After weeks of insulting the Pinellas County public school system, ignoring the fact that they were perfectly happy to have enrolled, and kept their kids in an F school, and of claiming victimization when it was their own lack of involvement and research that facilitated the Newpoint disaster, the frantic pleas of the Windsor Prep and East Windsor parents have been heard.
Yes, the "Hope For Windsor" crowd have found an ally in Tallahassee... a
Everyone shout hallelujah!
Rather than hunker down, research, learn, plan, and develop an effective and meaningful operational outline with which you can actually assure both the Pinellas County School Board, as well as the tax paying citizens pf Pinellas County, you would be able to successfully manage the schools on your own...you've chosen instead to throw in with the Devil.
After all the Windsor Prep parents'
Read this from Florida Politics, and then five questions that Florida Strong would like the senator to answer.
Frankly I think a lot of tax paying, voters would like to hear his answers as well.
It sure didn't take you guys long at all to collectively sell your souls for your own self interests and gain, now did it?
How
It really does highlight just how well he
Whatever it takes to get what you want, huh? To heck with whether or not it destroys or harms someone personally. Heck, that could be your "last earned grade was an F" schools new motto:
"Whatever it takes for Windsor Prep"
I was particularly interested in his comments in the Tampa Bay Times regarding his
" ...Brandes said he wasn't sure the schools needed him before, like when their now-indicted management company, Newpoint Education Partners, went "AWOL" in March -- although he was in the legislative session in Tallahassee at that time.(interesting that he doesn't think the tax payers want help or reassurance after being ripped off for millions of dollars, huh? But these parents need his help now?)
Brandes said he would like to find a management company for the schools. His campaign has benefited from such companies with controversial pasts: Academica, Charter Schools USA and Community Education Partners have donated $3,500 altogether. (mmm hmmm, of course he would)
When asked which management companies Brandes would recommend, he said he would compile a list of top 10 charter school management companies provided by the state. The state's data on management companies is self-reported by charter schools, lags one year behind and can be inaccurate. (I bet he has a list of cronies companies all ready for them)
Wary of management companies, the schools' board has repeatedly said it intends to self-manage their schools, although district officials have questioned if the board is capable of doing so.
"We've made it clear as a board that we are self-managing at this time," said board chairman and Windsor Prep parent Chris Wenzel.
In response to that, Brandes said, "That’s what they’re saying right now. I think there’s pros and cons to that." (not condescendingly at all)
He added, "If that’s what they choose to do, then i’m going to help them do that. I’m happy to help them do that. At the end of the day I want to make sure that they have fully vetted their decision and have access (to management companies)...And to not try to influence their decision but to be an advocate to their behalf." (oh I bet)
This same type of bullying tactic has worked before, as the Orlando Sentinal outlines here. "... The Florida State Board of Education on Wednesday overruled the decisions of local school boards in deciding that five charter schools rejected by Central Florida districts should be allowed to open.
The question now is he desperate enough to remain by the Hopeful crowd if they decline to sign on with another management company?
Is he really in favor of allowing un-vetted, inexperienced people, who have never opened or run a school, to take another 6 million in tax payer money for the one year they are asking for?
Has anyone invetigated how cozy he may be with Joseph Rauenhurst, or any of his charter school property companies like oh, say, Wellington Crossings LLC? I mean they do have that pretty sweet lease agreement$$$.
Consider... his family's business is TIBBETTS HOLDINGS LLC ...wouldn't be interesting if some mutual benefit arose from all of this? A few contracts thrown their way, ...maybe from companies that build charter school facilities?
Is he just trying to keep this pathetic endeavor (that has been failing the children and tax payers for the last three years) open purely for the lease monies to keep flowing?
Should the robot start shouting "danger Will Robinson"?
Back in 2011, then Freshman Representative Brandes was serving on the Florida House Education Committee, and ranked "greater school choice" as his greatest accomplishment during his first term. This same type of bullying tactic has worked before, as the Orlando Sentinal outlines here. "... The Florida State Board of Education on Wednesday overruled the decisions of local school boards in deciding that five charter schools rejected by Central Florida districts should be allowed to open.
The decisions were a rebuff for officials in Orange, Seminole, Volusia, Polk and Brevard counties, who had said the charters, proposed to open in the fall, fell short of their standards.
During an appeals hearing in Tampa, the state board also sided with two charters in Broward Countythat had been rejected by the school board there.
The decisions came during National Charter School Week, when state board members have been visiting charter schools and openly advocating the taxpayer-financed alternatives to traditional public schools..."
The question now is he desperate enough to remain by the Hopeful crowd if they decline to sign on with another management company?
Is he really in favor of allowing un-vetted, inexperienced people, who have never opened or run a school, to take another 6 million in tax payer money for the one year they are asking for?
Has anyone invetigated how cozy he may be with Joseph Rauenhurst, or any of his charter school property companies like oh, say, Wellington Crossings LLC? I mean they do have that pretty sweet lease agreement$$$.
Consider... his family's business is TIBBETTS HOLDINGS LLC ...wouldn't be interesting if some mutual benefit arose from all of this? A few contracts thrown their way, ...maybe from companies that build charter school facilities?
Is he just trying to keep this pathetic endeavor (that has been failing the children and tax payers for the last three years) open purely for the lease monies to keep flowing?
Should the robot start shouting "danger Will Robinson"?
(I'm also including this link to the 2011 Fl Statutes on Charter Schools so that you can read that years' statutes.)
Now, link to SB 1546 Relating to School Choice. If you scroll down, you can see similar legislation submitted during that session, some of which passed, and some which did not.
This will show you his voting record and bills he has sponsored, as well as bills his Committee's co-sponsored.
The aforementioned article from The Orlando Times December 2011 shows just one example of problems caused by these "great accomplishments". For the entire saga, see #1, #2, #3, #4, and #5.
So isn't it funny then, when he criticizes the Pinellas County School Board for not doing enough, when many of the laws passed during his tenure in the legislature are designed to restrict local school boards oversight of Charter Schools?
In subsequent years, and as he has transitioned from the House to the Senate, he has continued to an ardent supporter of Vouchers and Charter Schools. Check these three bills out, all of which he supported - Here, Here, and Here.
He has supported bills such as HJR759, which thankfully died in session. In fact, this may be the primary reason he wants to support the #HopeForWindsor efforts, as it plays right into his position that the state should be the overseer of Charter Schools, removing local authority. (But who will he criticize then?)
I guess that's why there's no need to wonder why a very pro charter school group, Foundation for Florida's Future, gives Mr Brandes a very high rating, while a pro Public schools group, Fund Education Now, scores him very low. (A neighbor/reader alerted me to this. Thanks) Seems rather telling to me too.
All of this leads me to wonder though...
Just where the heck was Senator Brandes over the last year, as the Newpoint scandal began unfolding?
Where was he when Escambia County started peeling back the layers...
when the schools there disassociated from Newpoint...
during the grade tampering...
when the Grant money was returned here in Pinellas...
when in both counties financial discrepancies were being discovered...
Where was he?
It was all very well publicized...was it just not convenient for him?
Now let's take a look at how good it can be, to be a politician like Sen Brandes:
The Miami Herald writes that "...It was a lucrative year for Florida legislators who collected more than $28.5 million for their political committees in the six months before their annual session and when it was over, many of the special interests that raised the money — from sugar farmers and utilities to marijuana farmers and charter school companies — could point to tangible rewards..."
" Since lawmakers finished their 2015 regular session work in June, at least $9.5 million — in five- and six-figure checks — were sent to the political committees of individual lawmakers. Another $6 million went directly to the campaigns of state representatives and $3 million to state Senate campaigns. The Republican Senatorial Campaign Committee raised another $3.2 million for Republican senators. The Republican Party of Florida, which is collecting checks for state House campaigns, raised $4.3 million, and the Florida Democratic Party, which raises money for all its legislators, collected $2.1 million.
The torrent of cash is the result of a shift in state campaign finance laws that allowed for unfettered donations to legislative political committees in the wake of the federal court ruling on Citizens United, the landmark Supreme Court decision that gave special interests the right to spend unlimited amounts on political speech. Stronger disclosure laws opened the door to more frequent reporting, but there is no requirement for contributors to disclose what issues or bills they are attempting to impact.
"...Among the bills that are getting traction early this session:
▪ Charter schools: HB 669, a priority of the for-profit charter school industry, would give parents the right to ask to transfer their children to any charter school in the state that has openings. It will get a hearing next week. Contributions from the industry since July: $182,500..." (Shocking)
I'm going to be real honest here...I really was starting to believe that this group of parents were making an honest effort.
I almost sympathized with some of their stories.
I thought they were going to do their utmost to avoid any questionable dealings, take the high road...yada yada...blah blah blah...lip service lip service lip service.
After all, isn't that what they said they would do?
Just give them a chance they pleaded.
Oh how rich.
In over your collective heads? Then sell out to the very same machine you raged against. Right?
Instead, they will do whatever it takes to win...belittle others, let the reputations of honest and hardworking public employees who did what they are supposed to do ( the same ones who encouraged and spoke up for these same parents determination) be questioned and damaged, consult with shady companies for guidance, and now will sell themselves out to a pro charter politician with questionable motives.
What was that you parents all said about setting that example for your kids? Do the right thing, or was it more like do anything to win.
Yeah... Great Job.
I find it interesting that a group of parents who never attended board meetings, and happily enrolled their children in the F school that Windsor Prep has been until this year, are now so concerned about taking it over and saving this precious resource. I guess public schools are good enough for other kids, but not theirs, as they act as though the world will end if that's where their kids end up. I find it interesting that a group of parents who never attended board meetings, and happily enrolled their children in the F school that Windsor Prep has been until this year, are now so concerned about taking it over and saving this precious resource. I guess public schools are good enough for other kids, but not theirs, as they act as though the world will end if that's where their kids end up. I find it interesting that a group of parents who never attended board meetings, and happily enrolled their children in the F school that Windsor Prep has been until this year, are now so concerned about taking it over and saving this precious resource. I guess public schools are good enough for other kids, but not theirs, as they act as though the world will end if that's where their kids end up.
And now, after speaking so vehemently against the evils of for profit charter school management companies, they are essentially willing to sell their collective souls to a politician who is VERY FRIENDLY to most of those same companies, and who has taken campaign donations from many of them, as well as charter school property developers.
And it's especially nice that he is placing the blame squarely on the school board when it's laws like he fought for in Tallahassee that tie the hands of all local school boards.
He's a hero in a black cape, which I guess they are pleased with.
And now, after speaking so vehemently against the evils of for profit charter school management companies, they are essentially willing to sell their collective souls to a politician who is VERY FRIENDLY to most of those same companies, and who has taken campaign donations from many of them, as well as charter school property developers.I find it interesting that a group of parents who never attended board meetings, and happily enrolled their children in the F school that Windsor Prep has been until this year, are now so concerned about taking it over and saving this precious resource. I guess public schools are good enough for other kids, but not theirs, as they act as though the world will end if that's where their kids end up.
And now, after speaking so vehemently against the evils of for profit charter school management companies, they are essentially willing to sell their collective souls to a politician who is VERY FRIENDLY to most of those same companies, and who has taken campaign donations from many of them, as well as charter school property developers.I find it interesting that a group of parents who never attended board meetings, and happily enrolled their children in the F school that Windsor Prep has been until this year, are now so concerned about taking it over and saving this precious resource. I guess public schools are good enough for other kids, but not theirs, as they act as though the world will end if that's where their kids end up.
And now, after speaking so vehemently against the evils of for profit charter school management companies, they are essentially willing to sell their collective souls to a politician who is VERY FRIENDLY to most of those same companies, and who has taken campaign donations from many of them, as well as charter school property developers.
And it's especially nice that he is placing the blame squarely on the school board when it's laws like he fought for in Tallahassee that tie the hands of all local school boards.
He's a hero in a black cape, which I guess they are pleased with.
And it's especially nice that he is placing the blame squarely on the school board when it's laws like he fought for in Tallahassee that tie the hands of all local school boards.
He's a hero in a black cape, which I guess they are pleased with.
And it's especially nice that he is placing the blame squarely on the school board when it's laws like he fought for in Tallahassee that tie the hands of all local school boards.
He's a hero in a black cape, which I guess they are pleased with.
And now, after speaking so vehemently against the evils of for profit charter school management companies, they are essentially willing to sell their collective souls to a politician who is VERY FRIENDLY to most of those same companies, and who has taken campaign donations from many of them, as well as charter school property developers.
And it's especially nice that he is placing the blame squarely on the school board when it's laws like he fought for in Tallahassee that tie the hands of all local school boards.
He's a hero in a black cape, which I guess they are pleased with.
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