrwinWMNF Drive-Time News Thursday Listen to this entire show:
Tags: Rick Scott, education, SB736, SB6, charter schools
Governor Rick Scott signed his first bill as governor this morning in Jacksonville. The governor later spoke at Pepin Academy, a charter school in Tampa, to discuss the future of education in Florida.
Senate Bill 736, or "Son of 6" as many opponents are calling it, is a bill that requires teacher pay be linked to student performance. According to information released by Scott’s administration, tests, including the Florida Comprehensive Assessment Test or FCAT, will be used to measure stude...
Be the first to commentControversial teacher pay and tenure bill passes Florida Senate listen
03/10/11 Kate BradshawWMNF Drive-Time News Thursday Listen to this entire show:
Tags: Senate Bill 6, SB6, teacher tenure, Paula Dockery, Rick Scott, education reform, education, Charlie Crist, 2011 Legislative session
Last year former governor Charlie Crist vetoed a bill doing away with teacher tenure and linking teacher pay to student test scores. The state Senate passed a modified version of the bill today, and the governor is almost certain to sign it into law.
Supporters say it’s a much needed – if imperfect – kick start to education reform. Opponents say it places student success squarely on the shoulders of teachers. Senate Bill 736 passed pretty much along party lines. The exceptions were Democra...
Be the first to commentSchool officials from all over Florida "Lead The Way" listen
01/20/11 Janelle IrwinWMNF Drive-Time News Thursday Listen to this entire show:
Tags: Education reform, SB6, Rick Scott, education, Randi Weingarten, unions
School Superintendents and Teacher’s Association Presidents from all over the state met yesterday and today to discuss the future plans for education reform. The “Leading the Way” conference addressed some tough issues.
Florida Schools are facing a series of uncertain changes in the coming months and years with the arrival of an all new Rick Scott-led administration. School officials made certain they were ready for the changes by proposing one very dominant theme. Randi Weingarten, Presi...
Be the first to commentFlorida CFO Alex Sink on the 2010 races for Florida Governor and US Senate listen
05/17/10 Seán KinaneWMNF Drive-Time News Monday Listen to this entire show:
Tags: Alex Sink, Charlie Crist, US Senate race, SB6
Florida’s Chief Financial Officer, Alex Sink, is the leading Democratic candidate for Governor. WMNF caught up with Sink earlier this month and asked her about the state’s interesting race for U.S. Senate: “in a three-way race, anything might happen,” and about her race for Governor.
Be the first to commentCrist leaves Republican party listen
04/30/10 Kate BradshawWMNF Drive-Time News Friday Listen to this entire show:
Tags: Charlie Crist, Marco Rubio, Kendrick Meek, SB6, Wengay Newton, Dick Greco, US Senate race
It’s official: Governor Charlie Crist is running for US Senate with no party affiliation. He announced it in Downtown St. Petersburg yesterday to a mostly adoring crowd.
The announcement comes after months of speculation as to whether Crist would stay in the Republican party and face ultra-conservative GOP Senate hopeful Marco Rubio in the primary, or go independent. The former would have meant campaigning against a once unknown opponent who now leads him in the polls by nearly thirty poin...
Be the first to commentCrist vetoes controversial teacher bill SB 6 listen
04/15/10 Seán KinaneWMNF Drive-Time News Thursday Listen to this entire show:
Tags: SB6, Charlie Crist, education, veto, teacher pay, teacher tenure
Shortly after noon today, Governor Charlie Crist vetoed Senate Bill 6, a controversial education bill that would have tied teacher pay and evaluations to student scores on standardized tests.
Crist said several issues of concern led him to veto.
There was a huge backlash against SB 6 before and after it was passed last Thursday. That includes students walking out of classes, teachers calling in sick, and rallies across the state. Crist acknowledged he was influenced by the bill’s oppone...
1 commentsCFO candidate Loranne Ausley calls for Crist to veto SB 6 listen
04/14/10 Seán KinaneWMNF Drive-Time News Wednesday Listen to this entire show:
Tags: Loranne Ausley, Charlie Crist, SB6, teacher pay, teacher tenure, education
Pressure is growing on Governor Charlie Crist to veto SB 6 – the controversial bill passed last week by the Florida Legislature to tie teacher evaluations and pay to student performance on standardized tests.
Even some Republicans running for statewide office oppose SB 6, including gubernatorial candidate Paula Dockery who voted against it in the Senate.
All Democrats running for statewide office oppose it. That includes Loranne Ausley, a former state legislator who is running to beco...
Be the first to commentMiami-Dade Teachers Union Leader Doesn't Condone "Sick-Out" Actions Over SB 6 listen
04/12/10 Kate BradshawWMNF Drive-Time News Monday Listen to this entire show:
Tags: Charlie Crist, SB6, Senate Bill 6, Miami-Dade County, education, unions
Today, some South Florida teachers held a “sick-out” to protest Senate Bill 6. Gov. Charlie Crist has until Friday to veto the bill, which will link teacher pay to student performance, among other things. One quarter of Miami-Dade County teachers called in sick, apparently to protest the bill. United Teachers of Dade president Karen Aronowitz told WMNF that her group did not support the sick out, but that SB 6 would sti...
Be the first to commentNot All Teachers Oppose SB 6 listen
04/12/10 Kate BradshawWMNF Drive-Time News Monday Listen to this entire show:
Tags: Senate Bill 6, SB6, Gulfport, education
Not all teachers oppose Senate Bill 6. Fran Strayhorn is a kindergarten teacher at Gulfport Montessori She said it would force teachers to work harder.
While the bill’s opponents say it would place an undue burden on educators while leaving families off the hook when it comes to student success, Strayhorn says someone has to take up the slack.
She said that to expect some families to step up their involvement in their children’s education is ...
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