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DeSantis Takes on the Teachers Unions and School Boards
Whenever I have discussed the teachers who have chosen to teach inappropriate subjects, such as Critical Race Theory or who coach their students on transgenderism, or teachers who have insisted that kids wear masks, a teacher often speaks up supporting my criticism of those teachers. At the same time, however, they point to the power of the teachers’ unions and the risks that teachers would be taking to defy them.
Fearless as he often is, Ron DeSantis is defying the unions, assisting the teachers, and supporting parents through his recommendations to the Legislature:
As part of a series of proposals he has deemed ‘Paycheck Protection’ for teachers, DeSantis is calling for a ban on automatic payroll deductions for public employee union dues, requiring public employees who join a union to sign a form acknowledging that Florida is a right-to-work state, and requiring unions to notify members every year of their membership costs.
DeSantis said unions often ‘don’t even tell you how much is being deducted. That’s not right.’
‘We believe that a school union has a responsibility to notify the members of the cost of membership,’ he said during the Jacksonville announcement.
The Governor is also supporting the teachers in two other ways: (1) He has created a Teachers’ Bill of Rights, which includes protecting teachers when they are expected by their school administration or school boards to defy state law; (2) He is providing funds for salary increases:
DeSantis also called Monday for an additional $1 billion in funding to continue increasing teacher pay in the state. He said that would be on top of the roughly $2 billion increase that has already been approved since he’s been governor.
DeSantis said the increased pay has helped to recruit and retain good teachers. The Florida Education Association pushed back, alleging that Florida still isn’t paying teachers enough.
Finally, he’s recommending that changes be made to the school boards:
DeSantis also called for school board term limits to be reduced from 12 years to eight, and for lawmakers to amend the state constitution to allow for school-board candidates to run with a political party affiliation to increase transparency. School board races in Florida are currently non-partisan, but that has led to some confusion he said.
‘What we’ve seen over the years is, you’ll have counties in like southwest Florida, voted for me by 40 points, and yet they’re electing people at the school board who are like totally the opposite philosophy,’ DeSantis said. ‘But those people are running, saying they share the philosophy, then they get on and do something different.’
Gov. DeSantis defies the power of the “sacred cows.” He insists on transparency from the school board candidates running for office. He acknowledges the reality that new teachers need pay incentives to work in Florida, and at the same time, current teachers deserve to be fairly paid. And he is willing to take on the unions who have abused their power and tyrannized the teachers for years.
We’ll see how our conservative legislature responds.
And let’s hope that other conservative Governors take up the cause.
Published in Education
What a great Governor! He’d make a great President!
This just in:
ORLANDO, Fla. (AP) — An optional training class on diversity for faculty at a central Florida public college has been canceled so administrators can ensure it complies with a new state law known as the “Stop Woke” act.
They are saying the cancellation only applies to the spring semester. We’ll see.
Well, Susan, I sincerely hope you lose your Governor in 2025 and he’ll be moving to D.C.
Oh gosh! What can I say?! I’d love to know that he has someone terrific to follow in his footsteps, but I’ve not heard of anyone.
Ron DeSantis is winning my heart!
I want to have his children! Oh wait . . .
A wee point.
Collective bargaining for public employee unions is illegal under the 1935 National Labor Relations Act. Public Employees Unions were essentially created by an Executive Order of President Kennedy that countermanded that law. So effectively Public Employee Unions are illegal, and could be dissolved with a stroke of the pen by a President willing to do so. Trump should have and he paid for not doing it, because so many election workers are unionized and they helped to steal the election.
Not only that Public Employee Unions have created a monumental state pension fund crisis that steals millions needed elsewhere, they have severely distorted the state democratic process by funding so many campaigns that kowtow to their interests, and besides all that they have ruined the schools with their commie/nihilist bullcrap and indoctrinated/brainwashed tens of millions of Americans in the process.
Stad, ya know of course you still can have his children according to our Elite Betters, so there is still hope!
Bush-Republicans are pretty open that they are only using RDS as a stalking horse to prevent DJT from winning the 2024 nomination. The ultimate scheme is for RDS and DJT to divide the MAGA vote so that a reliable Bush-Republican like Nikki Haley or Kristi Noem will be the nominee. (Maybe WEF member Brian Kemp?) Who will then go on to lose to whoever the Deep State and the Democrats decide to rig the election for.
I wonder what would happen if RDS did the smart thing and decided not to run in 2024. Who would they use as their anti-Trump weapon if that were to happen? Would they turn on RDS at that point? Would they attack him with the fury that would normally be directed at someone like RDS?
That’s right! Men can get pregnant now, and they’re even trying to transplant female equipment into men now (read an article somewhere) . . .
Will servicemen who get pregnant be dismissed from the service?
LOL.