Letters to the editor

Winter Park’s civil war

There’s a civil war going on, not the internecine war taking place in the Middle East. The civil war I’m talking about rages right in Winter Park.

There are two armies engaged in this war — one army fights for Winter Park to look like Mayberry USA with a Norman Rockwell painting; the opposing army fights for Winter Park to be a much bigger city with more buildings, more people and more car and train traffic. Tampa, Fla., rather than Mayberry, comes to mind.

The recent election for a seat on the city commission is an example of the mutual diatribe taking place. For example, one candidate wants to preserve the unique beauty and historic value of Winter Park in ways that will protect the ambiance and uniqueness of the city.

The opposition, instead of championing unique beauty and historic value of Winter Park, stressed the importance of a Winter Park SunRail train by accusing the opposition of being opposed to a SunRail landing in Winter Park. The counter response replied that one candidate, while serving as Chairman of the Planning and Zoning Commission, consistently promoted and approved massive projects including the Carlisle Project, which was claimed to be incompatible with the Winter Park Land Use Policies. So it is plain to see from the recent election that fervent rivals, nemeses to each other, have different visions of the future of Winter Park.

If you wonder and care to know the possible prejudices this writer has on the subject, he is a lawyer with a staff of 21 people, and like all owners of business and practitioners of professions, the more people, buildings, motor vehicles, construction and real estate transactions, the more business that comes our way. Since I also own real estate, Mr. Squires, an expert on the subject, tells me commuter rail will increase property values.

Yet, I must say I liked Winter Park better upon arrival in 1958. That was when you could have taken a nap in the middle of Park Avenue without danger. I even remember occasionally seeing a horse and wagon driving down Park Avenue; we still had Baldwin Hardware, Cottrels Five and Dime store, where women could buy a hairnet, and Taylor’s Pharmacy, with a restaurant where you could have biscuits for breakfast, lunch and dinner.

When I drove into Winter Park for the first time and saw a college at one end of town, a beautiful park and golf course on the other end of town, and a beautiful Central Park in between, I saw a town of startling beauty. It is sad but true, great moments in life seldom return.

Yet, there are families still enjoying Central Park lying on blankets on a sunny day while munching on a sandwich.

I admit I worry about what could happen to our Central Park with advent of commuter trains stopping and departing nearby. I am reminded of Yellowstone National Park, which John Rockefeller purchased for millions of dollars in order to preserve the unique beauty and historic value of that divine landscape, precluding mass construction of anything that would detract from that wonder of nature.

These same issues will continue to fester in elections to come and will obligate voters to decide the future of Winter Park.

—Russell Troutman

Winter Park

Education status quo not working

Recently there's been a significant amount of debate surrounding the proposed legislation regarding Senate Bill 6 and House Bill 7189. The focus of this legislation shifts compensation toward rewarding excellent teachers for student learning gains versus the current structure that focuses on teacher longevity.

The bill would require school districts to adopt performance appraisals for teachers and school administrators to evaluate performance in the classroom. Beginning with the 2014-2015 school year, performance appraisals will be based on student learning gains and other factors relating to the instructional practices used by the teacher, including knowledge of the subject matter and classroom management.

This bill does not require that a teacher bring students to grade level if he or she receives the students two to three years behind grade level. Rather, it evaluates and rewards the gains that a teacher makes with students over a year's time. Learning gains are to be measured by existing assessments statewide. School districts have the next three years to develop or acquire end-of-course assessments to measure learning gains in subjects and grade-levels not tested by these examinations.

The bill also authorizes school districts to financially encourage teachers to take on the greater challenges in our education system. The bill requires school districts to provide incentives for high priority schools and critical shortages areas, such as math and science, in order to better prepare all students to be successful. By providing incentives for teaching in high priority schools and critical shortage areas, we will be able to continue decreasing the gap between the highest performing schools and the lowest.

The current system categorizes teachers as either successful or unsuccessful. However, in 2008-2009, 99.7 percent of teachers received a "satisfactory" evaluation, yet 50 percent of high school students, 35 percent of middle school students, and 30 percent of elementary students did not make a year's worth of progress (and 60 percent, 40 percent, and 30 percent, respectively, were not reading on grade level).

The status quo clearly is not working when it comes to determining which teachers are helping our students make the learning gains they need to be successful.

This common-sense approach maintains teacher salaries at present levels, so no teacher will see a salary reduction under this plan. But performance increases will be focused on allowing school districts to recognize and reward excellence in teaching by establishing a performance-based appraisal system for increases in compensation.

The bill revises contracts for teachers hired on or after July of this year, introducing one probationary contract and up to four annual contracts. By establishing yearly contracts, school districts can continue to reward its teachers, now with raises based on classroom success, as well as remove those teachers who are not providing an opportunity for their students to learn. Current teachers are grandfathered-in under this system. The bill does not eliminate tenure for the current 175,000 Florida teachers.

The bill creates a performance fund for purposes of implementing the requirements of the bill, including performance pay, performance appraisal systems, and end-of-course assessments. The performance fund equals 5 percent of the state, local and federal FEFP funds. The bill sets aside more than $900 million a year that must be used to raise salaries for teachers in high-poverty schools, teachers of subjects that are in high demand, and teachers whose students are making learning gains.

My two children and I are proud products of Orange County Public Schools, and I would never do anything to jeopardize future generations from attending the world-class education opportunities we have here in our community. I recognize that a quality K-12 education program is vital to the constituents of District 38. As your state representative, one of my top priorities has been ensuring that all students have access to a high-quality education that will enable them to succeed alongside the best and brightest — not just in the U.S., but also around the world.

Due to my committee assignments, I will not be able to cast a vote on this important legislation until it is on the House floor, but I will continue to give input to my fellow members as the bill progresses.

—Rep. Bryan Nelson