The political action committee Citizens for Better Schools (CBS), funded by the Sarasota Classified Teachers Association (SCTA), has on its website a link to a report issued by the Sarasota County School Board Financial Advisory Committee.

The report states, “The Financial Advisory Committee [FAC] consists of independent local business professionals with broad experience and perspective.” [Emphasis added]

The School Board, District Administration and those speaking in favor of extending the School Tax Referendum consistently refer to this report as proof the district is doing the right things for our students in a fiscally responsible manner.

I met with a Financial Advisory Committee member to learn how the Committee does “a sound analysis of the system’s finances”, according to the report. I learned that all of the information, data and financial input to the Committee are provided exclusively by the School District staff and Superintendent. In the report it states “The Committee has reviewed a variety of metrics to determine the quality of education and outcomes delivered by the Sarasota County School system.”  These metrics are provided, unfiltered, by District staff. No outside sources that I could determine were used in writing the final Committee report.

The Committee supports the continued use of Certificates of Participation. The report states, “the School Board has acted in good faith to accomplish the commitments made to citizens regarding use of incremental revenues [the 2006 Referendum dollars] from the last voted millage initiative.”

The report paints a glowing picture stating, “The Committee believes that SCSB [Sarasota County School Board] has performed well over the last four years – as evidenced by the educational benchmarks and financial measures.”

The report sounds very much like a complete and thorough review by independent local business professionals. There is just one problem with this, an e-mail sent from the Chairman of the Financial Advisory Committee to all Committee members and District staff. The e-mail was sent on December 8, 2009 just days after issuing the Committee report stating the following:

“Thus, may all of you have a wonderful Christmas season and return full of vim and vigor to make our attack plans to win the referendum vote. Today's op-ed by Bob Herbert paints a sad scenario for our education in general. There have been several similar articles recently. We must make the public aware of the serious consequences of a defeat in March…” [Emphasis added]

Given the Committee was provided all of its information and briefed by District staff and given the comments by the Chair of the Committee to “make our attack plans to win the referendum vote”, it begs the question:

Is the Committee advisory or advocating?

I will leave that up to you to decide.

From: Rasmussen www.rasmussenreports.com

Election 2010: Florida Republican Primary for Senate
Florida GOP Senate: Rubio 49%, Crist 37%

 Former state House Speaker Marco Rubio has now jumped to a 12-point lead over Governor Charlie Crist in Florida’s Republican Primary race for the U.S. Senate.

A new Rasmussen Reports telephone survey of likely GOP Primary voters in the state finds Rubio leading Crist 49% to 37%. Three percent (3%) prefer another candidate, and 11% are undecided.

The new numbers mark a stunning turnaround. Crist was the strong favorite when he first announced for the Senate seat, and Rubio was viewed as a long-shot challenger.

But Crist’s support fell from 53% in August to 49% in October. By December, the two men were tied at 43% apiece.

Rubio leads Crist by 17 points among men and by seven among women. He also carries 52% of the conservative GOP vote, while moderates prefer Crist.

Marco Rubio clearly has the message and Conservative values that the people of Florida want in their Leaders.  It is being shown over and over in the polls in which Marco Rubio has won every straw Poll in the REC's (Republican Executive Committees).  Charlie Crist even lost his own home town County.

You may wonder why Rubio is pulling away from Crist at such a fast pace? If you remember it was not all that long ago that Marco Rubio was not a name known outside of Politics or the Miami area.  That has all changed in part because of Crist’s hugging Obama and strongly supporting the stimulus bill.  Most recently, Crist has run into problems with the SunRail project.  This project would basically create another form of mass transit-- a very expensive high speed train that will run between DeLand and Poinciana, with Orlando being roughly in the middle. It does not, however, stop at DisneyWorld! This stop alone could help generate jobs and bring more people in from the surrounding areas.

The cost is $307 million in federal funds; plus, the local governments will pay an additional 25%. It is these types of money wasting projects that are helping Rubio’s fiscal conservative message.  The money would be better spent, on education, tax breaks for small businesses and other fiscal investments that would help stimulate the economy.

Crist’s misfortunes also appear to be tied in part to national unhappiness over President Obama and his policies. Many conservatives began rebelling against Crist when he became one of the few Republican governors to embrace Obama’s $787-billion economic stimulus plan last year. The NRSC endorsed Crist early on, but a number of prominent national party conservatives have since announced their support for Rubio. Nationally, the GOP’s Florida Senate race is being watched as a test of the new “Tea Party” mood among many conservative and traditional Republican voters.

In Florida's Senate general election contest, Crist and Rubio both hold a double-digit lead over their likely Democratic opponent, Congressman Kendrick Meek, in the latest Rasmussen Reports polling of likely voters in the state.

Sixty-two percent (62%) of GOP Primary voters have a favorable view of Crist while 37% regard the governor unfavorably. Those figures include 19% with a very favorable opinion and 11% who have a very unfavorable view of him.

Rubio is viewed favorably by 67% of primary voters and unfavorably by only14%. These numbers include 35% with a very favorable opinion of the Cuban-American candidate versus four percent (4%) with a very unfavorable view.

Perhaps more telling for Crist is that just 56% of Republican Primary voters approve of the job he is now doing as governor. Forty-three percent (43%) disapprove of his job performance.

Both men are vying to be the Republican nominee in next year’s race to fill the seat vacated by retiring GOP Senator Mel Martinez. In August, Crist as governor named his chief of staff, George LeMiuex, to serve the remainder of Martinez’s term, but LeMieux is not running for a full term next year.

Florida’s Republican Primary is scheduled for August 24 and all eyes will be on Florida.

FLORIDA TEA PARTY HIJACKED – CONSERVATIVE ACTIVISTS DECLARE WAR

By Michael Johns

The American Tea Party movement emerged as one of the top stories of 2009, and for good reason: the mass movement of millions of liberty-minded Americans into the political arena is the largest shift of its kind in modern times.

I was honored to play a role in the Reagan Revolution as a young man. Then, I considered myself a conservative first and a Republican second; I still do today.  Thirty years later, the Tea Party movement has eclipsed that era fourfold.

Unfortunately, we are probably also four times as likely to see our movement spin out of control.

In fact, according to the mainstream media, we are already self-destructing.  As usual, the reporters are mistaken. But America’s Tea Party organizations (TPOs) are facing serious challenges on several fronts.

Conservative Republican political strategist Stephen Gordon recently told MSNBC that our movement was ripe for a hijacking from the start.  His reason: inexperienced Tea Party activists needed the help of experienced GOP operatives. Gordon wisely noted that, in the end, the professional consultants “want those email lists, they want the dollars, they want to control the organization.”

Gordon is right; we are a takeover target. Already major TPOs are being accused of lining the pockets of top-notch Republican operatives and individual entrepreneurs in the Tea Party movement.  In Florida, three men disguised as Tea Party activists are flat-out hijacking the movement to promote unfit candidates.

The name “TEA Party” was quietly registered in Florida last summer and rolled out to the great surprise and dismay of state activists.  Nobody had heard of the founders; nobody had met them at Tea Party events.  Soon the party announced their support for State Senator Paula Dockery, a RINO candidate for governor, and threatened legitimate TPOs with trademark litigation if they continued using the Tea Party moniker.

A spokesman for the newly registered party, Doug Guetzloe, has a long and notorious record of running political trick plays and compromising on core conservative ideals. The deceptive Florida TEA Party could be used to promote Guetzloe’s clients and, more importantly, hurt their opponents. Guetzloe has, for instance, spoken supportively of liberal Rep. Alan Grayson (D-FL), who Tea Party activists hope to replace with a more conservative, liberty-minded candidate this November.  He also has been an advocate of Dockery’s candidacy, which is requiring probable Republican nominee Bill McCollum, a solid conservative, to dedicate resources to a primary battle that would be better spent in the highly contentious general election campaign.

Worse: a U.S. Senate candidate by the name of Jorge Lovenguth has made noise about running under the Florida TEA Party in the general election.  This is another clear signal, this time to both Marco Rubio and Charlie Crist, that the new party intends to be at the general election table. According to Guetzloe’s record, that means money.

In just one month, the leaders of the registered party have been quoted representing Florida TPOs in the state media and even in the recent New York Times Magazine feature on Florida Senate candidate Marco Rubio.  Clearly the media has been duped already; rank-and-file Tea Party activists are next.

Fortunately, Florida Tea Party activists and organizations quickly united in a federal court action against the perpetrators of the new party.  Their complaint against the Florida TEA Party and its founders, filed last week in Miami federal district court, asks for a declaratory judgment separating the two groups and a court order to stop the party’s threats of litigation.

The unified coalition, built so rapidly behind the lawsuit, is an indication of just how robust our Tea Party movement is today.  South Florida Tea Party v. TEA Party proves TPOs are united when we face a common enemy out-of-step with our shared values, bent on hijacking our movement.

Because that spells trouble for liberals in both parties, they naturally want to close their eyes and pretend we are disappearing or self-destructing.  We will not.  Impressively, America’s Tea Party movement boasts approximately five million members today. According to a recent Rasmussen Poll, a majority of Americans view the Tea Party movement “favorably” or “very favorably.” Clearly our upside growth potential is hugely significant to the future of American politics.

Nobody knows better than the grassroots how this movement comes alive at Tea Party protests, 912 rallies and other events.  There is a lot of potential energy there to be harnessed. Of course, many politicians cannot resist the urge to poach.  And then there’s the money.  I don’t begrudge any entrepreneur, but the buyer–and the seller–must beware, especially in cases like the Florida TEA Party.

Let the liberals mistake our growing pains as a death rattle. In truth, our remarkable and promising movement is sorting itself out in a healthy manner, even when facing major political obstacles, and we’re not yet one year old.

We must protect our independence vigilantly and pursue our shared goals with enthusiasm and collaboration.  Every day we are not working together, we take one step forward and two steps back. With the unity we have demonstrated against the so-called TEA Party of Florida, we proved we are at our best when we stay focused on the whites of the enemies’ eyes.

—

Michael Johns, a former Heritage Foundation policy analyst and White House speechwriter, is one of the founders and national leaders of the Tea Party movement.  He is Chairman of The Patriot Caucus, a national Tea Party organization, and a board member of the Nationwide Tea Party Coalition.

I had the great pleasure of interviewing Mark Smith, candidate for Sarasota County Commission, District 4. Mark is truly a breath of fresh air. He is a long time resident of Sarasota, a consummate professional, a small businessman and volunteers to help local non-profits like the Girl Scouts.

As an architect Mark has a different perspective on Sarasota County government. Mark said architects are the proverbial canaries in the coal mine when it comes to the housing and construction industries. If architects are not working, and in this recession they aren't, then the carpenter, brick layer, plumber, painter, and landscaper are not working. As Mark pointed out to me Sarasota County has a national reputation as being both anti-business and anti-growth. Sarasota County may say it wants economic development but everything the County Commission does says just the opposite.

Mark said that he and his clients who want to build start from the Planning and County Commission's position of ABSOLUTLY NOT. From there Mark and his client property owners have to try to get to a YES. This is not what I and Mark believe should be the environment. Mark believes government's role is to protect property rights and not limit or take them away.

Mark is very candid in his interview. I ask that you listen to Mark's interview and consider supporting his candidacy.

Mark reminds me of Howard Roark, the architect in Any Rand's novel "The Fountainhead". Roark, the novel's hero, is described as follows:

A brilliant architect of absolute integrity. Roark has friends and colleagues, but relies on himself alone. He is tall, gaunt, and angular, with gray eyes and distinctive orange hair. Born to a poor family, Roark supports himself throughout high school and college by working odd jobs on construction sites. He brings the same fiery intensity to whatever job he does, whether it is manual labor or architecture. He is the novel’s idealization of man, bringing innovative and joyful buildings to the rest of the world.

Mark Smith has these same qualities.

Mark Smith's campaign web site is www.VoteMarkSmith.com. It was under construction when I interview him so please be patient. To e-mail Mark use info@votemarksmith.com.

Please listen to my interview with Mark Smith, candidate of Sarasota County Commission, District 4:

Mark H. Smith AIA, LEED® AP

Mark grew up in Sarasota when his family moved from Detroit, Michigan in 1963. He graduated from Riverview High School in 1973. Mark received both his Masters in Architecture and Bachelor of Science from the Georgia Institute of Technology. He and his family moved back to Sarasota in 1990 and to Siesta Key in 1994. Mark has two daughters, Liz 22 and Jackie, 20.

Mark is an architect and president of Smith Architects, P.A. in Sarasota, Florida. He is a LEED Accredited Professional as designated by the U.S. Green Building Council. Mark’s office is located in the Siesta Key Village.

Mark has been long active in his professional association and in his community. He has been President of the Siesta Key Village Association since 2005, leading the association through the design and construction of the Siesta Key Village Beautification Project. The Siesta Key Village Association was awarded the 2009 Keep Sarasota County Beautiful Award. Mark is currently on the Siesta Key Chamber of Commerce Board of Directors, the Siesta Key Presidents Council, and is a past board member of the Siesta Key Association. He is also on the Sarasota County Sheriff’s Advisory Board, Vice President of the Board of Directors of All Faiths Food Bank, and a past board member of the Girl Scouts of Gulfcoast Florida, where he received the “Thanks Badge” - the highest recognition the National Girl Scouts award a volunteer. Mark served as President of the Florida Association of the American Institute of Architects in 2007 where he created a new vice president’s position to head up the Commission on the Environment (COTE). He is currently on the Board of Trustees for the Florida Foundation for Architecture.

Mark received the 2009 AIA Florida Silver Medal in recognition of his years of leadership and service that has been a direct benefit to the profession and the community.

This past Monday I met with Dr. Lori White, Superintendent of the Sarasota County Schools. During my meeting with her and later at a public debate on the upcoming School Tax Referendum, Dr. White said there was a provision or "trigger" in the union contract that automatically mandates a cut in all district salaries by 6.625% or $19 million. This provision does not impact School Board member salaries as those are set by the Florida legislature.

I spoke with a current and former School Board member and they confirmed that yes the School Board, District Administration and Sarasota Classified Teachers Association (SCTA) have that in the union contract, which covers nearly all 5,224 district employees.

I was shocked by this revelation.

Dr. White said that this is merely a way for the School Board to "signal to all its employees there will be a mandated pay cut should the referendum fail".

Why would the School Board target all employees in the collective bargaining unit? Why not say publicly that there will be cuts to the district salary schedule and benefits but not be specific? This allows the School Board to perhaps hold harmless the salaries of young teachers, while freezing the salaries of more senior teachers, administrators or non-instructional employees. Perhaps some changes to the benefits package might save the School District on long term costs (e.g. higher co-pays, more competitive bidding process, higher deductibles, etc.) without targeting the salary schedule. Health care costs for the district are $38 million annually. The School Board currently has reserve funds of $54 million that could be used to off set some or all of the $19 million in mandated salary cuts should the referendum fail. Why make the cuts automatic and solely dependent upon passage of the School Tax Referendum?

If I were a cynic I might think this is a way to buy employees votes for passage of the referendum. Let me explain.

The Sarasota County School Board is the largest employer in the county with over 5,000 collective bargaining members. If half of these employees have spouses then the voting block increases to a potential 7,500 registered voters. I did not count in adult children or relatives of employees voting in Sarasota County, but clearly no one wants to see a relative take a mandated pay cut, with no other option available. The 2006 School Tax Referendum passed by a margin of 13,241 votes.

In a special election, where typically voter turnout is low, this is a significant voting block.

So now, let's take a look at who is leading the effort to pass the School Tax Referendum. Citizens for Better Schools (CBS) is a political action committee dedicated to passing the School Tax Referendum in March. CBS is headed by Jane Goodwin. So who are the top donors to Citizens for Better Schools? According to the Sarasota County Supervisor of Elections website the top five donors as of January 7, 2010 are:

1. Sarasota Classified Teachers Association - $25,000 (November 25, 2009)
2. Sarasota Classified Teachers Association - $3,500 (December 18, 2009)
3. Peter & Melissa Delisser - $1,000 (December 9, 2009)
4. Lori White, School Superintendent - $300 (December 14, 2009)
5. Steven Largo - $100 (December 14, 2009)

So of the $30,396.25 in contributions to CBS collected in the fourth quarter of CY2009, $28,500 came from the Sarasota Classified Teachers Association. Do you see a pattern here?

The School Board, School Administration and Sarasota Classified Teachers Association write into the contact a mandated pay cut trigger. So employees have a vested interest in passing the referendum extending the tax on home owners and businesses. The district employee's bargaining unit then provides 93.7% of all donations to the CBS political action committee to push the referendum. Couple this with a potential voting block of 7,500 employees and property tax payers don't stand a chance in a special election.

Therefore, I must sadly conclude that the Sarasota County School Board's actions have the effect of buying votes to pass the School Referendum. If someone else has a better explanation then please send it to me.

Yesterday was an amazing day for me. I spent the entire day at meetings and presentations about extending a 1 mill property tax in Sarasota County to fund our local schools above and beyond that provided by the State of Florida.

After this series of meetings with Lori White, Sarasota Superintendent of Schools, her staff, members of the district Financial Advisory committee and attending a debate on the School Referendum I asked myself:

Do I trust the School Board and District Administration?

My answer is at the end of this column but please continue reading to understand how I arrived at my answer.

The day started early with a meeting between concerned parent Walt Augustinowicz, former County Commissioner Jack O'Neil and me and Superintendent Lori White, district staff, Bob Windom and members of the district Financial Advisory Committee. The meeting was requested by Bob Windom, Chairman of the Financial Advisory Committee. Walt, Jack and I have serious reservations about extending the tax but we wanted to learn from district administration and their advisory committee why it must be extended.

Here is what Walt, Jack and I learned.

1. The School Board with the advice of District Administration will hold the School Referendum on March 16, 2010 and will not consider moving it to the general election in November 2010 thereby saving taxpayers the $500,000 cost of a special election.
2. The School Board with the advice of District Administration has spent non-recurring referendum dollars to grow and hold harmless the district salary schedule and will continue to do so if the School Referendum passes.
3. The School Board, Sarasota Classified/Teachers Association (SCTA), and District Administration have placed a "trigger" in the union contract that ties passage of the referendum to across the board salary cuts of 6.625% if the referendum fails. The salary cut does not apply to School Board members as their salary is set by the state.
4. The School Board with the advice of District Administration is and will continue to use Certificates of Participation (COPS) to fund school construction, thereby by passing voters who would normally approve this debt via a bond referendum.
5. The School Board with the advice of District Administration will continue to take non-recurring stimulus dollars ($26 million this year and $15 million next year) and spend the money on recurring costs - the district salary schedule.
6. The School Board and District Administration have no written contingency plan in place should the School Referendum fail. Therefore all potential cuts are purely speculative.
7. The District Administration has no idea how many students can read, write and cipher at the 12th Grade level upon graduation. When asked this question Superintendent White said, "What standard do you want me to use to determine this?" Lori implied there is none other than the state mandated minimal graduation criteria.
8. District Administration is bound and determined to hold harmless the district salary schedule regardless of the serious economic downturn and suffering in Sarasota County.
9. Superintendent White, when asked, did not contest any statistics or data Walt has presented to the public on school funding. She could not name a single example of incorrect or misinformation presented by Walt.
10. The original intent of the 2002 School Referendum has been accomplished with district teachers salaries now number two in the state of Florida.

Later in the day I attended a Sarasota League of Women Voters debate on the School Referendum. Superintendent Lori White and Citizens for Better Schools Political Action Committee Chair Jane Goodwin spoke for the tax. Walt Augustinowicz, father with two children in public schools and taxpayer and Rod Thompson, a taxpayer, spoke against the tax. Here is a synopsis of key arguments on both sides:

Pro:

1. The School Referendum funds are critical to keeping programs such as arts, gym, sports and extra counselors whole.
2. Failure of the referendum will result in a 6.625% across the board pay cut and elimination of the extra 30 minutes added to each school day (this will be another 7% pay cut for teachers and administrators).
3. By protecting school funding voters are protecting the education of students in Sarasota public schools.
4. The school district has been fiscally responsible and has used referendum dollars properly.
5. Sarasota Schools are at the top or above state benchmarks such as number of A rated schools.
6. It is all about the children.
7. Sarasota has one of the lowest school millage rates of Florida school districts.

Con:

1.  The local and Florida economies are shrinking therefore government at all levels must shrink as well.
2. There is no data that shows the over $400 million spent since 2002 has made any difference in student achievement as measured by the FCAT. In fact Charlotte County public schools do not have the additional funding and their students out perform Sarasota County public school students on the FCAT.
3. The 2009-2010 budget for Sarasota County is over $700 million (operational and capital) and per student expenditures exceeds $19,000. Isn't this enough?
4. The district has one of the lowest school millage rates in Florida because county property values are one of the highest in Florida. Sarasota is a donor county with property tax revenues going to other poorer counties to support the "equal funding" of public education.
5. The referendum is projected to take $47 million out of the Sarasota economy this year and, if passed will take out $38 million next year. Can we afford that added taxation on an already depressed economy?
6. The School District continues to build expensive schools without voter approval of the debt obligations, yet the School Board and Administration want voters to continue to provide additional money to hold the district salary schedule harmless. Why not ask voters to approve both?
7. The School Board and Administration have obligated property owners for construction and debt service without voter approval. Why not cut back on building schools in excess of state guidelines and lower the long term debt on property owners?
8. Those most harmed by extending the property tax are the county's middle to lower class renters and business owners. Renters and local businesses pay a higher property tax rate because they are not protected under the Save Our Homes ceiling on property taxes and are not eligible for Homestead Exemptions.

After listening to both sides on this issue I must say that my trust in the Sarasota County School Board and District Administration has been shaken.

With your and my income and wealth shrinking it is common sense to have government funding at all levels shrink. I get very queasy when any government agency bypasses the taxpayer when putting that same taxpayer in long term debt. I am very uneasy when I see an across the board school district salary cut tied to passage of the school referendum. This reeks of buying votes. How do you vote against your own self interests of a higher salary? With a district budget approaching 3/4 of a billion dollars, one must ask, isn't that enough? Finally, I do not see our children gaining anything from this spending. FCAT scores are at best flat since 2002, with FCAT reading scores actually declining. I get uncomfortable when the Superintendent of Schools has no bench mark to determine if graduates from Sarasota public schools can in fact read, write and cipher at the 12th Grade level. If she doesn't know how can we know?

The School Board and District Administration have dug in their heels and will not compromise. They will protect the district salary schedule at all costs, even if it means harming our children. You see it is our children who are not getting a identifiably better education, it is our children who are graduating with something less than a 12th Grade education and it is our children who will be put in perpetual debt for out of control government spending at all levels - starting with the Sarasota County School Board.

I sadly must say the Sarasota County School Board and District Administration have lost my trust. How about yours?