The following summary includes education-related proposals from the 2005 state of the state addresses. To assure that this information reaches you in a timely manner, minimal attention has been paid to style (capitalization, punctuation) or format. To view the documents, click on the blue triangle next to the state.
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| Governor Jeb Bush's State of the State Address
Class Size
In 2002, Florida voters amended the Constitution to reduce class size in Florida schools. We're implementing that amendment, but at a tremendous cost. Complete implementation will turn our teacher shortage into a crisis, and eat up resources we need to recruit and retain quality educators. We've spent more than $2 billion on implementation so far. Next year, the figure will rise to $3.8 billion, and we're on track to spend $22.2 billion by 2010-11. Additionally, understandable reluctance to cancel art and music classes, to bus students, and to convert resource rooms to classrooms will require more construction, driving the actual cost to implement as high as $26.4 billion.
Teachers make the difference. And we would serve our students better by focusing on attracting and retaining the quality teachers who can help them discover the world, rather than pushing class size reduction down to every class in every school, in every district throughout the state.
Proposing an approach to meeting the class size reduction requirement: a joint resolution to ask voters to amend the Constitution, to give school districts the flexibility to maintain class size reductions at the district average level, accelerate the required reductions by three years to the 2007-08 school year, raise the minimum teacher salary to $35,000 and to keep it above the national average starting salary in the future.
Teacher Compensation, Mentoring, Recruitment/Retention
Educators who teach a subject in a critical shortage area, or teach in a low-income or high crime community, should be compensated accordingly. Educators who mentor other teachers, or play a leadership role in their schools, should be rewarded for the extra value they add.
Reading
-- Make reading an integral part of education. Teachers in all subject areas need to become effective reading instructors. We've seen the difference "Just Read, Florida!" initiative has made, but we have a long way to go.
-- Make reading initiatives a permanent part of our public school budget. I am asking the Legislature to include reading dollars in the public school funding formula. Ensure every school in Florida has money for reading instruction and that reading funding increases as the public school budget grows each year.
-- Continue to put reading coaches in middle grades.
-- Require students in grades six through eight who cannot read at grade level to take a reading class based on sound research developed by reading experts.
Middle School, High School
-- Align middle school coursework and grading systems with high schools.
-- Ensure middle school students complete minimum coursework requirements for promotion to high school.
Remediation
-- Create the Reading Compact Scholarship for students who read at Level 1 for three consecutive years, so their parents can find the best solution, whether public or private, for their success. Children who score a Level 1, or below basic level, on the reading portion of the FCAT cannot read independently. Students who consistently struggle to master these skills should have other education options.
Finance
-- Support Florida families with a nine-day holiday from sales taxes on clothing, books, and school supplies.
Economic/Workforce Development
-- Budget includes a funding increase of $103 million for workforce development next year.
-- Spend $25 million of this new money to fund "Jobs for Florida's Future", an initiative to create workforce development programs in public schools and community colleges that target high skill, high wage occupations.
http://www.myflorida.com/myflorida/government/state_of_the_state/html/state_of_the_state_text.html |  |
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