Miami Herald: Federal grant may give Florida schools up to $700 million

The Miami Herald published this story on December 14, 2009

Federal grant could mean millions for Florida schools, but the restrictions placed on spending are creating problems.

BY PATRICIA MAZZEI AND HANNAH SAMPSON

As Florida races to win up to $700 million in federal grant money, teachers unions in the state’s two largest school districts are balking.

Before the state applies for a chunk of the $4.35 billion Race to the Top initiative in mid-January, the Florida Department of Education is asking school districts and teachers unions to agree in writing that — if rewarded the money — they will follow the state’s plan for reforms.

In Broward, where negotiations are stalled on the issue of teacher raises, the union president says he won’t agree without a contract in place.

Union officials in Miami-Dade, who have signed a district contract, said they don’t like the restrictions the state may be placing on the grant money — and won’t sign an agreement unless districts have more local power.

Deadlines are looming: an informal statement of a district’s interest in receiving the grant money and following through with reforms is due Friday, with a detailed plan to be signed by the school district superintendent, School Board chairperson and a teachers union representative due Jan. 12.

Miami-Dade has already told the state it is interested, a district spokesman said. Broward will follow suit.

“I plan on letting the state know that Broward is intending to participate in Race to the Top,” Superintendent Jim Notter said.

But Broward’s union says it’s not signing unless there’s movement on a contract.

“That ain’t happening unless there’s a settlement,” Broward Teachers Union president Pat Santeramo said. “We’re not even close.”

At stake is possibly $34 million for Broward schools and $65 million for Miami-Dade schools, according to a state estimate based on a $700 million award. Federal officials have said Florida is eligible to receive $350 million to $700 million — or the state can ask for more. No state is guaranteed to win any money from the competition.

Race to the Top targets four areas for reform: standards and tests, effective educators, data systems and turnaround for struggling schools. Florida is considered a strong contender in the race because its emphasis on student testing and collecting data aligns with some of the federal government’s reforms.

To have a shot at the dollars, the state must consider a host of changes, including linking teacher and principal evaluations and pay to student achievement. That’s no small feat — previous efforts to create merit pay have been met with resistance statewide.

In Miami-Dade, representatives from the district and United Teachers of Dade have been meeting to find common ground in the grant application.

But UTD President Karen Aronowitz said the state education department has “taken the requirements of the federal government and really twisted them.”

Citing performance pay, Aronowitz said the state is trying to mandate how districts comply with some of the federal requirements.

“The DOE is saying it’s got to be their way or the highway,” she said. “That is not collective bargaining, it is not negotiating, it is not collaborative. It makes it difficult for us to be able to participate.”

Participating in Florida’s Race to the Top application is not mandatory. If Florida wins grant money, the state would keep half and distribute the rest to participating districts. Those districts would have three months to hash out how to implement the reforms.

Even without a signature from the teachers union, a district could send in paperwork for the funds, said Tom Butler, an education department spokesman, but that scenario is not ideal.

“The U.S. Department of Education is looking for those partnerships,” he said. “If you have a signed agreement ahead of time, you’re showing a good faith effort . . . It doesn’t mean you can’t do that afterwards.”

Mark Pudlow, spokesman for the Florida Education Association, said state union officials are still studying the Race to the Top information released by the state and haven’t decided whether to support union involvement.

“We have suggested that local union leaders not rush into signing any memo of understanding just yet,” said Pudlow, adding there are too many unknowns, especially regarding teacher evaluations and compensation.

“There are just an awful lot of questions about what this means,” he said.

The state education department has been talking to districts and getting mostly positive feedback, spokesman Butler said.

“We want them asking us questions,” he said. “There’s going to be some things that need to be worked out along the way.”

Notter, the Broward schools chief, said Race to the Top money could go to extending the school day, particularly at struggling schools, and providing more and better teacher training. Those long-term changes are separate from teacher contract negotiations, he said.

On the question of money, those talks are essentially at a standstill. BTU has asked for an average 4 percent pay increase, which includes advancement for years of service. The district has offered no raise, which Notter has said would cost about $30 million.

The school system will still pay for employees’ health insurance, though the cost to cover dependents is going up, in some cases dramatically.

Last school year, the Broward teachers contract wasn’t settled until the spring, and only after talks hit an impasse.

Since then, the relationship between BTU and the district has deteriorated. And the union has stepped up its criticism of how the district does business since suspended School Board member Beverly Gallagher was arrested in a federal corruption probe in September.

But that should not affect Broward’s chances of getting money to spur innovation, according to Notter.

“This should not be about leverage,” he said. “All we’re asking for is to keep us in the hunt, keep us in the game.”