THE
CABINET
STATE OF FLORIDA
_____________________________________________________
Representing:
PAROLE
COMMISSION
BOND FINANCE
DEPARTMENT OF HIGHWAY SAFETY
FLORIDA LAND & WATER ADJUDICATORY COMMISSION
DEPARTMENT OF EDUCATION
STATE BOARD OF TRUSTEES
STATE BOARD OF ADMINISTRATION
The above agencies came to be heard before
THE FLORIDA CABINET, Honorable Governor Bush presiding,
in the Cabinet Meeting Room, LL-03, The Capitol,
Tallahassee, Florida, on Tuesday, May 21, 2002
commencing at approximately 9:15 a.m.
Reported
by:
SANDRA
L. NARGIZ
Registered
Professional Reporter
Registered Merit Reporter
Certified Realtime Reporter
ACCURATE
STENOTYPE REPORTERS, INC.
100 SALEM COURT
TALLAHASSEE, FL 32301 (850)878-2221
2
APPEARANCES:
Representing
the Florida Cabinet:
JEB
BUSH
Governor
ROBERT F. MILLIGAN
Comptroller
CHARLES H. BRONSON
Commissioner of Agriculture
BOB
BUTTERWORTH
Attorney General
CHARLIE
CRIST
Commissioner of Education
TOM
GALLAGHER
Treasurer
* *
*
3
I N D E X
PAROLE
COMMISSION VOTES
3
DIVISION
OF BOND FINANCE
(Presented by J. Ben Watkins, III)
ITEM
ACTION PAGE
1 Approved 11
2 Approved 11
3 Approved 11
4 Approved 12
5 Approved 12
DEPARTMENT
OF HIGHWAY SAFETY
(Presented by Fred O. Dickinson)
1 Approved
17
2 Approved 17
3 Approved 26
FLORIDA
LAND & WATER ADJUDICATORY COMMISSION
(Presented by Teresa Tinker)
1 Approved
29
2 Approved 29
3 Approved 29
DEPARTMENT OF EDUCATION
(Presented by Wayne V. Pierson)
1 Approved
34
2 Approved 35
3 Remanded 72
4 Approved 120
5 Approved 120
STATE
BOARD OF TRUSTEES
(Presented by David Struhs)
1 Approved
121
2 Deferred 144
3 Approved 144
4 Approved 145
5 Approved 145
6 Approved 146
7 Deferred 155
4
STATE BOARD OF ADMINISTRATION
(Presented by Tom Herndon, Executive Director)
1 Approved
157
2 Approved 157
3 Approved 158
4 Approved 158
5 Approved 158
6 Approved 159
7 Approved 159
8 Approved 160
9 Informational 164
10 Informational 161
11 Approved - Partial 163
12 Approved 165
CERTIFICATE
OF REPORTER 166
5
1 P R O C E E D I N G
2 (The
agenda items commenced at 9:15 a.m.)
3 MS.
CASTILLE: You have you had an
4 opportunity
to meet the three recommended
5 candidates
that were recommended by the Parole
6 Qualifications
Commission. They are Mr. Fred
7 Dumphy,
Mr. Steve Embody, and Dr. Merissa Watson.
8 And
Jeri will be -- I think you may have ballots
9 in
front of you.
10 GOVERNOR
BUSH: Does everybody have a ballot?
11 MS.
CASTILLE: If you will go ahead and
12 select
your candidate, we will collect the ballots
13 and
count them. While we are counting them, we'll
14 go
ahead and vote on the assignment of temporary
15 duties.
16 (Cabinet
members voting.)
17 GOVERNOR
BUSH: I think we need to move to
18 the
touch screen system.
19 TREASURER
GALLAGHER: While they are
20 collecting
the ballots, we have some people in the
21 room
who continue to (inaudible-not using
22 microphone.)
23 At
one time we had five full-time
24 commissioners;
now it's three. It's my belief
25 that
we would have better attendance
6
1 (inaudible-not using microphone.) would be to
2 increase
the per diem for these folks. So I
3 bring
that up today to at least discuss it, and
4 hope
we can agree. I think that will be
5 something
I would recommend.
6 GOVERNOR
BUSH: Sure, where would the money
7 come
from?
8 TREASURER
GALLAGHER: If they don't have it,
9 they
can't pay it.
10 GOVERNOR
BUSH: Can't write the check.
11 GENERAL
MILLIGAN: I think the question is
12 whether
you have to go around the block to get the
13 per
diem rates, and I am willing to take a look at
14 that
and get back to you all.
15 GOVERNOR
BUSH: Okay.
16 GENERAL
BUTTERWORTH: I have one question.
17 GOVERNOR
BUSH: We will talk about it like in
18 two
weeks, if possible.
19 TREASURER
GALLAGHER: I am not trying to do
20 it
today. I thought it was something we need to
21 discuss,
maybe talk to some of the chairmen, some
22 of
the commissioners, see what their thoughts are.
23 Maybe
there is a better way than that.
24 GOVERNOR
BUSH: No, that's a good point.
25 General
Butterworth?
7
1 GENERAL BUTTERWORTH: Must someone already
2 served
as a commissioner to be appointed as a
3 temporary
duty commissioner?
4 MS.
CASTILLE: General, I am not sure if
5 there
is a requirement for that. I know that it
6 has
been the past practice of this board to
7 approve
only past commissioners.
8 TREASURER
GALLAGHER: That's the only way we
9 have
done it. That's another opportunity. There
10 is
no reason why we couldn't get some retired
11 judges
or --
12 GENERAL
BUTTERWORTH: Retired Cabinet
13 members,
a couple of us up here -- I may have to
14 talk
to General Milligan. I don't think it would
15 be
a Sunshine violation.
16 GOVERNOR
BUSH: He's not listening, General
17 Butterworth.
18 GENERAL
BUTTERWORTH: General Milligan, I was
19 just
stating that I am not sure it's a requirement
20 for
a temporary duty parole commissioner to have
21 been
a former parole commissioner. And we were
22 talking
about possibly expanding that pool to
23 maybe
include also former Cabinet members.
24 GENERAL
MILLIGAN: Are you looking for a job?
25 Let's
reconsider that per diem business again real
8
1 quick here.
2 TREASURER
GALLAGHER: Which do you want to do
3 first?
4 GOVERNOR
BUSH: General Butterworth's motion
5 is
to include all former Cabinet members that
6 served
as sheriffs, head of the Highway Safety
7 Department
and have a law degree.
8 GENERAL
BUTTERWORTH: I think lieutenant
9 generals
from the Marine Corps also could be
10 involved
in that, I think.
11 GENERAL
MILLIGAN: Having sat on the Clemency
12 Board
and poured over those cases, it's not an
13 envious
job. Frankly, I think there is a lot of
14 merit
in taking look at what we do pay these
15 people
to do that job.
16 And
there may be some constitutional
17 limitations
on it, I don't know, or legislative
18 restrictions
or something; but I think in all
19 seriousness,
we do need to look at what we are
20 paying
them.
21 GOVERNOR
BUSH: You have been empowered to
22 look
at it, maybe if we can come back in two weeks
23 and
see if it's appropriate to change the policy.
24 MS.
CASTILLE: We'll go ahead and will we
25 defer
the appointment of these temporary --
9
1 GOVERNOR BUSH: No. Is there a motion to --
2 TREASURER
GALLAGHER: I move to approve
3 Scrivens,
Simmons, Spooner and Wolfson.
4 COMMISSIONER
BRONSON: Second.
5 GOVERNOR
BUSH: Moved and seconded. Without
6 objection,
the item passes.
7 MS.
CASTILLE: The results of the ballot
8 voting
for the appointment of the parole
9 commissioner
is a unanimous vote for Commissioner
10 Dumphy.
11 So
before you, you now have ballots for
12 the
chairman of the Parole Commission. And if
13 you
will select your candidates for chairman,
14 we
will then pass out the ballots afterwards
15 and
have you vote for vice chairman.
16 (Cabinet
members voting.)
17 MS.
CASTILLE: And again, it's a unanimous
18 vote
for Chairman Jimmy Henry for chairman.
19 We'll
pass these out for vice chairman.
20 GOVERNOR
BUSH: Vice chairman go to funerals
21 and
--
22 MS.
CASTILLE: Vice chairmen chair the
23 meetings
when the chairman is not there.
24 GOVERNOR
BUSH: Vice chairman have to be a
25 legislative
director?
10
1 MS. CASTILLE: We have four votes for Monica
2 David
as vice chair.
3 GOVERNOR
BUSH: Very good.
4 TREASURER
GALLAGHER: Governor, let me
5 recognize
her; she is here today and also Fred
6 Dumphy
is also here. So would they stand and be
7 recognized.
Congratulations to both.
8 GOVERNOR
BUSH: Thank you for your help and a
9 very
difficult challenge. And we'll get the
10 backlog
done and move forward in a much more
11 efficient
way so people can hear from us as
12 quickly
as possible about whether or not their
13 rights
are going to be restored. You all have
14 done
really good work under difficult
15 circumstances
in the last year.
16 MS.
CASTILLE: Thank you, Governor, that
17 concludes
the vote on the Parole Commission.
18
19
20
21
22
23
24
25
11
1 GOVERNOR BUSH: Division of Bond Finance.
2 TREASURER
GALLAGHER: Move the minutes.
3 GENERAL
BUTTERWORTH: Second.
4 GOVERNOR
BUSH: Moved and seconded. Without
5 objection,
it's approved.
6 Good
morning, Ben.
7 MR.
WATKINS: Good morning. Item 2 is a
8 resolution
authorizing the competitive sale of up
9 to
$200 million in PICO bonds. And when that
10 $200
million in sale and authorization is combined
11 with
a left over authorization that we have not
12 used,
that will bring the total authorization for
13 sale
of PICO bonds to 250 million.
14 TREASURER
GALLAGHER: Moved.
15 COMMISSIONER
BRONSON: Second.
16 GOVERNOR
BUSH: Moved and seconded. Without
17 objection,
it's approved.
18 MR.
WATKINS: Item number 3 is report of
19 award
on the competitive sale of $128.3 million of
20 PICO
bonds. The bonds were awarded to the low
21 bidder
at a true interest cost of 5.03 percent.
22 TREASURER
GALLAGHER: Motion on 3.
23 COMMISSIONER
BRONSON: Second.
24 GOVERNOR
BUSH: Moved and seconded. Without
25 objection,
it's approved.
12
1 MR. WATKINS: Item number 4 is a report of
2 award
on the competitive sale of $150 million in
3 lottery
revenue bonds for funding school
4 construction.
The bonds were awarded to the low
5 bidder
at a true interest cost of 4.84 percent.
6 TREASURER
GALLAGHER: Motion on 4.
7 COMMISSIONER
BRONSON: Second.
8 GOVERNOR
BUSH: Moved and seconded. Without
9 objection,
it's approved.
10 MR.
WATKINS: Item number 5 is a report of
11 award
on the competitive sale of $26,070,000 in
12 capital
outlay bonds for school construction. The
13 bonds
were awarded to the low bidder at a true
14 interest
cost of 4.66 percent.
15 TREASURER
GALLAGHER: Motion on 5.
16 COMMISSIONER
BRONSON: Second.
17 GOVERNOR
BUSH: Moved and seconded. Without
18 objection,
it's approved.
19 TREASURER
GALLAGHER: Are we seeing the
20 interest
rates starting to click up a little bit?
21 Are
these almost the same date?
22 MR.
WATKINS: It's been moving around some.
23 A
month ago rates were actually down from highs,
24 but
they've started back up again here over the
25 last
couple of weeks based on the stronger
13
1 economic moves. So they have been high and low
2 and
are moving back up again. And the long-term
3 prognosis
is obviously for increasing interest
4 rate
as the economy moves ahead.
5 TREASURER
GALLAGHER: When it gets high
6 enough,
we are going to start looking at
7 variables?
8 MR.
WATKINS: Right. Actually I will be back
9 with
you on the Everglades Restoration bonds that
10 were
passed this legislative session, we are going
11 to
consider whether or not it would be prudent to
12 do
those on a variable rate basis to address some
13 of
our capital structure. So we'll be back with
14 you
on that.
15 TREASURER
GALLAGHER: Okay.
16 GOVERNOR
BUSH: Ben, we are looking at the
17 transfers
of money from the Preservation Bonding
18 Programs
out into the regular budget. Can you
19 give
us any sense -- I am looking at it, excuse
20 me.
This is in my duties to review the budget.
21 Can
you give us just a -- tell the Cabinet what
22 actually
took place in the budget this year?
23 MR.
WATKINS: What we had -- when we were
24 looking
for evaluating different ways to pay for
25 Everglades
Restoration, included in your
14
1 recommendations to the legislature was taking a
2 portion
of the monies in the reserve fund -- there
3 is
a reserve fund securing Preservation 2000
4 Florida
Forever bonds. In the event that there is
5 ever
a shortfall in documentary doc stamp taxes
6 which
secures those funds, the reserve funds could
7 be
drawn on.
8 That
reserve fund is funded with cash.
9 And
in your budget recommendations was a
10 recommendation
that we take a portion of those
11 monies
out of the reserve fund that were
12 borrowed
for environmental purposes and devote
13 it
to Everglades Restoration.
14 When
the mechanics of that were explained
15 to
the legislature, they decided that they
16 liked
the first part of the equation which was
17 to
take the money out of the reserve fund, but
18 the
way that they were using that money was
19 fundamentally
different, and that was to
20 balance
the budget.
21 GOVERNOR
BUSH: No. No. No. It was to
22 spend
on other things.
23 MR.
WATKINS: Spend on other things.
24 GOVERNOR
BUSH: It wasn't to balance the
25 budget.
15
1 MR. WATKINS: It was a revenue source that we
2 otherwise
wouldn't have available, and it was put
3 into
general revenues.
4 GOVERNOR
BUSH: Because of spending.
5 MR.
WATKINS: Correct. But it allows a
6 higher
spending level than would otherwise --
7 GOVERNOR
BUSH: Thank you. You are a
8 diplomat.
9 MR.
WATKINS: I am trying to be diplomatic.
10 So
--
11 GENERAL
BUTTERWORTH: You don't have to be.
12 They
are out of town.
13 MR.
WATKINS: You mean I can say whatever I
14 want?
15 TREASURER
GALLAGHER: They will be back.
16 GOVERNOR
BUSH: I hope not this year.
17 MR.
WATKINS: So imbedded in the current
18 budget
proposal is taking a hundred million
19 dollars
out of the reserve funds that are held for
20 environmental
programs and transferring those to
21 general
revenues.
22 Now
what allows us to do that is
23 purchasing
a surety bond or financial product
24 which
will satisfy our reserve requirements and
25 free
up the cash.
16
1 So that is what has transpired during the
2 legislative
session. And obviously there was a
3 lot
of discussion about the appropriateness of
4 using
those monies that were environmental bond
5 proceeds
and using those monies for purposes
6 that
were not associated with environmental
7 projects.
8 So
--
9 GOVERNOR
BUSH: Thank you.
10 MR.
WATKINS: Is that sufficient?
11 GOVERNOR
BUSH: That's sufficient.
12 MR.
WATKINS: Very good. Thank you.
13
14
15
16
17
18
19
20
21
22
23
24
25
17
1 GOVERNOR BUSH: Department of Highway Safety.
2 TREASURER
GALLAGHER: Move the minutes.
3 COMMISSIONER
BRONSON: Second.
4 GOVERNOR
BUSH: Moved and seconded. Without
5 objection,
it's approved.
6 Item
2.
7 MR.
DICKINSON: Good morning, Governor,
8 Cabinet.
9 Item
2 is approval of the quarterly report
10 for
the quarter ending March 2002.
11 TREASURER
GALLAGHER: Move.
12 COMMISSIONER
BRONSON: Second.
13 GOVERNOR
BUSH: Any discussion? Anything you
14 want
to highlight?
15 MR.
DICKINSON: Well, sir, alcohol-related
16 fatalities
are down. There is something I think
17 the
commissioner wanted to mention that was our
18 ticket
campaign, our seat belt usage.
19 TREASURER
GALLAGHER: Why don't you go ahead
20 and
talk about that?
21 MR.
DICKINSON: We are kicking it off for
22 this
weekend with many of our brothers and sisters
23 in
law enforcement, not only in this state but
24 other
states, trying to increase the seat belt
25 usage
and keep fatalities down.
18
1 We didn't have a good year last year,
2 Governor,
we are about even statistically. I
3 think
we had 12 more deaths last year than the
4 previous
year; I know you met with the NHTSA
5 officials.
6 GOVERNOR
BUSH: Very impressive, the data
7 they
have about direct linkage between driving
8 without
seat belts and fatalities, and the
9 marginal
increase in the costs obviously to
10 families
but to society, to the state, to
11 government
in general, is pretty phenomenonal.
12 MR.
DICKINSON: It's extensive. And we are
13 making
a push to try to drive seat belt usage up.
14 I
know you have been behind us to try to pass that
15 primary
seat belt law, and I am sure it will come
16 back
up up again.
17 GOVERNOR
BUSH: One of the statistics that I
18 found,
and hopefully this will be the main selling
19 point
in the future when the bill is submitted
20 again
to the legislature, but also just for
21 awareness
purposes.
22 I
think my advice is to really use the
23 statistic
that was -- I don't remember the
24 exact
numbers but when an adult uses a seat
25 belt,
the percentage of kids that use a seat
19
1 belt goes up manyfold.
2 And
when an adult doesn't, the chances of
3 a
kid not having a seat belt on in the car is
4 much
higher.
5 So
to me, that's the main -- there are
6 many
good reasons to do this, but that's
7 probably
the most significant one, is that we
8 are
putting children in a peril position by not
9 buckling
up.
10 MR.
DICKINSON: And we have improved our
11 child
safety regulations with a lot of the new
12 laws
as well as the minors. There are a number of
13 laws
in there, curfews and whatnot; we have driven
14 fatalities
for minors down substantially.
15 GOVERNOR
BUSH: General.
16 GENERAL
BUTTERWORTH: Governor, I don't have
17 the
full report here, but with the 775 highway
18 deaths,
how many of those were not wearing a seat
19 belt?
20 MR.
DICKINSON: General, I can get those for
21 you.
22 GENERAL
BUTTERWORTH: We used to get these
23 all
the time.
24 Also,
with children being killed in
25 crashes,
at one point in time it was almost
20
1 every child that lost his or her life was not
2 wearing
a seat belt and was not in a proper
3 type
of harness.
4 When
someone goes through a toll booth, if
5 they
are not wearing a seat belt, does that
6 toll
booth operator say something, do you know?
7 They
used to do that.
8 MR.
DICKINSON: I don't know. I don't know
9 if
we have anybody right there at the spot all the
10 time,
but I am sure when they do, if they see a
11 violation,
that they try to get the word out.
12 One
other item, Governor, and I know you
13 have
been interested in this, but our driver's
14 license
offices, we have had four counties
15 where
we are trying to put all of our support
16 in
a couple of offices to handle the foreign
17 nationals.
And we are getting ready to open up
18 all
offices in all counties as of June 1 to be
19 able
to handle anybody that walks in that
20 office
for any problem.
21 So
I appreciate the support from your
22 office
and some of those constituent groups
23 that
have clamored to us; we hear them. We'll
24 open
those offices.
25 GOVERNOR
BUSH: Fred, on that issue -- I am
21
1 sorry, go ahead.
2 COMMISSIONER
CRIST: I wonder if you can
3 elaborate
just a little bit on that; I didn't
4 quite
catch --
5 MR.
DICKINSON: Yes, sir, Commissioner. In
6 four
counties we had 12 offices opened as opposed
7 to
probably 30 offices in those counties, that we
8 wanted
just the foreign nationals to go just to
9 those
offices.
10 And
the reason being that we could only
11 train
so many of our people to handle the
12 examination
of the documents.
13 INS
has come in, and we trained everybody
14 now.
So June 1 we are opening up all offices.
15 And
it was quite a push in those offices; quite
16 frankly,
that's where we had standing room only
17 and
some long lines. Now we can spread the
18 constituency
out a little bit, and they can go
19 in
any office and get taken care of.
20 COMMISSIONER
CRIST: What is the additional
21 training?
22 MR.
DICKINSON: Just for examination of
23 documents.
When you bring in your passports,
24 visas,
whatever you may have, we want to make
25 sure
-- INS has so many documents that could fill
22
1 a dictionary probably. And we have gotten more
2 proficient
in examining those documents and
3 understanding
what we are looking at.
4 And
there is also some fraud involved that
5 we
are paying attention to right now. And with
6 the
advent of 9/11, and all the states are
7 really
tightening down, I hate to say it, but
8 you
can buy a lot of these documents over the
9 Internet
and there has been a proliferation of
10 some
fraudulents out in that area. So we are
11 paying
attention to that.
12 COMMISSIONER
CRIST: Congratulations to you
13 for
doing that.
14 GOVERNOR
BUSH: Fred, on the question of
15 documentation,
when a person, nonUS citizen comes
16 in,
if they are applying for residency rather than
17 have
it, whether it's a temporary visa or they are
18 applying
for permanent residency, can they use
19 that
as the basis with proper identification to
20 get
a license?
21 MR.
DICKINSON: Governor, if they show us
22 some
documentation they have been to INS and have
23 applied,
they will walk out of there with a
24 license.
25 GOVERNOR
BUSH: That is important to get out
23
1 because --
2 MR.
DICKINSON: We are getting that out,
3 thanks
to your efforts. And also, that bill you
4 signed
gave us the authority to go forward. It
5 really
brought together your Executive Order 300,
6 and
gave some authority for us to deal with that.
7 GOVERNOR
BUSH: It's just the amount of
8 misinformation,
as you know, and I appreciate you
9 all
taking the time to kind of pause and make sure
10 that
the actual facts are out in front of people.
11 People
are really scared about their families'
12 livelihood,
and I think what we are doing is the
13 exact
right thing and we are providing enough
14 flexibility
for people that are here for the
15 proper
purposes, that have a legal case.
16 I
mean, the efficiency of the INS has been
17 proven
over and over again, and you get into
18 that
maze and it may take a while, it's
19 guaranteed
to take a while.
20 So
as long as people have applied for
21 asylum
or legal residency or whatever, and
22 that's
work in progress, I think our system
23 allows
for them to be given the license.
24 I
am not sure that we have got enough
25 coverage
of that.
24
1 TREASURER GALLAGHER: Six years?
2 MR.
DICKINSON: Two years license actually.
3 It
gives them the two years for time to get with
4 INS.
And once they get -- INS will give them a
5 Green
Card or whatever provision they apply for.
6 We'll
tie to the INS time frame, or if they have
7 the
Green Card, it would be the four or six years,
8 depending
on safe driver status.
9 GOVERNOR
BUSH: What we have done, which
10 makes
total sense, is that no longer if someone's
11 visa
expires, will their driver's license
12 expiration
be after that, which I think was a good
13 response
to September 11.
14 COMMISSIONER
BRONSON: One of the things that
15 the
Tri-National Accord between Mexico, Canada and
16 the
US that I sat on last week in Ogalis,
17 Lenora
--
18 GOVERNOR
BUSH: On what?
19 COMMISSIONER
BRONSON: On people coming in to
20 work
in the United States. One of the issues was
21 that
the US does depend on so many workers coming
22 in,
especially in the fields, states not just
23 Florida
but all over this country; and there is a
24 committee
set to work together on those wishing to
25 come
to work in America or anywhere else in this
25
1 Tri-National Accord, Canada, and so forth, that
2 there
is going to be a system put together now to
3 check
and recheck between the Mexican government
4 and
the US.
5 And,
of course, the state can lock into
6 that
so that there can be a cross check on the
7 viability
of that individual, whether they are
8 legally
here, whether they have all the
9 documentation,
and so forth, with Mexico.
10 I
think this is an issue that will all
11 come
together as we get this committee put
12 together
to help.
13 GOVERNOR
BUSH: That's very helpful.
14 MR.
DICKINSON: Also, Governor, we have hired
15 a
young man, former head of Hispanic Affairs for
16 Ford
Motor Company -- he is retired -- and Madesco
17 has
been a blessing. He has hit all the Latin
18 stations,
Hispanic stations. He is helping us
19 with
our team. And with the help of your office,
20 of
course, we are doing that outreach program that
21 I
probably opened my mouth too early on it.
22 GOVERNOR
BUSH: Oh, we haven't started?
23 MR.
DICKINSON: We actually are doing the
24 same
thing we have been doing, Governor. I think
25 you
are going to kick off the first of next month,
26
1 but we are after it.
2 GOVERNOR
BUSH: It's important.
3 MR.
DICKINSON: He has been helpful. You are
4 right,
there is a lot of misinformation and more
5 information
we can get to the hands of those who
6 need
it at the proper time, is what we are aiming
7 for.
8 GOVERNOR
BUSH: Thank you. There is a
9 motion,
and second. Without objection. It's
10 approved.
11 Item
3.
12 MR.
DICKINSON: Item 3 is submission of our
13 newest
license plate, this is the American Red
14 Cross
plate that was passed back during the
15 special
session in the fall.
16 This
is one of the two plates that passed
17 in
the fall. And this money will go, half to
18 the
Red Cross for education and disaster relief
19 in
Florida, and half to the poison control
20 centers
for the purposes of combatting
21 bio-terrorism
and other poison-related issues.
22 COMMISSIONER
BRONSON: Motion on 3.
23 TREASURER
GALLAGHER: Second.
24 GOVERNOR
BUSH: Moved and seconded. Without
25 objection,
it's approved.
27
1 MR. DICKINSON: Governor, we had eight tags
2 approved
or voted on this session, but three
3 thankfully
blipped off the screen. So we netted
4 out
--
5 GOVERNOR
BUSH: Who are the three that left?
6 MR.
DICKINSON: The three that left are two
7 arena
football teams from Orlando and Tampa, and
8 unfortunately
the Girl Scouts.
9 GOVERNOR
BUSH: The Girl Scouts?
10 MR.
DICKINSON: Yes, sir, they didn't meet --
11 GOVERNOR
BUSH: Weren't they a relatively
12 new
--
13 MR.
DICKINSON: Yes, sir, I think they have
14 been
in five years.
15 GOVERNOR
BUSH: Well, I think it's wonderful
16 that
we have the drop off thing because there is
17 going
to be a point in time when the Florida
18 regular
license plate will actually be the vanity
19 plate.
20 MR.
DICKINSON: I hope we charge accordingly,
21 Governor.
22 GOVERNOR
BUSH: Exactly. Thank you, Fred.
23 GENERAL
BUTTERWORTH: We had the Blue's plate
24 for
a while.
25 GOVERNOR
BUSH: No, we didn't. Was it a
28
1 unanimous vote?
2 GENERAL
BUTTERWORTH: It was the owl they had
3 on
it.
4 GOVERNOR
BUSH: Died a quiet, graceful death.
5 TREASURER
GALLAGHER: It was your idea,
6 right,
Bob?
7
8
9
10
11
12
13
14
15
16
17
18
19
20
21
22
23
24
25
29
1 GOVERNOR BUSH: Florida Land And Water
2 Adjudicatory
Commission.
3 TREASURER
GALLAGHER: Motion on minutes.
4 COMMISSIONER
BRONSON: Second.
5 GOVERNOR
BUSH: Moved and seconded. Without
6 objection,
it's approved.
7 MS.
TINKER: Item 2, recommend approval of
8 the
proposed final rule renaming and expanding the
9 Gateway
Services District in Lee County.
10 TREASURER
GALLAGHER: Motion on 2.
11 COMMISSIONER
BRONSON: Second.
12 GOVERNOR
BUSH: Moved and seconded. Without
13 objection,
it's approved.
14 MS.
TINKER: Item 3, recommend approval of
15 the
proposed final rule expanding the Bayside
16 Improvement
Community Development District in Lee
17 County.
18 TREASURER
GALLAGHER: Motion on 3.
19 GENERAL
BUTTERWORTH: Second.
20 GOVERNOR
BUSH: Moved and seconded. Without
21 objection,
it's approved.
22 MS.
TINKER: Thank you.
23
24
25
30
1 GOVERNOR BUSH: Department of Education.
2 COMMISSIONER
CRIST: Governor, with your
3 permission
we would -- are we doing Trustees next?
4 GOVERNOR
BUSH: No.
5 COMMISSIONER
CRIST: I have a resolution,
6 Governor
and Members of the Cabinet. It's my
7 pleasure
to recognize the 2002 school related
8 employees
of the year.
9 Each
school district nominates an
10 individual
for school related employee of the
11 year
award. This year the Florida Department
12 of
Education received nominations from 64
13 school
districts.
14 The
selection committee reviews the
15 nomination
packets and identifies five regional
16 finalists
that I would like to introduce.
17 Region
1 finalist is Peggy Ann Tucker.
18 Peggy,
if you could, please, stand.
19 A
paraprofessional at Chattahoochee
20 Elementary
Magnet School in Gadsden County,
21 throughout
her 24 year as a paraprofessional
22 she
has facilitated reading groups, chaperoned
23 field
trips and often comes to work early or
24 stays
late to achieve extra mile tasks to help
25 a
child.
31
1 Her bond with students encourages them to
2 open
their minds to learning and trust others.
3 Peggy
is also very active in her community
4 working
with Relay for Life and Special
5 Olympics.
6 The
region 2 finalist is Francis Lesley.
7 She
is a parent, educator and Florida First
8 Start
Program liaison at the Fearnside Family
9 Services
Center in Alachua County. She has
10 been
working at the center for four years
11 providing
guidance through teaching, parenting
12 and
life management classes to families moving
13 towards
self-sufficiency.
14 She
conducts home visits to children
15 enrolled
in the Florida First Start Program and
16 help
began the Caring and Sharing Clothes
17 Closet
at the center.
18 The
region 2 finalist is Jesse Lowery.
19 The
head operator at Mill Creek Elementary
20 School
in Osceola County; during his seven
21 years
with the district, he has dedicated
22 himself
to maintaining the appearance, safety
23 and
overall operation of the entire campus. He
24 has
served on his school safety committee,
25 leadership
team, school advisory council and
32
1 budget committee.
2 Jesse
participates in honor roll
3 celebrations
and FCAT prep rallies, and
4 volunteers
his time by coaching Pop Warner
5 Football
each fall in Kissimmee.
6 The
region 4 finalist is Don Walter. Don
7 has
been a teacher assistant at Bayshore High
8 School
in Manatee County for the past three
9 years.
He works with the profoundly mentally
10 handicapped
and autistic students.
11 He
arrives each day with a smile for bus
12 duty
at 7:00 a.m. Don has also implemented the
13 computer
assisted reading program for the
14 trainable
mentally-handicapped students. He
15 continues
to be a caregiver by volunteering at
16 regular
school hours at the Manasota
17 Association
for Retarded Citizens, helping
18 these
kids deliver Meals on Wheels to the
19 counties'
elderly.
20 The
region 5 finalist is Tonya Watkins. A
21 paraprofessional
III at Phillis Wheatley
22 Elementary
School in Miami-Dade County; working
23 in
the technology department, she has assisted
24 teachers
in integrating technology into their
25 daily
curriculum. She is a member of the
33
1 Parent/Teacher/Student Association and
2 Educational
Excellence School Advisory Council.
3 She
participates in a schoolwide mentoring
4 program
and serves as a tutor after school on
5 Saturdays.
6 On
top of all of this, Tonya has been a
7 student
herself at Nova Southeastern University
8 and
recently completed her internship,
9 graduating
this April with honors, receiving a
10 Bachelor's
of Science in Education.
11 Each
and every one of these individuals
12 should
be proud to represent their fellow
13 school
related employees. They are shining
14 examples
of dedication and commitment to
15 quality
service in our public schools and local
16 communities.
17 At
this time, Governor, I am pleased to
18 present
to all of you our overall winner.
19 Representing
region 1 from Chattahoochee
20 Elementary
Magnet School in Gadsden County,
21 please
help me congratulate Peggy Ann Tucker,
22 the
2002 School Related Employee Of The Year.
23 Governor,
I move the resolution.
24 MS.
TUCKER: Am I suppose to talk?
25 GOVERNOR
BUSH: You don't have to talk.
34
1 MS. TUCKER: I do well with children, not
2 adults.
3 God
bless you, I am so sorry I won and you
4 didn't.
I really am. And I am just honored to
5 be
here, and children are my life. They always
6 have
been and they always will be.
7 And
in order to know children, you've got
8 to
be a child yourself. And people keep
9 telling
me I need to grow up, but you know, I
10 really
don't went to grow up because I like
11 being
a child.
12 And
I just don't believe this, but God
13 bless
you all. Thank you so very much. I
14 appreciate
it.
15 (Picture
taking.)
16 GOVERNOR
BUSH: Thank you again. Is there a
17 motion
on the minutes?
18 COMMISSIONER
CRIST: Motion.
19 COMMISSIONER
BRONSON: Second.
20 GOVERNOR
BUSH: For March 26 and April 9.
21 There
is a motion and a seconded. Without
22 objection,
it's approved.
23 Item
2.
24 MR.
PIERSON: Item 2 is adoption of a
25 resolution
authorizing the competitive sale and
35
1 delivery of $200 million State of Florida State
2 Board
of Education PICO bonds.
3 TREASURER
GALLAGHER: Motion.
4 COMMISSIONER
BRONSON: Second.
5 GOVERNOR
BUSH: Moved and seconded. Without
6 objection,
it's approved.
7 MR.
PIERSON: Item 3 is a charter school
8 appeal,
Academic Bridge Charter School versus
9 Manatee
County School Board.
10 This
appeal is brought to the State Board
11 of
Education pursuant to 228.056, Florida
12 Statutes.
13 The
board may, after hearing testimony,
14 accept
the appeal and remand back to the school
15 board
or deny the appeal and accept the school
16 board's
action.
17 Representing
the charter school is
18 Reverend
James Golden, and Robert Shapiro will
19 represent
Manatee.
20 GOVERNOR
BUSH: Thank you, welcome.
21 REVEREND
GOLDEN: Good morning, Governor Bush
22 and
to the members of the Cabinet.
23 I
am Reverend James Golden. I am the
24 pastor
of Temple African Methodist Episcopal
25 Church
of Bradenton, Florida. I serve as the
36
1 chairman of the board of the Central Bradenton
2 Charter
School Corporation seeking to do
3 business
in the State of Florida as Academic
4 Bridge
Charter School.
5 I
served also in the City of Bradenton as
6 a
member of the Bradenton City Council in the
7 area
we are trying to locate this school.
8 They
mayor there is the Honorable Wayne
9 Poston.
10 On
October 1, we submitted an application
11 for
acceptance or denial to the Manatee County
12 School
Board.
13 On
October 29th, we received our first
14 letter
setting a time to discuss that
15 application
for November 19th. We received a
16 second
letter on November 8th with a new time
17 slot
with the same date for discussion for
18 November
19th.
19 From
October 1 to November 19th, about 40
20 days,
I received no input, no feedback, from
21 the
school board staff.
22 Following
the meeting of 11-19, no written
23 communication
was received nor could any
24 direction
be ascertained regarding any
25 corrective
or remedial measures that could be
37
1 taken to improve the application.
2 It
was not until December 21st that the
3 school
board staff acknowledged that a letter
4 dated
November 28, which contained within it
5 recommendations
and concerns regarding four
6 areas
and several concerns in each of those
7 areas,
it was not until December 21st that they
8 acknowledged
that that November 28 letter had
9 been
misdirected and sent to someone else.
10 However,
in my own attempt to address the
11 issues
raised in the meeting that we did have
12 on
November 19th and in an effort to secure an
13 approval
from the school board on December 3rd,
14 I
did prepare a revised application.
15 That
revised application was submitted on
16 December
12th to the staff in anticipation of
17 the
meeting on December 17th, because at the
18 December
3rd meeting of the Manatee County
19 School
Board, more than 60 days after we
20 submitted
our application, no action was taken.
21 On
the 17th, at that school board meeting,
22 in
spite of having been told by the staff that
23 on
the 14th it was too late to submit the
24 application
and that it would not be considered
25 because
we had, quote, passed the deadline for
38
1 consideration of applications for this year,
2 and
that the recommendation on my submission
3 was
to deny.
4 In
spite of that, on the 17th, the school
5 board
did, in fact, consent and directed the
6 staff
to consider all applications and
7 amendments
as of December 21st.
8 On
the 21st of December, after acquiring a
9 copy
personally from the superintendent of
10 those
matters contained in the November 28th
11 letter,
which I still have not received from
12 staff,
I submitted a point-by-point amendment
13 to
the revised application, it is contained in
14 the
records, specifically addressing only the
15 matters
contained in the letter of
16 November
28th.
17 This
amendment was submitted on
18 December
21st. By letter of December 18th, I
19 was
informed that the staff would reconvene
20 following
the holidays with information going
21 to
the school board on January 28th.
22 From
December 21st until meeting again
23 with
the charter panel on January 18th,
24 approximately
a month, no input nor any
25 feedback
was received again from the school
39
1 board staff.
2 On
Tuesday, January 21st, following the
3 holiday
weekend, Martin Luther King, Jr,
4 holiday
weekend, the applicant received by hand
5 delivery
from the assistant superintendent of
6 the
Manatee County School Board, Ms. Edwards, a
7 5-page
letter outlining, quote, a number of
8 concerns
that needed to be addressed no later
9 than
January 24th by 8:00 a.m.
10 In
an attempt to address those matters and
11 only
those matters in that letter, I convened
12 the
help of our consultant, Dr. Charles Godwin,
13 who
is superintendent of the United Methodist
14 Charter
Schools in Hillsborough County, I
15 convened
our CPA, Mr. Byron Sheehan, and I
16 convened
our contractor Mr. Stan Stephens, all
17 of
these people there in Manatee County to help
18 draft
something that would suffice and would
19 meet
the deadline on the 24th of January.
20 We
prepared a substantial and detailed
21 addendum
to our application and submitted it on
22 January
24th.
23 Nevertheless,
the staff, by letter one day
24 later,
deemed this addendum, quote, essentially
25 a
new application and they recommended denial.
40
1 At its meeting of January 28, by a
2 four-to-one
vote, with the chairman of the
3 school
board voting against, the recommendation
4 to
deny was accepted.
5 Chairman
Kinnan said at that time and I
6 quote,
he could find no legal reason not to
7 accept
the application, because the statute has
8 built
into it -- and this is the essence of
9 what
I am concerned with here today before this
10 Cabinet
-- an opportunity for the school board
11 and
the applicant to address those matters that
12 need
to be addressed before the school board
13 and
the applicant enter into a charter
14 contract.
15 Our
concern, Governor and members of the
16 Cabinet,
is that for us, this literally has
17 been
from Day One do or die. This is by no
18 small
measure our last gasp.
19 At
this point, we are asking the Cabinet
20 of
the State of Florida to ask the school board
21 of
Manatee County to merely accept our
22 application.
We are not asking the School
23 Board
of Manatee County to enter into a
24 contract
with us. We still have that hurdle to
25 cross.
41
1 We are not asking Manatee County to lower
2 its
standards. We are not asking to be treated
3 as
if we are not going to provide a first-class
4 product.
5 What
we are simply asking is to clear the
6 procedural
hurdle that will allow us at this
7 point
in time to get access to the assistance
8 that
obviously we need to frame an application
9 that
can withstand the scrutiny of the Manatee
10 County
School Board staff.
11 This
morning -- and this is my last
12 comment,
Governor; this morning I have been
13 assured
by the Department of Education
14
15 Staff,
Ms. McCain who is head of the school choice
16 office,
that if, in fact, I am successful in this
17 petition,
that every opportunity will be afforded me
18 and
all of the assistance will be given to this
19 Central
Bradenton Charter School to have us be
20 prepared
by the time of the next Manatee County
21 School
Board meeting to not only go forth and ask,
22 should
this Cabinet so grant it in its decision, to
23 ask
the Cabinet to not only -- to ask the school
24 board
to not only accept the Cabinet's
25 recommendation,
but we'll be prepared to present the
42
1 application.
2 GOVERNOR
BUSH: Reverend, you want to start
3 school
in August?
4 REVEREND
GOLDEN: We are still, from the
5 people
that I am talking with and from the
6 consultants
we have, we can start school in
7 August.
8 We
will not have the building that we are
9 trying
to have Mr. Stephens construct for us.
10 Had
we started in March, we would have had the
11 building
in August and then we would not have a
12 problem.
Because we are procedurally bound at
13 this
point, we will have to start school in an
14 alternate
location. In the record there is a
15 letter
from the --
16 GOVERNOR
BUSH: You want to start in August?
17 REVEREND
GOLDEN: Yes, sir.
18 GOVERNOR
BUSH: You are capable of doing it
19 in
your opinion?
20 REVEREND
GOLDEN: I am capable of doing that
21 in
my opinion, and it is essential for us to take
22 advantage
of the financial benefits that will be
23 made
available to us from the Department of
24 Education
via federal funds. The budget that we
25 have
prepared, that Mr. Sheehan has prepared for
43
1 us, incorporates into it $150,000 of money that
2 would
help us to develop a curriculum, that would
3 help
us to hire the staff we would need and these
4 things
can be done. The only thing that I cannot
5 do
by August 1st is have the building built.
6 GOVERNOR
BUSH: All right. Let's hear from
7 the
school district. Let's hear from the Manatee
8 school
district and stay close by. Take a seat
9 and
you will be back up in a second.
10 MR.
SHAPIRO: Good morning, Governor Bush and
11 Members
of the Cabinet, my name is Rob Shapiro. I
12 am
the staff attorney for the Manatee County
13 School
District.
14 Let
me just say that the charter has not
15 alleged
in its appeal that it did not get
16 cooperation
or feedback from the district. In
17 fact,
it's clear that it did. And without
18 belaboring
the chronology, the chronology of
19 events
is clearly set forth in our brief as to
20 the
amount and extent of feedback.
21 Also,
in the transcript of the
22 December
17th board meeting, Mr. Golden, Pastor
23 Golden
specifically stated he had confidence;
24 he
said I have the utmost confidence in the
25 staff
and the people that I have been working
44
1 with. So he has expressed he did get -- he has
2 confidence
in the staff and the feedback that
3 he
got. So this statement that he didn't get
4 feedback
timely is incorrect.
5 GOVERNOR
BUSH: Why don't we -- all this, to
6 me,
is a little into the weeds, to be honest with
7 you,
the dates and all that. I think we are
8 passed
that.
9 Perhaps
you could discuss the tangible
10 concerns
you have about this application and
11 their
ability to teach kids.
12 MR.
SHAPIRO: Yes, I certainly will.
13 We
addressed this in the letter dated
14 January
30, which is the superintendent's
15 letter;
that would be Exhibit 8 to the
16 charter's
appeal.
17 In
that letter we stated very clearly what
18 our
problems were. And I may state that we
19 addressed
these criteria based on what the
20 standard
application is that was provided by
21 the
DOE; those are the guidelines we used.
22 Specifically,
the first problem is the
23 mission.
And as was stated, there were three
24 distinct
applications here.
25 The
mission varied significantly among all
45
1 three applications.
2 In
the third application, it was described
3 as
an entrepreneurial and World of Work
4 strategy
for the students. Now that needs to
5 be
emphasized, these are K through three
6 students.
These are not high school students;
7 so
it was determined by the committee that this
8 was
an inappropriate mission for a school
9 that's
dedicated to K to three.
10 And
the applicant was asked to explain
11 this
and how it would apply to K through three
12 children,
and there was no response
13 forthcoming.
14 The
curriculum was another thing. The
15 description
of the curriculum did not provide
16 an
overview of the curriculum objectives and
17 content
of the main subject areas.
18 The
first application did not even
19 identify
a curriculum. The second one made
20 reference
to the district's curriculum, which
21 is
the Kaleidoscope. But the most important
22 thing
again is the third curriculum which did
23 not
-- did not have any connection between the
24 mission,
which is entrepreneurial World of Work
25 with
the curriculum. So the curriculum was
46
1 really never fleshed out.
2 The
next issue was student -- I would like
3 to
get Harriet Moore, who was the panel review
4 person,
to talk a little bit more about
5 curriculum
because that's key.
6 Student
population. The application did
7 not
ensure that the enrollment would be open to
8 students
districtwide. In fact, they targeted
9 the
population immediately around this charter
10 school.
11 And
it must be remembered that we have
12 eight
charter schools in Manatee County. We
13 have
38,000 students. Within a 2-mile radius
14 of
this proposed school, there are six
15 elementary
schools, one of which is a charter.
16 And
there was -- the problem with this was
17 that
--
18 GOVERNOR
BUSH: How do you have six
19 elementary
schools within a 2-mile -- they are
20 small,
I guess?
21 MR.
SHAPIRO: Yes, we have six elementary
22 schools,
one of which was a charter. And, in
23 fact,
the charter school we have is within four
24 blocks
of this proposed charter school. So this
25 isn't
exactly an underserved area.
47
1 Transportation. The first application
2 said
they were going to use vans which were
3 unapproved
by Florida Statute. And the second
4 two
applications there was absolutely no
5 addressing
of transportation of students
6 whatsoever.
7 And
there were a number of other areas
8 that
were addressed in the superintendent's
9 letter
which is Exhibit 8 to the appeal that
10 demonstrate
that there was good cause for the
11 denial
of the application.
12 I
would like to call Harriet Moore, if I
13 may,
to amplify some aspects of the denial
14 because
she was in charge of the review panel.
15 MS.
MOORE: Hi, good morning, Governor and
16 Cabinet
Members. My name is Harriet Moore, I am
17 the
program specialist for charter and contracted
18 schools
in Manatee County.
19 And
as I stated previously, when I came
20 into
this position, I came from a charter
21 principal
position; so I really understand what
22 it
takes to get a charter school up and
23 running.
24 GOVERNOR
BUSH: Which one was it?
25 MS.
MOORE: Richard Milburn Academy. And I
48
1 had two weeks to get it started, and we were able
2 to
do that and manage it, and we have an excellent
3 program.
4 I
also want to emphasize that Manatee
5 County,
one of the reasons I came into this is
6 because
of the relationship between Manatee
7 County
School District and our charter schools.
8 They
have really embraced that concept and been
9 a
charter friendly district.
10 And
I have heard some of the nightmares in
11 some
of the other places, so I am really glad
12 to
be there.
13 With
respect to some of the issues that I
14 think
are really pertinent as it relates to
15 this
particular applicant is the fact that
16 there
was a lot of inconsistency throughout the
17 process.
We were always open and available to
18 provide
whatever was needed to any of our
19 charter
applicants as well as our current
20 charter
schools.
21 The
curriculum changed so often that what
22 we
were trying to do was say: Okay, give us
23 specifically
what it is you are trying to do so
24 we
can work with you in order to make sure that
25 all
of the children are receiving what they
49
1 should be in terms of a good, solid, sound
2 education.
3 We
were unable to get that information and
4 we
did ask and we did list a number of areas
5 that
we would be able to help them provide
6 technical
assistance.
7 We
do that for all the charter schools.
8 We
do it for people from other counties that
9 call
us with questions about the do's and
10 don'ts
of charters.
11 I
think the most important thing that I
12 want
to emphasize here is that when we talk
13 about
leaving no child behind, that means that
14 we
as a district must be accountable to all of
15 our
schools -- not just our regular schools,
16 but
our charter schools as well.
17 And
in order to do that, there are some
18 areas
that we have to scrutinize to make sure
19 that
we are doing what it is that you expect us
20 to
do as a school district.
21 And
in all fairness, we have said that we
22 are
willing to spend this year working with any
23 applicant
that wanted to try to apply to have a
24 charter
school in Manatee County District, but
25 they
have to be sound and they have to be
50
1 prepared to provide a good, solid education and
2 following
all of the statutes that do fall into
3 charter
schools.
4 GOVERNOR
BUSH: Thank you. Any questions?
5 COMMISSIONER
CRIST: You were going to
6 elaborate
on the curriculum?
7 MS.
MOORE: Basically, just to clear up,
8 there
was a mention in application number 2 that
9 the
Kaleidoscope curriculum was mentioned, which
10 is
the district's curriculum that we use. But it
11 was
just mentioned, and there was no information
12 in
terms of how it would be used.
13 The
statutes say that charter schools must
14 be
innovative in their approach. If they are
15 going
to use the same curriculum and do the
16 same
things, then there really is no innovation
17 going
on there at all. There is no difference
18 in
terms of how are you going to do it a little
19 bit
different or a little bit better or a
20 little
bit -- invite some other things?
21 For
example, we have schools of arts and
22 sciences
that have really taken a different
23 approach
to education, and some of them do use
24 some
of the Kaleidoscope as their core
25 curriculum.
51
1 In the first application there was no core
2 curriculum
at all; and in the third, again, we
3 were
told about the third curriculum in the
4 panel
meetings discussion with the applicant.
5 We
hadn't received that yet; it just came up in
6 the
discussion.
7 Second,
we did provide feedback at the
8 review
panel meeting with all of the members
9 present
to the applicant right then and there
10 on
what some of the issues were. Even though
11 there
was a typographical error in terms of the
12 letter
getting out, the information was
13 provided
right there on the spot.
14 COMMISSIONER
CRIST: Could either of you I
15 guess
address the financial standing of the
16 applicant,
if that's a concern or not?
17 MS.
MOORE: It was definitely a concern. The
18 first
application, our finance director did note
19 some
areas that were inconsistent. Some of the
20 salary
structure, there were positions that were
21 named
throughout the application, but they were
22 not
identified in the budget area.
23 There
was some issues regarding the
24 personnel
within the budget and also in terms
25 of,
not just staffing, but how materials would
52
1 be purchased.
2 And
it just wasn't realistic in terms of
3 that.
4 The
second application I believe
5 approached
that a little bit better because the
6 applicant
did have a chance to work with myself
7 and
the finance director.
8 By
the third application, it was almost as
9 if
they reverted back to the first one, the
10 first
budget.
11 So
there really were some concerns about
12 that.
13 And
also, if the $150,000 start up was the
14 key
to making this move, then certainly we are
15 going
to have some concerns of how you are
16 going
to be stable; once you get that and you
17 expend
it, whether you do it on curriculum
18 development,
whether you using it to start
19 building
a building, whether you are using it
20 to
buy materials. That's not a lot of money to
21 begin
that process, so how are you going to
22 maintain
that type of stability?
23 We
were told there were some proposed I
24 guess
contributors, but there was no indication
25 of
how much people were going to contribute and
53
1 whether that was going to be substantial to
2 make
the school stand and be financially
3 stable.
4 COMMISSIONER
CRIST: Thank you.
5 GOVERNOR
BUSH: Can we ask the reverend to
6 come
back and do a little rebutting. It looked
7 like
he was anxious to do it.
8 REVEREND
GOLDEN: Thank you. Thank you,
9 Governor
Bush.
10 GOVERNOR
BUSH: If you could briefly go
11 through
some of these issues that are specific to
12 the
-- the work-related issues for K through
13 three,
the financial aspect, transportation,
14 questions
on the curriculum, rather than the dates
15 and
who responded when, it would be good.
16 REVEREND
GOLDEN: There has been an
17 application
process that has been ongoing and
18 fluid,
and to characterize what we have presented
19 as
three different applications --
20 GOVERNOR
BUSH: Don't worry about that.
21 Forget
all the procedure stuff and focus on the
22 tangible
issues that will impact children, should
23 you
be operating a public school.
24 REVEREND
GOLDEN: The curriculum issue has
25 been
mischaracterized.
54
1 We have said in our correspondence dated
2 the
21st our core curriculum will have its
3 foundation
in the Kaleidoscope primary and
4 intermediate
documents designed and currently
5 being
used by the district.
6 Mrs.
Moore is correct, in the initial
7 presentation
I only put in there Voyager, which
8 is
a supplementary curriculum. I am not a
9 educator.
I put in the application what I
10 discussed,
thinking it was sufficient.
11 The
same problem occurred with respect to
12 the
finances. We sat down and calculated the
13 FTE
for 20 students -- for 40 students for the
14 first
year this school would be operating. I
15 put
that number down for the second year and
16 the
third year in my -- in the initial
17 presentation
without taking into account the
18 increase
in students.
19 I
am not an accountant either. When I
20 went
back with my amended application, I did
21 have
people to help me to improve the
22 presentation
that had been made. That was why
23 we
listed there the Kaleidoscope. We were not
24 going
to stop the Voyager. We were going to
25 use
the Kaleidoscope.
55
1 The question was: How is that going to
2 make
your school unique? And it was in the
3 third
presentation that we made that we said:
4 We
are trying to create a technology
5 information
related elementary process. What
6 we
are trying to do is to bridge the digital
7 divide.
8 This
school that I am trying to put in the
9 middle
of these six schools that they say are
10 within
2 miles, I just invite you to look at
11 the
map. And whether they are within 6 miles
12 or
not, none of the children within a 2-mile
13 radius
of the site of this school are able to
14 go
to any of those schools. The children in
15 this
community that I am trying to serve are
16 being
bussed beyond those schools.
17 GOVERNOR
BUSH: You are kidding me.
18 REVEREND
GOLDEN: No.
19 GOVERNOR
BUSH: Six schools within 2 miles of
20 your
proposed facility, and none of the kids in
21 that
neighborhood go to any of those six schools?
22 That's
hard to believe.
23 REVEREND
GOLDEN: In the materials that I
24 have
presented to you there is a map, that is the
25 elementary
school map that is attached to the
56
1 material in section one -- that's why -- that's
2 why
the -- there is a map that's attached to the
3 addendum
that I have prepared. And that map shows
4 you
--
5 GOVERNOR
BUSH: We got it.
6 REVEREND
GOLDEN: Yes, that shows you the
7 elementary
schools that are there, the public
8 elementary
schools that are there that -- and the
9 children
that I am trying to reach are in those
10 four
little blocked out areas up there near the
11 river.
12 And
those children in this area are bussed
13 to
Prime, Moody, Bayshore Elementary, and I can
14 never
get the fourth school down, I can't --
15 but
they are bussed 25 and 30 minutes every
16 day.
17 There
is no school in this community that
18 these
children attend. They do not attend
19 Manatee
Elementary. They do not attend Ballard
20 Elementary.
They do not attend the new school
21 that
was built less than two or three years
22 ago.
23 As
a matter of fact, every child --
24 GOVERNOR
BUSH: Help me out here. This map,
25 do
you have --
57
1 REVEREND GOLDEN: May I approach?
2 GOVERNOR
BUSH: Yes, sure, I am not a judge.
3 You
can approach the bench. Show me where is your
4 location?
5 REVEREND
GOLDEN: My location is in the heart
6 of
this area right here.
7 GOVERNOR
BUSH: That can't be 15 minute or 20
8 minutes.
Is that a long way away?
9 REVEREND
GOLDEN: Yes, these are the schools
10 the
children go to. Sea Breeze, which is here,
11 Bayshore
which is down here, Kline which is here
12 and
Moody; they don't go to any of the schools
13 that
is nearest to them.
14 And
they have not, Governor, they have not
15 gone
there for the last 10 years, since the
16 elementary
school that was closest to this area
17 was
closed. There was an elementary school and
18 a
middle school that was closed in that
19 community
and has been closed.
20 I
did everything that I possibly could to
21 try
to get another elementary school back in
22 that
particular area and failed in that and
23 this
is -- this is my effort to try to put a
24 charter
school in an area where every child in
25 Manatee
County can go to an elementary school;
58
1 some of them can walk to an elementary school.
2 GOVERNOR
BUSH: That's not helpful, Colleen.
3 You
wiped out the place where the school is. It's
4 on
the corner there. Turn it.
5 There.
Thank you.
6 REVEREND
GOLDEN: The area I am trying to
7 impact
is this area right here. These children
8 are
bussed from here, to this school, to this
9 school,
to this school.
10 GOVERNOR
BUSH: Okay.
11 REVEREND
GOLDEN: And what I am --
12 GOVERNOR
BUSH: Any other issues related to
13 what
the school board said that you would like to
14 give
a different opinion on?
15 REVEREND
GOLDEN: Yes, sir.
16 The
financial structure, and I want to
17 point
out that the construction of the building
18 that
will house the school is a function of
19 rental
property that this church owns. We are
20 going
to be able to build this building. We
21 are
going to be able to build this building.
22 The
question for me as a steward of the church,
23 do
I build a smaller building simply to serve
24 the
needs of the church, or do I build a
25 building
large enough to try to serve the needs
59
1 of the community?
2 GOVERNOR
BUSH: What would you use the
3 150,000
for?
4 REVEREND
GOLDEN: In the first year we would
5 be
using it to deal with -- first of all, we need
6 it
in the first year but the second and third
7 years,
our population will increase, and so that
8 will
be made up by the FTE.
9 The
first year, I need it to do just what
10 they
say my weakness is. I need help to pay
11 some
people to help me to develop this
12 curriculum
and to integrate it. We do not have
13 an
information technology curriculum in Florida
14 that
begins K through three. What we are
15 about,
what we are going to try to use was the
16 one
from Texas.
17 GOVERNOR
BUSH: Which one, the Voyager?
18 REVEREND
GOLDEN: No. The Voyager is another
19 component,
another after school. This is the
20 Texas
--
21 COMMISSIONER
CRIST: Texas Essential
22 Knowledge.
23 REVEREND
GOLDEN: Yes, sir. It's the
24 Texas
-- and it is a curriculum that they have
25 already
developed K through three that we were
60
1 going to -- Dr. Godwin, we were going to try to
2 modify
it, and to create the curriculum and to get
3 the
people together to implement this here.
4 The
reason I cannot give you a curriculum
5 is
because we are trying to develop one.
6 GOVERNOR
BUSH: I understand.
7 REVEREND
GOLDEN: What we had thought we had
8 done,
after three tries, was to at least say:
9 This
is the direction in which we are heading. We
10 have
got too many children, first off, being
11 physically
divided; and now we are about to have
12 another
generation of children that are not going
13 to
be able to bridge the digital divide.
14 That's
what we were trying to bring into
15 this
community to those schools. There are --
16 there
are 260 students that get bussed out of
17 this
area every day. And we are simply trying
18 to
reach a third of them. I am just --
19 GOVERNOR
BUSH: Commissioner Bronson.
20 COMMISSIONER
BRONSON: Reverend, I guess
21 there
is two things I needed to find out.
22 You
made a statement earlier this was the
23 last
gasp effort to get this school going. But
24 yet,
all indications are you are not quite
25 there
to open the doors this year.
61
1 Do you mean that if you don't get it this
2 year,
that you are not going to apply for next
3 year?
4 REVEREND
GOLDEN: I mean that as I had been
5 told
by the Department of Education staff, there
6 is
a -- there is a federal grant that helps
7 charter
schools with startup costs. This year
8 there
is $150,000 that's available. No one knows
9 if
or whether or how much of that would be next
10 year.
11 I
am already belabored with trying to
12 build
the building and deal with the fund
13 raising
that's essential to building the
14 building;
then to also go into the same
15 community
and try to replace a $150,000 that we
16 have
built into our budget beginning this year.
17 And
what I am concerned with is, as the
18 school
board has aptly pointed out, this is a
19 difficult
situation financially anyway. I need
20 all
of the resources that can be made
21 available.
Not just to borrow, but to help
22 from
the Charter School Choice Office.
23 They
are saying we can do this. They will
24 help
me to have a presentation to the Manatee
25 County
School Board by its next meeting. The
62
1 problem is the Manatee County School Board has
2 to
simply accept the application because I
3 can't
access that $150,000 without an approved
4 application
-- not a charter, an approved
5 application.
6 GOVERNOR
BUSH: You can't access 150,000
7 unless
you got a charter, I hope.
8 REVEREND
GOLDEN: You know what, I am so glad
9 you
pointed that out, because I honestly believe
10 in
my heart, I didn't come here to make a show.
11 That
is what one of the real concerns is. I can
12 access
the $150,000 if my application has been
13 approved.
I know that.
14 GOVERNOR
BUSH: I can't believe the federal
15 government
would give you $150,000 with an
16 approved
application rather than a signed charter
17 contract.
18 REVEREND
GOLDEN: If you really want to know
19 what
is problematic right here in terms of -- you
20 see,
I met with your aides, I met with your aides
21 last
week. You see what I am saying? And the
22 problem
is that they are aware of that. That's a
23 real
problem.
24 If
you say to me today: Reverend, we are
25 going
to send you back with our blessing, it is
63
1 entirely possible that I could go back there
2 and
waste $150,000 and not get a charter
3 contract.
4 But
I am here to tell you on my oath as a
5 minister,
as an attorney, as a man, I do not
6 intend
to go back and travel that path. If you
7 will
give me the opportunity, that $150,000
8 will
be well spent and it will result in a
9 charter
contract between the ABC School and the
10 Manatee
County School Board.
11 I
would like to close because there has
12 been
some concern about well, will we work
13 together?
You need to understand we are a
14 small
community down there. Ms. Edwards, the
15 assistant
superintendent for academic affairs,
16 serves
on the Central Community Revitalization
17 area
that we just created down there. We are
18 working
on another project as we speak now,
19 trying
to take advantage of the designation
20 that
we recently received. And I want to thank
21 you
for that.
22 We
have been designated in that same area
23 as
a front porch community. So we are working
24 on
things; Dr. Patricia Lucas and I serve
25 together
on the board of directors for Manatee.
64
1 The superintendent of the school there and I
2 served
together on the board of directors of
3 Meals
on Wheels. It's not like you got some
4 blood
battle going on here. We just really
5 need
to have some higher intervening authority
6 to
get us beyond this impasse.
7 GOVERNOR
BUSH: I appreciate you coming. You
8 made
a very compelling case.
9 I
have a question for the department,
10 which
is: Why are we dealing with this at such
11 a
late date? If all this discussion took place
12 in
January, we are in mid to late May; it's
13 getting
late. It's hard to start up from
14 scratch
these schools. There should be some
15 cut
off point where we say: Look, irrespective
16 of
what the process is, we can't go beyond the
17 certain
date because it puts the school
18 district,
the children and the applicant for a
19 charter
in very bad position.
20 MS.
McCAIN: Absolutely. My name is Diane
21 McCain.
I am the director of the Choice Office
22 for
the department.
23 In
answer to your question, why we are
24 here,
is because an appeal has been filed based
25 on
the decision of the local school district by
65
1 the applicant.
2 Assistance
was offered to Reverend Golden
3 previously,
and he did not feel it was
4 necessary
from the department.
5 We
since talked and he is more than
6 willing
to accept our assistance at this point.
7 Our
offer to him is the same now as it was
8 previously,
and that is as we do for all
9 applicants,
we'll provide technical assistance
10 to
the best of our ability. But time is very,
11 very
short.
12 COMMISSIONER
BRONSON: I guess my question
13 would
be, once again, we are so late in this
14 process
and trying to put out a curriculum that's
15 going
to be accepted by the school district, and
16 also
whether the school, Reverend Golden, is going
17 to
get the 150,000 or not, that's still just one
18 small
piece of this educational package.
19 And
with all due respect, I believe what
20 you
are trying to do, you are trying to
21 accomplish
something for the children in your
22 particular
area that have a need, but we have
23 seen
schools that have put together full-blown
24 plans
have problems, come back to us that we
25 have
had to either accept doing away with the
66
1 school or whatever because they could not meet
2 those
financial obligations and other issues
3 involved.
4 It
just seems to me that it would be
5 better,
the monies for charter schools I would
6 think
are going to be available because of the
7 system
and the need for changes in the school
8 system
to some degree.
9 But
it seems to me that getting a
10 full-blown
plan with everything signed off and
11 ready
to go for the next year, along with your
12 financials,
would be much better than trying to
13 rush
through and get this in and not be able
14 to
-- to me, it would be worse for them to come
15 back
and say you did not meet your obligations
16 and,
therefore, it would hurt your chances to
17 reup
your school for the next year or two.
18 It
just seems like this is an awful late
19 date
to try to put all this together at the
20 last
minute.
21 MS.
McCAIN: I was just going to say that I
22 understand
it's a little unusual for us to have
23 made
a strong recommendation as we did, but in the
24 technical
assistance paper we provided we did
25 mention
that the concerns we had were with the
67
1 budget, the curriculum and the school's mission.
2 We
also have some concerns -- and again,
3 we
meet almost daily with people with very good
4 intentions,
and with all due respect to
5 Reverend
Golden, I believe with all his heart,
6 he
fully intends to accomplish great things for
7 students.
8 But
$150,000, although Harriet said, is
9 not
a lot of money, it's a huge amount of money
10 to
our students. And the legislature has said
11 we
are to be accountable for charter schools.
12 So
we are going to be accountable in the
13 beginning
or in the end when I am before you
14 and
this is on an appeal about a closure.
15 So
we recognize that the application needs
16 to
be -- Reverend Golden and his application
17 needs
great assistance from us, and we are
18 offering
that.
19 The
time frame, I totally agree with you,
20 is
a very short time frame and that's really
21 your
decision today. And at the end, there is
22 no
guarantee that the local school district
23 will
take your recommendation.
24 GOVERNOR
BUSH: Can we ask the school
25 district
to come back for a second?
68
1 Are you all willing to work with the
2 applicant
for the next wave of applications,
3 whenever
that would start again, October?
4 MS.
MOORE: In our letter to Mr. Golden from
5 the
superintendent's office, the closing statement
6 was
that our recommendation was that he work with
7 the
school district and the Florida Charter School
8 Resource
Center to work on this year preparing for
9 next
year, so we have opened that.
10 If
they indeed want to resubmit for this
11 year,
we would work with them to help them put
12 together
an excellent application that would be
13 beneficial
to students to open next year.
14 GOVERNOR
BUSH: Can you also comment, the
15 question
of are all the kids in this neighborhood
16 being
--
17 MS.
MOORE: No. In fact, we have the
18 assistant
superintendent, Lynette Edwards, and I
19 am
so glad you brought that up because I would
20 like
to bring her forward to address that.
21 Ms.
Edwards.
22 GOVERNOR
BUSH: Very briefly, this is more
23 for
my own curiosity.
24 MS.
MOORE: You need to know that there is
25 some
clarification needed there.
69
1 MS. EDWARDS: Good morning, Governor and
2 Cabinet.
3 I
do want to acknowledge that the school
4 board
is charter friendly and we always do
5 everything
we can to help our charter schools
6 be
successful.
7 As
Reverend Golden indicated to you, we
8 serve
on various things together and he brought
9 up
the CCRA. And in my materials today, I have
10 a
map that I was preparing to do a presentation
11 to
the CCRA that I am willing to share with you
12 if
you would like to have it.
13 GOVERNOR
BUSH: Just real short, real simple,
14 this
is really not -- it's kind of off the core
15 but
--
16 MS.
EDWARDS: I would like to indicate that
17 we
have a school choice program. The map here
18 shows
-- and if you just want to show them that, I
19 will
do this in summary. The map here shows the
20 schools
that Reverend Golden is talking about.
21 GOVERNOR
BUSH: We can't --
22 MS.
EDWARDS: 50 percent, and I have the data
23 with
me, 50 percent of the students who are
24 targeted
for the schools that are considered
25 pockets,
50 percent of those students don't even
70
1 attend those schools. Because of the School
2 Choice
Program, parents are allowed to choice
3 their
students back to other schools in the
4 district.
5 Many
of those students are being choiced
6 back
to some of these other six schools that we
7 are
talking about, and some of them are being
8 choiced
to even other schools outside of those
9 six.
10 GOVERNOR
BUSH: Choiced, it's a verb now.
11 That's
interesting. Making progress.
12 MS.
EDWARDS: That's the key point. That
13 yes,
there are pockets there and the little stars
14 on
the map are really students, if you can see
15 those.
16 GOVERNOR
BUSH: So you have full-blown
17 parental
choice?
18 MS.
EDWARDS: We have full-blown choice. And
19 parents
-- of course, there is a system for that,
20 but
each year they can apply to send their
21 students
to other schools in the district. And
22 the
data that I have shows that 50 percent of the
23 students
that are zoned to these areas do not
24 attend
those schools.
25 GOVERNOR
BUSH: Okay. Thank you.
71
1 MR. SHAPIRO: Thank you.
2 GOVERNOR
BUSH: Back to the question, you are
3 prepared
to work with whoever --
4 MS.
MOORE: If they decided they would like
5 to
resubmit a letter of intent this year, then we
6 would
spend the year providing whatever technical
7 assistance
is required and needed for them to
8 submit
an application before the board and the
9 panel
for the upcoming next school year.
10 MR.
SHAPIRO: In fact, Governor Bush, all the
11 correspondence
always ends with that same
12 paragraph,
that we are willing to do that in the
13 record.
14 MS.
MOORE: If they would just take the time
15 and
work with all of us to be able to get
16 something
that's going to benefit the children.
17 GOVERNOR
BUSH: Excellent.
18 COMMISSIONER
CRIST: I think we are ready for
19 a
motion.
20 GOVERNOR
BUSH: What's the motion?
21 COMMISSIONER
CRIST: The motion would be to
22 remand
back to the board for denial but to
23 encourage
the Reverend to continue to pursue this,
24 especially
given the comments that we just
25 received
from the district that they want to help
72
1 in the future in the next go around.
2 GOVERNOR
BUSH: Is there a second?
3 TREASURER
GALLAGHER: Second.
4 GOVERNOR
BUSH: Any other discussion? Moved
5 and
seconded. Without objection, the item to
6 deny
-- remand -- say that again.
7 COMMISSIONER
CRIST: Remand, recommending
8 denial.
9 GOVERNOR
BUSH: -- remand, recommending
10 denial,
is approved.
11 Reverend,
we thank you for coming up; and
12 just
from my own personal experience, it took
13 as
one of the first six charters schools, the
14 Talfair
and I, took us two and a half years.
15 And
it was time well worth the effort to get it
16 right
in the beginning; so I have total
17 confidence
in your ability to garner the
18 support
necessary to make this school work.
19 And
I think you have a good faith effort
20 from
the department to help you, and you don't
21 have
to wait until next year to do that, they
22 can
help you now. That's their job; and a good
23 faith
commitment from the school board that is
24 charter
friendly; they have a very good record
25 as
it relates to charter schools, so we wish
73
1 you well.
2 I
also want to make sure we recognize the
3 fact
that Manatee County has -- Commissioner,
4 they
won the best financially managed school
5 district
on the planet or something like that?
6 COMMISSIONER
CRIST: If not the planet, close
7 to
it, yes, sir.
8 GOVERNOR
BUSH: You are right, but it's
9 close,
and we appreciate the efforts to really
10 focus
on the classroom which is where the money
11 should
be going.
12 COMMISSIONER
CRIST: Most of the planet
13 anyway.
14 GOVERNOR
BUSH: Maybe it's just the state.
15 Item
4.
16 MR.
PIERSON: Item 4 is a request from the
17 Orange
County School District to become a charter
18 school
district with a proposal and a contract.
19 And
Betty Cox will present for the department.
20 MS.
COX: Good morning, Governor, Members of
21 the
Cabinet, it's a pleasure to be with you this
22 morning.
23 The
department is pleased to have an
24 opportunity
to facilitate the Orange County
25 Charter
School District proposal for you today.
74
1 We would like to open by saying that Florida
2 Statute
allows this board to enter into
3 contract
status with up to six districts, in
4 order
for those districts to focus on to two
5 things:
Increasing student achievement and
6 improving
school management.
7 Now
in looking at the Orange County School
8 District
proposal, it has a major strength of
9 focussing
on no-child-left-behind. And, in
10 fact,
as they developed their proposal to you,
11 they
have looked very consistently and
12 concertedly
at the effort of their students so
13 that
all students will achieve well and no
14 child
will be left behind, and there will be no
15 gaps
in achievement from various groups.
16 The
superintendent of Orange County Public
17 Schools
is Ron Blocker. And he has only been
18 there
for approximately a little under two
19 years.
And in that time he has dedicated and
20 shown
himself to be a person who is highly
21 committed
to student achievement. And not to
22 speak
for him, but I would like to open with
23 just
some parameters.
24 Orange
County School District is not where
25 it
wants to be with all of its schools. He is
75
1 going to talk to you about some data they have
2 that
is very positive. And, of course, they
3 are
pleased that they are on the right path to
4 improvement.
5 They
have got some wonderful programs and
6 terrifically
high-performing schools, but they
7 would
like to have more of them. In the recent
8 FCAT
results that came out, I had a chance to
9 talk
to him this morning, he was pleased that
10 his
reading scores were up, disappointed at the
11 pace
of the growth.
12 So
what we are focussing on with this
13 particular
proposal is how can we go about
14 increasing
the rate of improvement. Because
15 students
in Orange County are doing better.
16 They
are not doing, all of them, as better as
17 quickly
as we would like and he would like.
18 He
is here to talk to you today and has
19 brought
a team to tell you about the process
20 they
have gone through, the goals that they
21 have
set, and specifically their
22 no-child-left-behind
theme.
23 May
I present superintendent Ron Blocker.
24 GOVERNOR
BUSH: Welcome.
25 MR.
BLOCKER: Thank you very much, Governor
76
1 and Cabinet. I appreciate the opportunity of
2 providing
us to give you some important
3 information
as relates to our application for the
4 charter
district status.
5 This
is an important and bold step for
6 Orange
County Public Schools, no doubt, because
7 we
are talking risks. We are literally
8 declaring,
boldly declaring to the world and
9 others,
whomever will listen, the ambitious
10 goals
that we are embarking upon to achieve our
11 goals.
12 I
am here to give you an overview of our
13 presentation,
and with me is a team of members:
14 Susan
Arkin, the chairman of our Orange County
15 School
Board, is with us; also Debbie Manuel,
16 who
is deputy superintendent for instruction,
17 she
is our chief academic officer; and also
18 Henry
Boekhoff, who some of you may know, who
19 is
our chief financial officer. And we have
20 brought
a parent with us, Mr. Jamal Mack, who
21 is
an active PTA parent and was involved in our
22 charter
district review.
23 During
my tenure as superintendent I have
24 focussed
on two primary goals, which one is to
25 increase
the efficiencies in our
77
1 noninstructional areas and, secondly, and most
2 importantly,
to focus on our core mission. And
3 both
are related because those efficiencies
4 were
there to support the core mission.
5 How
are we achieving these ends? In the
6 business
end alone, we are showing a stronger
7 accountability
model to give the public the
8 assurance
that we are a credible organization
9 working
towards the right things. I
10 established
oversight committees to review and
11 oversee
the business areas of our operations.
12 And
when appropriate, we want to move towards
13 privatization.
14 We
are also partnering with the business
15 community
for better results. And one example
16 of
that is we have actually asked the Walt
17 Disney
World Corporation to loan us a group of
18 executives,
the very individuals who helped
19 them
reevaluate and revamp their facilities
20 department,
to do the same thing for ours and
21 it
is bringing positive results already.
22 Most
importantly though on the educational
23 side,
we have emphasized reading from day one.
24 And
we are trying to do it in several ways.
25 First,
of course, we have developed a
78
1 literacy plan, a K through 12 literacy plan,
2 that
we are involving not only our system but
3 the
community. And what we are trying to do
4 with
the community, using the theme of the
5 African
proverb that it takes a village to
6 raise
a child, we are trying to involve the
7 entire
community in Orange County to focus on
8 the
importance of children being able to read,
9 especially
acquiring the reading skills by the
10 age
of nine.
11 We
did that by kicking off the program, by
12 inviting
Reid Lyon, President Bush's reading
13 advisor,
down to speak to several groups:
14 Teachers,
administrators, and community members
15 that
was broadly represented within the
16 business
arena.
17 They
all understood after Dr. Lyons left
18 the
importance of children reading or acquiring
19 reading
skills by the age of nine. Using that
20 focus,
we have gotten several community
21 partners
to help finance a major PR marketing
22 scheme
to inform the entire community so that
23 when
the parent leaves the hospital, meaning
24 from
birth to age five, we want this community
25 emphasizing
the importance of reading and doing
79
1 the things that support reading.
2 We
also focus on the classroom. From day
3 one,
we realigned our entire curriculum to
4 support
reading and other achievement
5 indicators,
so essentially what we did is we
6 took
the standards, Sunshine state standards,
7 grade
level expectations, other benchmarks, and
8 we
aligned them with the FCAT, Stanford, and
9 other
chiefland indicators that we use so that
10 when
the teachers are in the classroom, they
11 are
teaching to everything that is needed to be
12 measured.
13 We
also support the classroom by whenever
14 there
have been budget cuts under my
15 administration,
not once has it touched the
16 classroom.
17 Whenever
we have done budget cuts under my
18 administration,
we have not touched the
19 classroom.
20 Whatever
school cuts were made were
21 resource
teachers outside of the classroom. We
22 kept
the teachers in the classroom and
23 administrative
cuts at the central level, to
24 the
chagrin of some individuals.
25 GOVERNOR
BUSH: That comes as a surprise to a
80
1 lot of people that are in your community.
2 MR.
BLOCKER: We are very public in how we
3 do
things.
4 We
also brag about having some of the
5 lowest
teacher/student ratios in the State of
6 Florida.
I am pleased to say we have been
7 leaders
in that over the last few years, and we
8 try
to establish a competitive teacher salary
9 so
that not only could we recruit top-flight
10 teachers,
but that we could retain the quality
11 of
teachers we have in place.
12 Now
what was the results of our effort?
13 Well,
your old state Department of Education
14 indicated
we have the lowest administrative
15 costs
in the State of Florida. Of course, I
16 think
I have the best chief financial officer
17 in
State of Florida.
18 And
what did he do? He took that same
19 data
and reconfigured it using the district
20 cost
differentials. And even with the district
21 cost
differentials, there were shifts in the
22 rankings
of several schools in the state, but
23 we
still came out number 1 of the 67 school
24 districts
of having the lowest administrative
25 costs
in the state.
81
1 The Association for School Business
2 Offices
and the international organization
3 ranked
our financial reports, giving them the
4 highest
ratings; that placed us in 3 percent of
5 all
the districts in the entire country.
6 We
also have saved several millions of
7 dollars
in our construction program, but let me
8 move
into the instruction area.
9 I
like to talk about what we have done in
10 reading
and math and the basic achievement,
11 because
that's what it all boils down to.
12 Since
1999, when you all started, you all
13 being
the State Department of Education, et
14 cetera,
started grading schools, we, of course,
15 eliminated
our F schools like the rest of the
16 state;
but since 1999, we have decreased the
17 number
of D schools since 1999, we have
18 improved
our grades in 40 percent of our
19 schools,
and since 1999 we have doubled in our
20 higher
performing schools which will be
21 operationally
defined as A and B schools.
22 Just
last year we increased school grades
23 of
30 schools; seven of them moved from C to A
24 and
one even moved from a D to an A.
25 The
most recent test data is not one I am
82
1 particularly pleased about because we still
2 have
not matched the state average or exceeded
3 the
state average, and that's one of the goals
4 we
plan to do if this charter application is
5 approved.
6 But
let me just say this: In the norm
7 reference
schools, we increased at all grade
8 levels
in both reading and math; and although
9 these
were incremental increases in reading and
10 math,
we did increase in grades 3, 4, 5, 7 and
11 9
in reading and grades 3, 4, 5, 6, 7 and 9 in
12 math,
incremental, but it shows a trend over
13 the
last few years of Orange County
14 progressively
improving.
15 So
we are geared toward the right theme
16 because
we are creating an infrastructure that
17 supports
achievement.
18 We
also looked at how our scores changed
19 compared
to the state. And even though we are
20 still
analyzing the test data, we can report
21 that
in math, our changes in scores were better
22 than
or same as the state in all grade levels;
23 and
in reading our changes in scores were
24 better
than or same as the state in grades 4,
25 5,
7, 9 and 10.
83
1 Where we have trend data, the percent of
2 students
scoring at achievement level three
3 increased
in all areas in reading and in all
4 grade
levels of math except grade 10. Again,
5 these
are incremental grades, something that we
6 would
like to make some significant
7 improvement,
but we think we are on the right
8 path.
So we are not as happy with them as we
9 could
be. And you know what, charter school
10 district
status will help us achieve that.
11 Because
quite frankly, the charter school
12 district
status will allow us to establish an
13 entrepreneurial
spirit within our schools. Why
14 do
we go that direction?
15 Well,
we wanted to close the achievement
16 gap
between minority and nonminority students.
17 We
wanted to raise test scores to be at or
18 above
the state and national averages, and we
19 wanted
to make schools communities of learning.
20 And
that's very important in Orange County, but
21 because
of our overcrowding situation, we have
22 unavoidably
large schools, so we have to create
23 communities
of learning.
24 So
essentially, we must create an
25 environment
of educational entrepreneurship if
84
1 that is going to happen.
2 So
the first thing I did was I formed a
3 task
force. I asked the former mayor of
4 Orlando,
the Honorable Bill Frederick, a
5 three-term
mayor, so a very popular and
6 recognized
public figure in the Central Florida
7 area,
to chair this task force. The reason I
8 asked
Mr. Frederick to do this is because I
9 knew
he would look me in the eye and tell me if
10 it
was a good thing or not.
11 Along
with him we involved a publisher of
12 a
local newspaper, the Apopka Chief, which
13 happens
to represent a large rural segment of
14 our
population; but it also represents based on
15 the
last census the second largest city in
16 Orange
County. It's a very fast growing area.
17 Also,
the chairman of the Hispanic Task
18 Force
that advises me, a member, a leader of
19 the
local Chamber of Commerce, our teacher of
20 the
year, and one of our high school
21 principals.
22 They
reported several recommendations, but
23 the
two that stuck out in my mind was, one,
24 that
you should not replace one bureaucracy
25 with
another.
85
1 The second thing that stuck out in my mind
2 was
you should stretch yourselves; don't give
3 yourself
easy and achievable, easy goals to
4 achieve;
stretch yourself. And even if you
5 don't
reach those schools, you will improve
6 progressively.
7 So
I took that to heart.
8 The
next step, we actually formed several
9 communities
of parents, teachers,
10 administrators;
and the administrators were not
11 just
school-based administrators, they were
12 district-based
administrators, so they would
13 understand
their role in removing the barriers
14 and
making this happen.
15 And
their task was to see how this could
16 happen,
how we could pull this off.
17 They
then reported their findings, I took
18 it
to the school board, they approved it. So I
19 just
want you to know we're aggressively
20 seeking
charter status because we see it as a
21 way
of helping us to raise the bar of
22 achievement
and to raise expectation of
23 accountability
within the entire organization.
24 Now
I am going to ask the school board
25 chairman
Susan Arkin to bring you some
86
1 additional information that you would need to
2 hear.
3 GOVERNOR
BUSH: Thank you, Ron. Are you
4 going
to go through -- would it be appropriate now
5 to
ask you questions about the performance goals
6 or
is someone else going it talk about that?
7 MR.
BLOCKER: Someone else is going to talk
8 about
it.
9 MS.
ARKIN: Governor, Members of the State
10 Board
of Education, because that's what you are
11 sitting
as, as the Cabinet, I am the chairman of
12 the
school board, Susan Arkin, and it's my role to
13 just
give you kind of a picture of Orange County.
14 I
know many of you know Orange County, but
15 just
to give you the broad expanse of it. At
16 more
than 159,000 students in grades K through
17 12,
we are the fourth largest school system in
18 the
state and the 14th largest in the nation.
19 That's
a growing number because we get between
20 5-
and 7,000 new students every year.
21 Governor,
you especially know a fair amount
22 about
us.
23 We
have 195 school sites, including 104
24 elementaries,
27 middle schools, 15 high
25 schools,
four technical education centers, four
87
1 exceptional education centers and 30
2 alternative
education sites.
3 We
are the second largest employer in
4 central
Florida with a work force of 22,000
5 full
and part-time employees. 35 percent of
6 our
teachers have advanced degrees.
7 And
as we talk about no-child-left-behind
8 and
the concept of where we want to be able to
9 go,
and we think charter school district status
10 will
help us, our students -- 44 percent of our
11 students
are on free or reduced price lunch.
12 Almost
15 percent of our students are speakers
13 of
other languages. 44 percent of our students
14 are
Caucasian, 29 percent are black and
15 23
percent are Hispanic.
16 But
that only begins to tell the story
17 because
our students come from 162 different
18 countries
and speak 105 different languages and
19 dialects.
So we are a very diverse community;
20 richer
for the diversity of it.
21 And
as we look at those numbers and we
22 look
at where we want to go as a district, the
23 fact
that you have included in the school
24 grades
the learning gains is really important
25 for
us, and we thank you for both the state's
88
1 role in accountability and for the fact that
2 the
state is growing as it looks at how to do
3 this.
4 GOVERNOR
BUSH: The learning gains was part
5 of
the 1999 law, it was just we needed a base.
6 MS.
ARKIN: Absolutely. We are first in
7 seeing
that happen. We give you full credit for
8 that.
We thank you very much.
9 I
would like to introduce Jamal Mack, who
10 is
a member of the county council of PTAs in
11 Orange
County and an active parent with his own
12 child's
PTA as well and has been a part of this
13 process.
And when Jamal is done speaking,
14 Deborah
Manuel, who is the chief curriculum
15 officer,
is going to talk about some of the
16 issues,
Governor, that you just were going to
17 ask
questions about.
18 So
I would let Jamal come up here and just
19 close
by saying thank you, there is a great
20 deal
of support in the community that I heard
21 for
doing this. And so I feel like I am
22 representing
not just the board but the
23 community,
and I thank you for this
24 opportunity.
25 GOVERNOR
BUSH: Thank you. Mr. Mack,
89
1 welcome.
2 MR.
MACK: Thank you, Governor.
3 GOVERNOR
BUSH: Where does your kid go to
4 school,
out of curiosity?
5 MR.
MACK: Lawton Chiles Elementary School in
6 Orlando,
Florida.
7 I
am a proud parent of a fourth grade
8 student,
like I said, in Lawton Chiles
9 Elementary
School in Orlando Florida, and I am
10 a
very involved parent. I believe a parent has
11 to
be very involved in the education of their
12 child.
13 As
Ms. Arkin mentioned, I am serving on
14 Orange
County Council of PTAs as a family
15 involvement
chairperson and also the immediate
16 past
president of the school's PTA.
17 I
had the opportunity to serve on the
18 planning
team for the charter school district
19 proposal.
Members of this team included other
20 parents,
community members, business leaders,
21 teachers,
school and district staff, and we
22 spent
many hours discussing this initiative.
23 We
had three main tasks. The first one,
24 determine
which statute, rule and regulation
25 would
be included in the contract to be waived.
90
1 Second, define the performance goals that
2 we
felt were important to increase student
3 achievement.
4 Third,
define the three-fold management
5 plan
to include a communication component, the
6 waiver
process component, and the monitoring
7 and
evaluation component.
8 I
was impressed by the fact that our
9 voices
were heard, our opinions were valued,
10 and
our suggestions were taken.
11 After
we completed our work, the district
12 held
meetings and made presentations about the
13 proposal.
I attended one such presentation in
14 each
learning community. I was excited to see
15 that
the proposal reflected what our planning
16 team
had worked so diligently on.
17 I
am also proud to say the staff provided
18 extra
time to answer every question asked and
19 provide
phone numbers for follow-up questions.
20 Personally,
I am glad my son will directly
21 benefit
from this bold step that the
22 superintendent
and the district have taken.
23 I
am inspired to know that they are
24 utilizing
every opportunity to raise the
25 academic
achievement for every student in the
91
1 Orange County public school system.
2 Thank
you.
3 GOVERNOR
BUSH: Thank you very much for being
4 here.
5 MS.
MANUEL: Good morning. We submit the
6 contract
for your consideration. Our school board
7 approved
the draft on January 22nd, prior to
8 sending
it to the Department of Education. This
9 is
our accountability. And this contract is based
10 on
results, not a process.
11 It
includes 14 initial requests for
12 waivers
from state statutes, and we see these
13 waivers
as a base for our schools as they begin
14 to
plan how to reach their goals.
15 The
waivers include a way to assist in
16 retention
of teachers, so that we can stabilize
17 their
new work environment. They also
18 enhance
--
19 GOVERNOR
BUSH: Can you give me an example of
20 that?
21 MS.
MANUEL: Yes, sir. The one waiver on
22 out-of-field
teachers, that will help with our
23 funding
because we get them approved, go through
24 all
of our technicalities and formalities, but the
25 way
the statute reads, you must have school board
92
1 formal approval before you can count them for FTE.
2 And
this way we can make sure they are approved
3 and
count them for FTE. Let's say they begin a
4 week
before the October FTE count. We'll get the
5 board
approval maybe a week later.
6 The
other way we want to stabilize the
7 work
environment is to give them the three
8 years
with us, stay in our classrooms to pass
9 the
class exam. As it stands now, they have
10 one
year to do that; and if they do not pass it
11 in
a year, they must then lose employment.
12 They
can go next door to Seminole County and
13 work
a year. We would like to support them by
14 having
the three years.
15 GOVERNOR
BUSH: What percentage of the new
16 teachers
don't pass the class, out of curiosity,
17 in
the first year? Do you know?
18 MS.
MANUEL: I am not sure what percentage.
19 I
think mostly it is the tension of having your
20 first
year of teaching and trying to prepare to
21 pass
the class exam. We want to stabilize that
22 environment.
23 GOVERNOR
BUSH: What we are looking at doing
24 is
to take that out of your hands altogether and
25 make
it a requirement for exit for --
93
1 MS. MANUEL: Yes.
2 GOVERNOR
BUSH: Isn't that what is being
3 discussed?
4 (Inaudible
- microphone not used.)
5 MS.
MANUEL: That way we can support them.
6 Also,
when we provide that fiscal management
7 through
some of the waivers, then that will
8 increase
the dollars to the classroom, and then
9 give
our principals some removal of some obstacles
10 and
paperwork to enhance their ability to focus on
11 achievement
of students.
12 One
example that we tried already is a
13 waiver
of the 135 hours for course credit. And
14 we
use that to good advantage in our large high
15 schools
with the four-by-four scheduling; that
16 we
are able to match the sunshine state
17 standards
and help them to achieve everything
18 required
for a course but not necessarily have
19 to
sit in a seat for 135 hours. That's another
20 one
that we have in there.
21 GOVERNOR
BUSH: Do you have an estimation of
22 how
the difference, in terms of the hours, you can
23 accomplish
the same thing in how many hours?
24 MS.
MANUEL: In our high schools with a
25 four-by-four
schedule, they can achieve one course
94
1 credit in one semester; so rather than a whole
2 year
of seat work, they can accomplish it in
3 one-half
a year.
4 GOVERNOR
BUSH: For double the time?
5 MS.
MANUEL: Yes, it doubles their time.
6 GOVERNOR
BUSH: What's the gain?
7 MS.
MANUEL: They are able to look at more
8 courses
for their credits and get a chance to have
9 the
quality instruction that two hours with one
10 teacher
gives them rather than moving every 50
11 minutes.
12 GOVERNOR
BUSH: And you needed a waiver to
13 do
that?
14 MS.
MANUEL: We have one now, but with this
15 contract
we are asking to continue that waiver.
16 GOVERNOR
BUSH: Okay.
17 MS.
MANUEL: We are then expecting our local
18 school
advisory groups to look for more waivers
19 that
will match the individual needs of their
20 community;
and not just from state statutes but
21 also
from our own school board policies. And we
22 feel
that that will give them a chance to talk to
23 us
about how we may be constraining them as well
24 at
the local level.
25 The
important part of our contract,
95
1 however, does include our 15 performance goals.
2 That's
our part of the bargain. And we are
3 proud
our school board has been a leader in the
4 state
in setting their expectations for us.
5 One
of the examples of our school board's
6 expectations
is that all our children will be
7 literate
and that they will develop the ability
8 to
think independently.
9 So
our performance goals are then built on
10 those
expectations by our school board. And we
11 feel
they are aggressive goals.
12 A
couple of examples are closing that
13 academic
achievement gap between minority and
14 nonminority
students, increasing the percent of
15 students
who show learning gains and improving
16 the
percent of children reading by the age of
17 nine.
18 GOVERNOR
BUSH: Can I ask a question?
19 On
performance goal 1B, what's an NCE
20 unit?
I am just -- I am not -- I don't
21 understand
all these acronyms. What's that
22 mean?
23 MS.
MANUEL: That is the --
24 GOVERNOR
BUSH: This is the value added, the
25 annual
learning gains. It says NCE units. Is
96
1 that something --
2 MS.
COX: I have forgot the acronym.
3 MS.
ARKIN: I have, too, but it's the only
4 vehicle
available at the time this plan was
5 written
for a statistical model for learning
6 games.
7 GOVERNOR
BUSH: What's wrong with the FCAT?
8 MS.
ARKIN: We didn't have it when they wrote
9 the
plan. The learning gains data will be coming
10 out
in the next several days, so they will be able
11 to
adjust it to use the learning games, but they
12 didn't
have it for this. They wanted to address
13 that.
14 GOVERNOR
BUSH: Okay. So this is a --
15 MS.
ARKIN: It's a Federal model for
16 establishing
growth of earnings.
17 GOVERNOR
BUSH: So you measured a base of
18 last
year or year before last to last year?
19 MS.
ARKIN: Yes.
20 MS.
COX: It stands for Normal Curve
21 Equivalent.
22 GOVERNOR
BUSH: Was it the norm referenced?
23 MS.
COX: Norm referenced.
24 GOVERNOR
BUSH: Thank you.
25 TREASURER
GALLAGHER: Is there a plan to
97
1 change it and use ours?
2 MS.
MANUEL: Yes.
3 TREASURER
GALLAGHER: But we are going to set
4 the
base at somebody else's or are we going to set
5 the
base at ours this year?
6 MS.
MANUEL: We'll look at the base that we
7 have
this year with the annual earning gains being
8 added,
correct.
9 GOVERNOR
BUSH: You have last year's base and
10 this
year's will be the first year --
11 MS.
MANUEL: Right. We always make sure that
12 there
is a correlation between those --
13 GOVERNOR
BUSH: This is baseline data, it
14 says
value added reading gains from the norm
15 reference
test. ESE, for example, is 5.2. So
16 next
year, what would be the expectation? I am
17 trying
to -- I don't understand.
18 MS.
MANUEL: We had the base in January.
19 Then
we looked at where we want to be at the end
20 of
three years. Then we had to say to schools:
21 This
is what you are expected to gain in one year,
22 or
each of those years, in order to get to our
23 goal
to be above the state average and the average
24 of
comparable districts.
25 So
we are lining that up now to give
98
1 individual schools the exact goal they will
2 need
to work on at their school in order to
3 meet
that.
4 So
when you see the baseline data, that is
5 our
start and then we have to project from
6 there
over the next three years.
7 GOVERNOR
BUSH: It appears to me that these
8 are
actual gains, not baseline. That's why I am a
9 little
confused.
10 MS.
MANUEL: Which one are you looking at?
11 GOVERNOR
BUSH: I am looking at performance
12 goal
1B.
13 Gains
is not baseline; it's the reference
14 over
the base. It says the Orange County
15 public
school system has a 2.7 unit something;
16 I
am not sure what that is; and the other
17 groups,
subgroups, are higher principally.
18 MR.
BOEKHOFF: When you are looking at the
19 particular
chart on page 34, you will see that the
20 value
added mitigates -- the baseline for OCPS was
21 2.7.
The last three or four years in our
22 district,
we have been doing a regression analysis
23 where
we have been trying to look at a value added
24 base
to determine the amount of growth students
25 make
in one year to the next, which is why the
99
1 data shows that.
2 GOVERNOR
BUSH: Help me here. What's a unit?
3 Is
a unit a year?
4 MR.
BOEKHOFF: It's basically a part of the
5 normal
curve equivalent. 2.7 units is actually
6 2.7
points in the sense, if you think of it that
7 way.
The average value added reading gain for the
8 average
student in OCPS was 2.7.
9 You
can see where our racial ethic
10 subgroups
made higher learning gains in both
11 reading
and math compared to that total. That
12 would
be the particular rate that they made
13 this
particular year, that would serve as a
14 baseline.
15 GOVERNOR
BUSH: I am trying to equate -- this
16 is
-- you are way above me here. Try putting it
17 in
English because there are actually -- hope
18 there
are people interested in this because I
19 really
applaud your hard work in looking at this
20 charter.
21 2.7
units, translate that into English in
22 terms
of the growth. If the objective is to
23 get
a year's worth of knowledge in a year's
24 time?
25 MR.
XX: Yes; you started here, 2.7, you made
100
1 it here; 5.2 you made it here.
2 GOVERNOR
BUSH: I got that part.
3 MR.
XX: --value added learning gain. And
4 that
would be the difference --
5 GOVERNOR
BUSH: Translate it now in English.
6 Those
are units. Units, is that close to -- put
7 this
into a context of a year. Is it possible?
8 This
is an abstract measurement, unless you put it
9 into
something that parents and others can
10 understand.
11 COMMISSIONER
CRIST: Governor, may I? Can
12 you
tell us what one unit is?
13 GOVERNOR
BUSH: You understand what I am
14 saying?
15 MS.
MANUEL: It would be the number of units
16 above
the average score. So if we look at our
17 children
who stayed with us for one year in one
18 school,
and the average score for those children,
19 then
in the value added for those children who
20 stay
with us, they are 2.7 above that average.
21 GOVERNOR
BUSH: Wouldn't you think it would
22 be
better to measure it based on, if it's value
23 added,
which I interpret to mean annual student
24 learning
gains is the same thing, right? That's
25 what
we are talking about. Shouldn't you
101
1 measure -- shouldn't the baseline be -- our
2 expectation
is by in large, that a year's worth of
3 knowledge
is acquired in a year's time, and so you
4 want
to have as many children as possible, as many
5 students
as possible, and breaking out by these
6 subgroups,
achieve that objective.
7 Wouldn't
that be a better performance
8 measurement
than -- because under that
9 scenario,
if there is no annual learning gains
10 for
the larger group, and you have some
11 moderate
learning gains, you may have achieved
12 the
goal, but you may not have had a year's
13 worth
of knowledge achieved in a year's time.
14 MS.
MANUEL: That's why now we'll be looking
15 at
the annual gains that you have given us with
16 this
year's scores, because that is something that
17 speaks
to us. And CE, as Betty said, was what we
18 had
to use at the time.
19 GOVERNOR
BUSH: So you are going to change it
20 to
reflect annual student learning gains?
21 MS.
MANUEL: Yes.
22 GOVERNOR
BUSH: Wonderful.
23 TREASURER
GALLAGHER: That would be higher
24 than
what is expected annually; they don't have
25 any
gain because they are so far below what the
102
1 state average is; in order to get up there, they
2 have
to go above those annual --
3 MS.
MANUEL: Yes, that's correct.
4 GOVERNOR
BUSH: Yeah, but 10 years from now
5 those
kindergarteners and first and second
6 graders,
if they are achieving annual learning
7 gains
of a year, they will be above the state
8 average
and they will be leading the way. That's
9 my
point. This is not a one year --
10 TREASURER
GALLAGHER: No, but you've got to
11 concentrate
on these kids at first, second, third
12 and
fourth grade level in fourth grade.
13 GOVERNOR
BUSH: We are going to get to that
14 too.
15 MS.
MANUEL: Yes.
16 GOVERNOR
BUSH: Absolutely.
17 MS.
MANUEL: Just to finish up on the section
18 the
reasons for our performance goals. The other
19 reason
is to create that entrepreneurial
20 environment
we discussed so that our principals
21 feel
there is an ability to stretch themselves and
22 to
look beyond any kind of a status quo or any
23 kind
of rule that we may have had in place.
24 Then
in addition to our annual report in
25 which
we show progress toward our performance
103
1 goals, we will make a report on the specific
2 waiver
and the amount of funds that we saved
3 with
that waiver.
4 We
will include in the report how we use
5 those
funds, and we will have an outside
6 auditor
document and verify our calculations.
7 So
our contract and the goals are
8 applicable
to and consider the needs of all our
9 children,
no-child-left-behind.
10 Any
other questions on our performance?
11 GOVERNOR
BUSH: I would like to commend you
12 on
one of your performance goals that I think is
13 critical,
which is the percent of the ESE kids who
14 graduate
with standard diploma. And just the
15 focus
on making sure that the whole -- in an
16 effort
to move -- what we don't want to have is a
17 performance
orientation that then is -- that the
18 smart
people that can manipulate the data suggest:
19 Here's
the way to get around some of this, is to
20 push
more people into ESE; that should not be the
21 end
result of this.
22 If
no child is to be left behind, that
23 includes
every kid that's not necessarily
24 included
in the grading of schools. The
25 federal
law is going to require that and you
104
1 all have shown good progress, it appears to me,
2 if
I understand these NCE things with
3 exceptional
ed kids.
4 So
I would urge you to continue on that
5 path
because that could be a model for the rest
6 of
the state as well.
7 MR.
BLOCKER: Thank you.
8 Before
I turn this over to Betty Cox, I
9 would
like to close by summarizing that this is
10 a
bold move; this is a big risk for us because
11 the
essentially we are removing all the reasons
12 and
excuses we would need to say that we would
13 have
problems. But this is going to prove that
14 higher
achievement --
15 GOVERNOR
BUSH: You promise?
16 MR.
BLOCKER: -- in a high urban district.
17 Fingers
crossed, Governor.
18 And
we will keep a focus on achievement.
19 And
it's something as simple -- if you talk to
20 a
lot of urban principals, principals in large
21 urban
districts, just to give you an example of
22 what
this will do.
23 Principals
tend to manage educational
24 processes,
because there is so many things
25 going
on. Because we are putting these
105
1 ambitious goals out there and measuring them on
2 that,
they have now shifted from being a
3 manager
of an educational process to a leader
4 of
an educational process.
5 It
removes us from being a very
6 process-oriented
system to a
7 performance-oriented
system, because
8 essentially
we have performance goals we have
9 to
reach. And we are moving the barriers in
10 order
to help us reach those goals.
11 So
that's why it's important to establish
12 that
entrepreneurial spirit. We need the
13 flexibility,
we need the barriers removed, and
14 we
need to be able to focus with everything
15 else
removed on the core mission.
16 So
all those other things that we are
17 doing,
the business of moving toward
18 privatization
and looking at business
19 oversight,
that's important and it will support
20 the
classroom. But the charter district status
21 will
allow us as an entire system to maintain
22 that
focus. So it will work in Orange County.
23 And
I just believe that these are
24 ambitious
goals, but as Bill Frederick's task
25 force
said, stretch yourself, and that's what
106
1 we are about.
2 TREASURER
GALLAGHER: Before Betty Cox comes
3 up.
4 GOVERNOR
BUSH: I have a question, too.
5 TREASURER
GALLAGHER: There is one of the
6 things
missing, and I don't want to put you in the
7 position
Hillsborough is in with goal six
8 conversions
and have a hard time reaching those
9 but
I don't want to see zero either. So how about
10 if
you guys come up with at least one; you got
11 three
years to do it?
12 MR.
BLOCKER: That I guess on the surface
13 looks
like something that is achievable, but the
14 problem
I would have is what we are presenting, we
15 put
a lot of thought in evaluating and really
16 scrutinized,
and we feel confident, or at least
17 comfortable
with the ability to control the
18 factors.
19 I
don't know enough about that, but I can
20 assure
you this: That I think our track record
21 will
show you that if -- since the law talks
22 about
the conversion schools should -- because
23 your
aide brought it up, I've had a lot of time
24 to
think about this -- your aide brought it up
25 last
week, and on the way back I thought how
107
1 could this happen?
2 And
it can happen by us not being a
3 barrier
ourselves. But essentially if the
4 community
wants this, we can work with them to
5 facilitate
that.
6 But
I don't know the type of -- the reason
7 I
mention that is because I heard stories of
8 other
districts -- Hillsborough, Dade, it
9 doesn't
matter -- obviously there is some
10 issues
there that need to be dealt with, and I
11 don't
know what resources need to be aligned in
12 in
order to be able to do that.
13 So
I wouldn't want to make an assurance to
14 you
publicly like this, but the assurance I can
15 say
is if you look at Orange County, we have a
16 great
relationship with 14 charter schools. We
17 support
them well, and we will not have a
18 problem
working with the community if the
19 community
wanted to do that.
20 TREASURER
GALLAGHER: If you look at it, a
21 conversion
is exactly what you are asking us to
22 give
you; is you giving to a community school that
23 same
contractual opportunity.
24 And
so all I am saying is that over a
25 three-year
period, if you wanted to, you could
108
1 encourage at least one of your many -- how many
2 hundred
schools do you have?
3 MR.
BLOCKER: 160 schools.
4 TREASURER
GALLAGHER: -- to become one. And
5 if
you don't have it in there as a goal, then it
6 won't
be encouraged. And if you do have just one
7 in
there as a goal, you will encourage it to
8 happen
over a three-year period.
9 MR.
BLOCKER: But I wouldn't want you to
10 second
guess our community. We have a very
11 diverse
community and a very active community and
12 a
very creative community, pockets of it working
13 towards
different things in their areas.
14 TREASURER
GALLAGHER: And if all of that is
15 true
-- I certainly believe you -- then a part of
16 that
community will look at the advantage that you
17 are
trying to gain from us so that they can gain
18 that
same advantage from you and be able to grow
19 and
prosper without all those pressures from the
20 county
organization.
21 MR.
BLOCKER: That's why I wouldn't want to
22 require
it of them.
23 GOVERNOR
BUSH: It's a goal.
24 TREASURER
GALLAGHER: It's a goal. We are
25 not
going to close you down; it's a goal, one;
109
1 just one.
2 MR.
BLOCKER: We can work with you on that.
3 GOVERNOR
BUSH: I think that's a yes.
4 MR.
BLOCKER: Qualified yes, because there
5 are
a lot of question marks out there.
6 TREASURER
GALLAGHER: Let's put it this way:
7 You
got my vote if it's a yes. Qualified, you get
8 a
qualified vote.
9 GOVERNOR
BUSH: What we are talking about
10 here
is a -- these are -- all of these goals,
11 these
are performance goals and that one is not
12 nearly
as a stretch as some of the performance
13 goals
that you have here. If it doesn't happen,
14 we
don't have -- there is no hammer.
15 And
I think Commissioner Gallagher's point
16 is,
I guess we could -- when we review the
17 charter
contract, we could say: Well, we'll go
18 back
to our old relationship. What
19 Commissioner
Gallagher is saying is if it's
20 included
in it, it might actually encourage a
21 community
to say give us a chance to convert to
22 a
charter status, in which case you have to
23 negotiate
-- there is -- it's an open-ended
24 relationship,
so I am -- I don't think -- I
25 know
you are being cautious here, but I don't
110
1 think you are jeopardizing your community
2 input,
which was very valuable.
3 One
of the best parts of the charter
4 district
process is to listen to parents and to
5 others,
and hopefully that will be an on-going
6 basis.
I don't think you are putting yourself
7 in
a wrong position by accepting Commissioner
8 Gallagher's
--
9 MR.
BLOCKER: I like the part you said, it
10 wasn't
a hammer.
11 The
reason I exercise caution, because the
12 way
we involve our community, even though the
13 idea
was driven from the top, the how was
14 driven
from the bottom.
15 And
the difference I see there is if I go
16 back
and require somebody to be a conversion
17 school,
that's me driving it from the top. But
18 if
the community says: This is what we want to
19 do,
then what I am saying is I am willing to
20 put
the resources and the infrastructure in
21 place
to work with them.
22 The
difference is this good application we
23 have
is literally driven from the people. And
24 I
didn't want to be chopped down on that.
25 So
I am hearing you are right, you are
111
1 saying you are not using a hammer and be opened
2 minded
about it, you got a superintendent that
3 is
willing to be open-minded about it.
4 TREASURER
GALLAGHER: Let me just say that
5 the
concern I think I have -- I won't speak for
6 the
rest -- is that we have seen a movement from
7 the
bottom of a school, a principal, the teachers,
8 the
parents, all very interested in having a
9 conversion.
And it gets stomped at the school
10 board
level.
11 And
so what we want to do is see to it
12 that
the top is willing to look, because they
13 have
contracted with us, to look; and if it
14 comes
up, there is going to be a positive
15 feeling
on the board and with the
16 superintendent
as opposed to what we have seen
17 as
negative, is the best way I can say it.
18 GOVERNOR
BUSH: Thank you. I think it's a
19 yes.
20 Can
I ask one more question. This relates
21 to
the recently signed school code rewrite
22 where
the social promotion rules were modified.
23 And
I was curious to know, I didn't see any --
24 it's
kind of a negative performance goal, so I
25 could
see why you wouldn't want to put it in
112
1 there.
2 But
what is the strategy as it relates to
3 dealing
with the gap between kids that are
4 being
held back and the kids that are reading
5 at
level one in third and fourth grade?
6 MR.
BLOCKER: Well, first --
7 GOVERNOR
BUSH: Because you've got a pretty
8 big
number there that's not uncommon with the big
9 urban
school districts.
10 MR.
BLOCKER: Obviously, we are going to
11 follow
the law as reference to the retention
12 policy
as it stands in the State of Florida.
13 But
the conversations I had with my school
14 board
is if by policy you all fix the road,
15 then
staff needs to deal with the potholes.
16 And
in this particular case, I would say that
17 when
we go after, aggressively go after the
18 achievement
gap, a lot of things are going to
19 fall
in place.
20 Because
you are talking about moving kids
21 out
of level one above; you are looking at
22 moving
more kids in the level three and more
23 kids
from level three above.
24 There
is a lot of things ancillary to
25 that.
You are talking about numbers of
113
1 minority children and your honors and AIP
2 classes;
you are talking about kids that --
3 giving
everybody the chiefland focus. So I
4 believe
when you focus on all the right things,
5 other
things will fall in place.
6 GOVERNOR
BUSH: Specifically, though, going
7 forward
next year, there is the potential if --
8 what
I would hope would happen is that there be an
9 assessment,
diagnosis, remediation cycle that
10 starts
in August and never really ends so that we
11 lessen
-- because it's a huge issue, and it's been
12 pointed
out I think rather eloquently by your
13 newspaper,
what the challenge is, and it spurred
14 us
into action, to be honest with you, and I think
15 we
all have to respond.
16 MR.
BLOCKER: We have been working on this
17 for
the better part of the year, so I will let
18 Dr.
Manuel share that with you.
19 MS.
MANUEL: We have in our academic
20 expectations
that the superintendent is rolling
21 out
that we will look at every level one child,
22 we'll
assess where they are. The AIP, Academic
23 Improvement
Plan, is already in place; we'll write
24 that
for every one of those children.
25 What
we are going to also point out to
114
1 schools is the flexibility they have in
2 increasing
time. They must find an alternative
3 way
to teach reading, by giving them more time,
4 first
of all.
5 We
have a new focus on the methods we use
6 to
teach reading. And then in our urban
7 schools,
the superintendent started an urban
8 cohort
group to really focus in on our most
9 at-risk
children, look at the types of teachers
10 we
hire there, give principals an opportunity
11 to
have first choice for the best teachers for
12 those
schools, and so on.
13 GOVERNOR
BUSH: Excellent.
14 TREASURER
GALLAGHER: Teachers of those
15 schools
get additional money?
16 MR.
BLOCKER: We are working through some
17 things
now. We are finalizing a study of that,
18 but
our review of it shows we had to do things
19 differently
at those schools. We had to -- but
20 money
is only part of it.
21 A
teacher grows professionally and
22 appreciates
what they are doing when they feel
23 supported
and when the environment supports
24 them.
In other words, people want to like
25 where
they work.
115
1 The kids aren't the reason there is a high
2 turnover
at those schools sometimes. So we are
3 looking
at dealing with the total environment.
4 So
we have been focussing on what we call the
5 Urban
Cohort for the most of this year; we have
6 actually
torn it apart, talked to every
7 principal,
surveyed the teachers, worked with
8 them,
did some additional evaluation of them
9 and
back to them.
10 They
have already formed sort of a
11 fraternal
comradery amongst themselves to help
12 support
themselves.
13 And
we realize at the district level we
14 are
going to have to realign some resources in
15 order
to provide that. We are very serious
16 about
achievement, and we are looking at the
17 areas
where we are having problems and we are
18 hitting
all of those areas.
19 GOVERNOR
BUSH: Commissioner.
20 TREASURER
GALLAGHER: One of the things in my
21 opinion
that you can do --
22 GOVERNOR
BUSH: Go ahead.
23 TREASURER
GALLAGHER: All those things are
24 important;
there is no doubt about it. But I
25 think
the incentive for people to want to
116
1 participate in all those things -- because that's
2 work;
everything you said there is work, for the
3 principals
and for the teachers. And it's a whole
4 lot
of additional work than it is in one of the
5 suburban
schools that the parents are involved in.
6 And
so what we have done -- and it's
7 tough
-- we have asked these principals and
8 these
teachers to be parents, because they
9 don't
have the parenting that some of the
10 suburban
kids have. That's a lot of work.
11 It's
a tremendous amount of effort. There is
12 some
very dedicated people that are doing it
13 and
I think they ought to get a financial
14 incentive
for it.
15 MR.
BLOCKER: I am not disagreeing with you.
16 TREASURER
GALLAGHER: And I think that you
17 ought
to include that in your plan.
18 There
are teachers that aren't going to do
19 that,
no matter how much you pay them, because
20 they
can't take the challenge on. There are
21 others
that are dedicated and willing to do it
22 and
they ought to have some incentive there. I
23 think
it should be part of that cohort.
24 GOVERNOR
BUSH: Superintendent Blocker has
25 asked
for a waiver for the collective bargaining
117
1 process.
2 MR.
BLOCKER: You know what I was -- I didn't
3 want
to get into too much detail on the record.
4 GOVERNOR
BUSH: You have my full support.
5 TREASURER
GALLAGHER: I think you will get
6 support
from the unions to do this, because they
7 recognize
it's additional work.
8 GOVERNOR
BUSH: In fact, in some districts
9 that
actually has been negotiated and the unions
10 have
been very cooperative. It was just a joke,
11 in
case someone --
12 COMMISSIONER
BRONSON: Governor, I also, to
13 meet
some of these goals that we have seen
14 outlined
here; one of other issues that seems to
15 be
coming a bigger player in Orange, Osceola and
16 Brevard
County is the availability of ESAU
17 teachers;
and especially the quality and those who
18 are
willing to get out there and try to change
19 over,
if you will, from their native language to
20 English,
trying to make that gap of that learning
21 process,
whether they are really going to get a
22 whole
year's of education; if they can't speak the
23 language
or don't understand English. To me, that
24 is
a big player, no matter whether it's Orange
25 County
or whatever school it is, if you don't have
118
1 the quality teachers.
2 Are
you getting the type teachers you need
3 for
the ESAU programs? I know Osceola was
4 having
some problems getting enough teachers
5 for
a while. Is Orange County having the same
6 problem?
7 MR.
BLOCKER: It's a challenge. We are not
8 achieving
at the level we'd like. We actually are
9 going
to places like Puerto Rico to recruit
10 teachers.
It is a challenge. We are able to meet
11 most
of our teacher -- fill most of our teaching
12 positions.
We have a turnover of approximately a
13 thousand
a year. But we don't -- it's not a very
14 deep
pool.
15 As
a matter of fact, when you talk about
16 the
charter district and waiving rules, we
17 actually
hear a lot of complaints from our ESAU
18 teachers
in reference to the time it takes them
19 to
get certified; if we recruit them especially
20 from
out of field, they don't meet the Florida
21 requirements
at that time.
22 GOVERNOR
BUSH: What is the problem, because
23 we
may be able to help?
24 MR.
BLOCKER: Basically, passing the exams
25 that
needs to be done. And over a period of time
119
1 you can waive it, but it's like -- takes four
2 years
down the road, and they kind of go through
3 that
anxiety for four years while trying to adjust
4 to
a new teaching assignment.
5 And
if we can make life a little easier
6 along
that line by blessing it a little earlier
7 and
giving them some additional support in the
8 right
areas, I think that would go a long way
9 to
make it easier, because it's my belief that
10 every
teacher knows another teacher, and they
11 become
a recruiter. And if they say Orange
12 County
is teacher friendly, then our problem
13 goes
away.
14 GOVERNOR
BUSH: Any other discussion? We are
15 seeking
-- is there a motion?
16 COMMISSIONER
CRIST: Motion to approve.
17 COMMISSIONER
BRONSON: Second.
18 TREASURER
GALLAGHER: I have an amendment to
19 discuss.
20 GOVERNOR
BUSH: One amendment, correct?
21 TREASURER
GALLAGHER: If we are going to
22 change
the criteria to FCAT criteria.
23 GOVERNOR
BUSH: Okay. That's true.
24 TREASURER
GALLAGHER: So it's two.
25 GOVERNOR
BUSH: Is there a second?
120
1 COMMISSIONER BRONSON: Second.
2 GOVERNOR
BUSH: Moved and seconded. Without
3 objection,
it's approved as amended. Thank you
4 very
much. Well, done. Really commend for you
5 the
community activity.
6 MR.
PIERSON: Item 5 is amended rule
7 6A-6.0319,
special instruction programs for
8 students
who are gifted. This rule was amended
9 after
publication and needs to be approved as
10 amended.
11 COMMISSIONER
CRIST: Moved.
12 TREASURER
GALLAGHER: Second.
13 GOVERNOR
BUSH: Moved and seconded. Without
14 objection,
it's approved.
15 Was
there any discussion, is anybody here
16 to
discuss it? I am sorry? It's pretty
17 amazing
that there was no opposition. Good
18 work.
19
20
21
22
23
24
25
121
1 GOVERNOR BUSH: Secretary Struhs, what a joy
2 to
see you.
3 TREASURER
GALLAGHER: Motion on the minutes.
4 GOVERNOR
BUSH: Is there a second?
5 GENERAL
MILLIGAN: Second.
6 GOVERNOR
BUSH: Moved and second. Without
7 objection,
it's approved.
8 Item
2.
9 MR.
STRUHS: Item 2, the staff is
10 recommending
to the Board of Trustees that you
11 approve
the application for the purchase of
12 approximately
1100 square feet of filled
13 state-owned
submerged lands.
14 This
is a case that goes way back to 1988.
15 We
have a consent final judgment. The judgment
16 directs
us to make this recommendation to you
17 to
accept this application by the owner, by the
18 adjacent
owner, to buy the land for a fee of --
19 TREASURER
GALLAGHER: I move that we
20 authorize
the conveyance to be found in the public
21 interest
and approve our, according to our goals,
22 rule,
for three times the appraised value.
23 GENERAL
BUTTERWORTH: What's the appraised
24 value?
25 TREASURER
GALLAGHER: 52,800.
122
1 GENERAL BUTTERWORTH: I second the motion.
2 MR.
STRUHS: Before you vote on that, let me
3 draw
your attention to some things that are in the
4 consent
final judgment so you are aware of them.
5 Indeed,
you are quite correct, if you
6 follow
the Board of Trustees rules, that's
7 precisely
the figure you would arrive at.
8 According
to the consent final judgment,
9 if
the sale offer that's made to Mr. Blackburn
10 is
greater than the $15,000, he does have the
11 option
to then remove the seawall and restore
12 the
property. So just as long as you are aware
13 of
that condition.
14 COMMISSIONER
GALLAGHER: That's fair.
15 GOVERNOR
BUSH: Explain to me why it is -- is
16 this
the property where the two adjoining
17 properties
had seawalls out, and how did that
18 happen?
19 MR.
STRUHS: I have no idea.
20 GOVERNOR
BUSH: Good answer.
21 TREASURER
GALLAGHER: So the two -- I didn't
22 see
that from the picture I saw. You are telling
23 me
two adjacent properties are out further than
24 the
--
25 GENERAL
MILLIGAN: Exactly. When he came in
123
1 with his request to build the seawall, he designed
2 the
seawall, or at least the request was to the
3 rear.
But there were adjacent seawalls; one that
4 he
owned on his piece of property and the one
5 adjacent
on what would be the right side looking
6 toward
the water.
7 Additionally,
if you look at the
8 photographs,
all of the seawalls that you can
9 see,
at least in the photographs which are not
10 certainly
all of them, are all lined up; and so
11 when
he built his, he built his I think
12 consistent
with the other seawalls but
13 inconsistent
with his request for permit.
14 MR.
STRUHS: That's correct.
15 GENERAL
MILLIGAN: But he was certainly
16 consistent
with the surrounding community.
17 GENERAL
BUTTERWORTH: My staff is advising me
18 he
is consistent with himself; because one of
19 those
other seawalls is his.
20 GENERAL
MILLIGAN: Absolutely. I said, it
21 was
on his piece of property where he lives but
22 the
one that was adjacent on the right, which he
23 did
not own, and the one adjacent to it, and I
24 think
the one even further down from the
25 photographs
I saw, were all lined up like ducks in
124
1 a row.
2 GOVERNOR
BUSH: I just am worried --
3 TREASURER
GALLAGHER: I am looking at photo
4 three
on my sheet. Do you have that, Colleen?
5 MR.
STRUHS: We can offer you a photograph
6 here,
if you would like.
7 GOVERNOR
BUSH: That's not going to fit.
8 TREASURER
GALLAGHER: That's his property in
9 the
middle?
10 GENERAL
MILLIGAN: That's the permit, the one
11 on
the left is where he lives.
12 TREASURER
GALLAGHER: Go to the one that has
13 the
logs in it. Go to three. That's hard to tell
14 anything.
I couldn't tell which is sticking out
15 more.
One more.
16 My
understanding is that the front
17 property
toward the bottom of the picture is
18 his,
and the one above it is the next door, and
19 the
property we are talking about purchasing is
20 the
one that is surrounded by the logs. Is
21 that
incorrect?
22 GENERAL
MILLIGAN: That's incorrect.
23 TREASURER
GALLAGHER: So his property is the
24 one
north, on the top of the photograph?
25 GENERAL
MILLIGAN: No, that's his property
125
1 that you are looking at with the logs, as I
2 understand
it. That's the one where his house is.
3 GOVERNOR
BUSH: That's not the subject
4 property?
5 GENERAL
MILLIGAN: But that's not the subject
6 property.
7 If
you go back to that broader picture,
8 which
I think was the first one you had up
9 there
-- this is the -- the piece of property
10 on
the right side of that picture is the one
11 that
he did. His wall is further to the right,
12 and
you can't see it.
13 TREASURER
GALLAGHER: Does he own the one
14 further
to the right?
15 GENERAL
MILLIGAN: Yeah, that's where he
16 lives.
That's where his house is. He just evened
17 it
out.
18 GOVERNOR
BUSH: The question is why wasn't he
19 given
the right to do that in the beginning?
20 GENERAL
MILLIGAN: That's a legitimate
21 question,
I think.
22 TREASURER
GALLAGHER: Do we know?
23 GOVERNOR
BUSH: I think we may have an
24 answer.
25 TREASURER
GALLAGHER: Which is? Do we have
126
1 an answer?
2 MR.
STRUHS: This goes back to -- this goes
3 back
to a permit that was issued in 1988.
4 TREASURER
GALLAGHER: The question is why was
5 the
permit --
6 MS.
VIELHAUER: His permit application was to
7 build
it in a different location than he did.
8 GOVERNOR
BUSH: I understand that; that's why
9 we
are possibly fining him.
10 TREASURER
GALLAGHER: Why? Did they, did the
11 engineers
make a mistake? Did you all tell him
12 this
is where the your land stops, so you have to
13 put
it here, so that's what his drawing said?
14 MS.
VIELHAUER: Correct, we permitted it at
15 the
mean high waterline. That's where he was
16 supposed
to build it and he did not.
17 TREASURER
GALLAGHER: How does the mean high
18 waterline
end up on his piece of property 11 feet
19 behind
where the other ones are?
20 GOVERNOR
BUSH: Exactly.
21 MS.
VIELHAUER: The other seawalls were old.
22 They
were build in 1950, '60s.
23 GOVERNOR
BUSH: Don't you see --
24 TREASURER
GALLAGHER: But that doesn't make
25 commons
sense to me. Why would we make a guy move
127
1 his back 11 feet? Why wouldn't we have, for good
2 public
policy, have a seawall be straight?
3 MR.
STRUHS: Just as a point of reference, I
4 can
tell you that this very year, 2002, we are
5 dealing
with a similar situation in Volusia
6 County.
And the management at the department
7 today
views these issues I think in a far more
8 pragmatic
and common sense way.
9 Because,
in fact, we have a situation
10 where
somebody is seeking to build a seawall.
11 And
if you were to use sort of a mean high
12 waterline,
it would be landward of the existing
13 seawalls.
14 And
we have made the argument in that case
15 that
common sense, as well as arguably just
16 good
engineering, would dictate that you
17 actually
keep them in alignment and join those
18 seawalls
together.
19 So
that's the practice that we are engaged
20 now.
I can't explain --
21 COMMISSIONER
GALLAGHER: I understand, let's
22 go
to where we are now.
23 So
now have this fellow put his
24 application
in today, and your engineers look
25 and
see that mean high waterline is where it
128
1 was in those days; the two seawalls are 11 feet
2 forward
of that.
3 And
so what is the process? You want the
4 seawall
to be straight. Does he buy the land?
5 Do
you give it to him? What happens today?
6 MR.
STRUHS: Today if he came in and made
7 this
application --
8 TREASURER
GALLAGHER: Today he came in, he
9 wants
to put a seawall up. Would you give him a
10 permit
to put the seawall up 11 feet back or would
11 you
give him a permit to put the seawall up
12 aligned
with the other seawalls?
13 MR.
STRUHS: Pending normal review and --
14 COMMISSIONER
GALLAGHER: All the stuff,
15 right.
16 MR.
STRUHS: The turtle folks, the fish and
17 wildlife
and everything.
18 TREASURER
GALLAGHER: All that stuff is done.
19 MR.
STRUHS: With all that done, what I would
20 recommend
is that the permit be issued to build
21 the
seawalls in alignment.
22 TREASURER
GALLAGHER: Right.
23 MR.
STRUHS: That would then require --
24 COMMISSIONER
GALLAGHER: What would he have
25 to
do? Do we have to sell him some property?
129
1 MR. STRUHS: Yes.
2 TREASURER
GALLAGHER: How would we price
3 that?
4 MR.
STRUHS: We would price it using the
5 formula
and the Board of Trustees rules. We would
6 get
an appraised value of it.
7 TREASURER
GALLAGHER: And he would pay --
8 MR.
STRUHS: My guess is the Board of
9 Trustees
could do whatever you wish, but my guess
10 is
you would probably sell it to the adjacent
11 landowner,
the applicant, for the appraised value.
12 In
this instance, in this instance, the
13 rules,
the Board of Trustees rules advise you
14 to
charge three times the appraised value
15 because
it was -- you are seeking -- the
16 purchase
is being sought after the land was
17 filled.
18 TREASURER
GALLAGHER: What you are doing
19 right
now, say in Volusia County, you are going
20 through
all the -- you are getting to the end of
21 the
line; everybody approves the land being
22 transferred;
actually probably water being
23 transferred,
whatever is being transferred to make
24 the
line straight and being filled; and you are
25 charging
them the appraised value? Do these not
130
1 come to us? They must come to us because you have
2 to
have five votes.
3 MR.
STRUHS: Right.
4 TREASURER
GALLAGHER: So you have some in the
5 works
come to us and you are going to recommend
6 appraised
value?
7 MR.
STRUHS: I don't know yet. What we are
8 recommending
in terms of the -- not in the
9 proprietary
side, but in terms of the regulatory
10 side,
recommending that seawalls be built keeping
11 them
in alignment.
12 GOVERNOR
BUSH: If it wasn't for the fact
13 that
this guy had a permit that said otherwise and
14 he
probably wacked a bunch of mangroves down and
15 filled
it, and everything, this is really a case
16 of
really stupid government. I am really glad to
17 see
that you are being smarter about it.
18 But
the fact is, irrespective of how
19 stupid
whoever it was that made that decision
20 was,
this guy accepted it. And then was he --
21 does
anybody back in 1988 remember in his
22 conversations
on this agenda item, has he said
23 I
didn't know better? Or what I have been told
24 is
he knew better.
25 MR.
STRUHS: There have been a whole variety
131
1 of claims and counterclaims, all been litigated.
2 GOVERNOR
BUSH: He is not here?
3 TREASURER
GALLAGHER: I stand by my motion.
4 I
just wanted to know where we are.
5 MR.
STRUHS: I am not here to defend
6 decisions
in 1988 but --
7 GOVERNOR
BUSH: In the process of negotiating
8 this
or the court cases, litigation, has he
9 admitted
that he had a permit to do something
10 different
than what he did? He did?
11 MS.
VIELHAUER: Yes, he has.
12 GENERAL
BUTTERWORTH: He already lost two
13 court
cases on this and the court has already
14 ruled.
15 GOVERNOR
BUSH: It's a lot of money.
16 GENERAL
MILLIGAN: It is a lot of money,
17 although
apparently this guy could care less from
18 what
I understand.
19 But
that shouldn't be on the basis that we
20 decide
how much we should charge for this piece
21 of
property.
22 GOVERNOR
BUSH: Do you have an amendment?
23 GENERAL
MILLIGAN: I do. I think that while
24 I
appreciate the $52,800 is what you would charge
25 him
if he did something that was really, let's say
132
1 stupid, but we were stupid.
2 The
whole thing was poorly done and just
3 makes
no sense to put the seawall -- when we
4 approved
putting the seawall.
5 So
I would amend the motion to go back to
6 what
you all recommended, which was a $15,000
7 price
on the piece of property. 15,000.
8 GOVERNOR
BUSH: Is this a substitute motion?
9 TREASURER
GALLAGHER: Can we have a
10 discussion?
11 GOVERNOR
BUSH: Yeah. I was just trying to
12 see
if there was a second.
13 COMMISSIONER
CRIST: I will second it.
14 TREASURER
GALLAGHER: The reason that I made
15 the
52-8 is we have a rule basically that says you
16 will
pay three times the appraised value for this
17 when,
in fact, trying to get it straightened out
18 after
the fact.
19 I
am not saying it's a wonderful price;
20 that's
just what our rule is. And if we start
21 negotiating
that down, we will be setting a
22 precedent
and that -- although I agree with
23 everything
you say, General, it's a bad slip to
24 go
in my opinion, and the courts will start
25 looking
at and people will be able to appeal
133
1 what we are doing from our rule and everything
2 else.
So that's why I did what I did.
3 GENERAL
MILLIGAN: I have no problem with
4 setting
a precedent, recognizing good judgment and
5 common
sense.
6 MR.
STRUHS: Governor and Members, I would
7 just,
for your advice, remind you that your choice
8 is
not necessarily 15,000 or 52-8. That, in fact,
9 you
can determine the price.
10 GOVERNOR
BUSH: We need five votes for
11 whatever
we agree to, which looks like an
12 interesting
challenge here.
13 GENERAL
BUTTERWORTH: Looks like it might be
14 a
long day.
15 I
think we did ask for some comments from
16 residents
in the general area. And my notes
17 show
you met before, Governor, that some of the
18 objections
concerned about environmental
19 impacts,
degradation of the area and also
20 mangrove
destruction, which we don't know a lot
21 of
those areas also; so we are, in essence,
22 maybe
rewarding this person where we should not
23 be.
24 So
I stick with Commissioner Gallagher and
25 I
think this person deserves this penalty.
134
1 GOVERNOR BUSH: There is a substitute motion.
2 There
is a substitute motion and a second.
3 Is
there anymore discussion on that?
4 All
in favor of General Milligan's motion
5 say
aye.
6 GOVERNOR
BUSH: Aye.
7 COMMISSIONER
BRONSON: Aye.
8 COMMISSIONER
CRIST: Aye.
9 GENERAL
MILLIGAN: Aye.
10 GOVERNOR
BUSH: All opposed.
11 GENERAL
BUTTERWORTH: No.
12 TREASURER
GALLAGHER: No.
13 GOVERNOR
BUSH: Motion fails, had four votes.
14 We
are back to the --
15 COMMISSIONER
BRONSON: Governor, this is one
16 of
these issues that I dealt with for seven years
17 on
the Senate on Natural Resources, and I am going
18 to
tell you -- of course, this goes back to '88,
19 but
I know of a lot of places in this state where
20 people
bought land, they got the deeds to their
21 property,
during storm tides and other things
22 their
property has washed out away from where
23 their
property line was, which in some cases the
24 state
goes in and through the minutia of the state
25 process,
says this is submerged land, when
135
1 technically that's washed out land under storm
2 conditions.
3 You
are going to have these coming up from
4 time
to time. I know people put in storm walls
5 and
still had -- because they were not done
6 adequately
-- and still had an undercurrent
7 take
their land as much as two and three feet
8 out
behind the wall and wash it out into a lake
9 under
storm conditions.
10 TREASURER
GALLAGHER: That falls under
11 accretion.
That's a different set of rules.
12 GOVERNOR
BUSH: Let's don't talk about that.
13 COMMISSIONER
BRONSON: I am just saying --
14 GOVERNOR
BUSH: We need Secretary Harris here
15 for
that.
16 COMMISSIONER
BRONSON: -- there is still a
17 lot
of people, based under some of the original
18 deeds
of this state, that are making some claims
19 on
property that the state is claiming is
20 submerged
lands. I am telling you it's not an
21 easy
process; it's not an easy issue at all.
22 And
to go back and do an offset -- I might
23 tell
you, and I am not an engineer, but I can
24 tell
you what happens when you have an offset
25 wall
from where the other walls are; when storm
136
1 tides go in, it all rushes into that one point.
2 That's
just the way it works. And, therefore,
3 that
property owner is in danger.
4 GOVERNOR
BUSH: All right. We have a motion.
5 You
have a motion, Commissioner?
6 TREASURER
GALLAGHER: Just so everybody knows
7 where
we are. If this motion fails, tell us what
8 happens.
9 I
think he has to take it down.
10 GENERAL
BUTTERWORTH: We have a court order.
11 MR.
STRUHS: Yes, if the Board of Trustees
12 chooses
or fails to not sell the land, then
13 Mr.
Blackburn is required under the court order to
14 remove
the seawall and remove the --
15 TREASURER
GALLAGHER: Which, by the way, is
16 his
choice anyway. He can purchase this for the
17 $52,800,
or he can take the seawall down, if we
18 give
him that option. If we don't vote for this,
19 he
does not have an option, is that correct?
20 MR.
STRUHS: That's correct; if you do not
21 agree
to sell it for whatever price you determine
22 is
fair, although by court order we have to
23 recommend
15 --
24 GOVERNOR
BUSH: Which you did.
25 MR.
STRUHS: Which we did. If you choose not
137
1 to sell it, regardless of whatever price you set,
2 then
he is in fact required to remove the seawall
3 and
remove the --
4 GOVERNOR
BUSH: That was helpful.
5 COMMISSIONER
BRONSON: I have a question
6 based
on the fact we are about to go through
7 another
motion here.
8 What
do we do with the court's final
9 judgment
in 1996? How is that affected by what
10 we
are doing here today?
11 TREASURER
GALLAGHER: We were told about it
12 and
we just rejected it, the price at least.
13 GOVERNOR
BUSH: Why the heck did it take so
14 long
to get us from 1996?
15 COMMISSIONER
GALLAGHER: There was an appeal.
16 MS.
VIELHAUER: Actually as of 1996, the
17 consent
final judgment was in place and we were
18 under
the belief that he was going to follow
19 through
on those commitments. We did not learn
20 until
2000, 2001, that he had, in fact, not done
21 that.
22 GOVERNOR
BUSH: So there was a judge that
23 ruled
that he should pay 15 grand and he didn't do
24 it?
25 MR.
STRUHS: No, the judge ruled that he
138
1 should apply to the Board of Trustees to purchase
2 the
land, and we would recommend a price of
3 $15,000.
4 GOVERNOR
BUSH: And he didn't do that?
5 MR.
STRUHS: When did he apply?
6 MS.
VIELHAUER: Correct. He submitted a
7 one-page
letter shortly after the consent final
8 judgment
but was not a complete application; so
9 his
complete application was not submitted until
10 this
past summer, less than a year ago.
11 TREASURER
GALLAGHER: There is a whole
12 litany
--
13 GOVERNOR
BUSH: I saw some of it. Any --
14 there
is a motion, and I believe there is a
15 second.
There is a second by General Butterworth.
16 GENERAL
MILLIGAN: One other quick comment.
17 According
to Dana here, if it's offered to him at
18 15,
he has to buy it. He doesn't have a choice;
19 is
that right?
20 GOVERNOR
BUSH: He can tear down the --
21 GENERAL
MILLIGAN: No.
22 MR.
STRUHS: No.
23 TREASURER
GALLAGHER: He has a choice.
24 GENERAL
MILLIGAN: No, he doesn't have a
25 choice.
139
1 MR. STRUHS: If he applies, as he has, to
2 purchase
the land and you agree to sell it at
3 $15,000,
then the deal is done.
4 GOVERNOR
BUSH: That is ancient history; we
5 just
lost that vote.
6 GENERAL
MILLIGAN: We can revisit a lot of
7 things
in this business, I suppose.
8 GOVERNOR
BUSH: We could.
9 GENERAL
MILLIGAN: It's only if it's in
10 excess
of 15,000 does he have the option to not
11 buy
it and tear it down.
12 MR.
STRUHS: That's correct.
13 GENERAL
MILLIGAN: Whether it's 15,000 or
14 less
I presume --
15 COMMISSIONER
BRONSON: If he bought it at the
16 apprised
value, which is higher than 15, he
17 still
-- would have that same option, either not
18 pay
it and tear down the wall.
19 GENERAL
MILLIGAN: Anything over 15 he has
20 the
option to turn it down.
21 MR.
STRUHS: As one final detail, the current
22 appraised
value is probably a little more than
23 17,000.
The 15,000 was the price set by the
24 judge,
which was probably about the appraised
25 value
at the time of the consent final judgment.
140
1 GOVERNOR BUSH: All right. Any other
2 discussion?
All in favor of Commissioner
3 Gallagher's
motion say aye.
4 TREASURER
GALLAGHER: Aye.
5 GENERAL
BUTTERWORTH: Aye.
6 GOVERNOR
BUSH: Opposed?
7 COMMISSIONER
BRONSON: No.
8 COMMISSIONER
CRIST: No.
9 GENERAL
MILLIGAN: No.
10 GOVERNOR
BUSH: No.
11 COMMISSIONER
BRONSON: I have a motion,
12 Governor.
My motion would be to submit this at
13 the
appraised value, which is I believe 17-6, that
14 we
charge at least the appraised value for the
15 property.
16 GOVERNOR
BUSH: Is there a second?
17 COMMISSIONER
CRIST: Second.
18 GOVERNOR
BUSH: This is a substitute motion
19 or
new motion, since the other ones have been
20 rejected?
21 TREASURER
GALLAGHER: This is a fresh new
22 one.
23 GOVERNOR
BUSH: I am sorry, you have a --
24 TREASURER
GALLAGHER: Price at the appraised
25 value.
141
1 GENERAL BUTTERWORTH: I have a question.
2 David,
obviously this case is a little unusual.
3 We
have somebody here who obviously violated his
4 own
permit, knowingly did it, went right in your
5 face
and right in the face of the courts and
6 everything
else.
7 How
much lawyer time literally, how many
8 lawyer
hours do we really have into this case
9 and
assigning $200 an hour, how much time do we
10 really
have into this case in lawyer time?
11 MR.
STRUHS: Of course --
12 TREASURER
GALLAGHER: This guy put us
13 through.
14 GENERAL
BUTTERWORTH: This guy put us
15 through.
16 MR.
STRUHS: Of course, the answer is I don't
17 know,
but we could make a rough estimate that it
18 would
be at least $50,000.
19 GENERAL
BUTTERWORTH: It must be more than 50
20 hours.
21 TREASURER
GALLAGHER: Just by each one of
22 these
multiple hearings that happened over that
23 period
of time, you have that.
24 GOVERNOR
BUSH: Also, if the department's
25 policies
weren't so idiotic to suggest you have a
142
1 different standard for your neighbors than you do
2 for
the applicant, we wouldn't have had any court
3 costs.
4 COMMISSIONER
BRONSON: That's part of my
5 default
motion here, is the fact it's not all
6 falling
right on the head of this one individual.
7 I
don't know how much involvement, Governor, the
8 engineering
firm had in it. I would assume they
9 were
as accurate as they thought they could be on
10 it.
But it seems like there is a comedy of errors
11 here,
unfortunately, on both sides of this issue.
12 That's
why I made the motion on the 17-6.
13 MR.
STRUHS: One of the things I would like
14 to
do is just provide some historical context on
15 Commissioner
Bronson's point, I think it's on
16 point.
17 This
all occurred before there was a deed.
18 This
occurred back in the days when there was a
19 Department
of Environmental Regulation that
20 dealt
with regulation, and then there was a
21 Department
of Natural resources that dealt with
22 the
proprietary issues.
23 The
fact that Florida took those two
24 separate
departments that gave us a result like
25 this
and merged them into a single department,
143
1 this was the kind of -- this was the example
2 that
led to the formation of the department,
3 thinking
that by turning it into a single
4 department
we would avoid this situation in the
5 future.
6 GOVERNOR
BUSH: Okay. Is there a second on
7 Commissioner
Gallagher's substitute amendment?
8 GENERAL
BUTTERWORTH: Second.
9 GOVERNOR
BUSH: All in favor of the
10 substitute,
which once again is for how much?
11 TREASURER
GALLAGHER: 34,000.
12 GOVERNOR
BUSH: $34,000 say aye.
13 TREASURER
GALLAGHER: Aye.
14 GENERAL
BUTTERWORTH: Aye.
15 GOVERNOR
BUSH: All opposed?
16 COMMISSIONER
BRONSON: No.
17 COMMISSIONER
CRIST: No.
18 GENERAL
MILLIGAN: No.
19 GOVERNOR
BUSH: No.
20 GOVERNOR
BUSH: Okay.
21 GENERAL
BUTTERWORTH: Move deferral.
22 GOVERNOR
BUSH: We can't go to the amendment?
23 GENERAL
BUTTERWORTH: I am sorry.
24 GOVERNOR
BUSH: Let's try the Bronson
25 amendment.
144
1 GENERAL BUTTERWORTH: Sorry about that. I
2 looked
at the time over there.
3 GOVERNOR
BUSH: There is a motion and a
4 second
I believe already on Commissioner Bronson's
5 amendment
which is to pay $17,000.
6 COMMISSIONER
BRONSON: 17 -- 17-6, appraised
7 value.
8 GOVERNOR
BUSH: All in favor say aye.
9 COMMISSIONER
BRONSON: Aye.
10 COMMISSIONER
CRIST: Aye.
11 GENERAL
MILLIGAN: Aye.
12 GOVERNOR
BUSH: Aye.
13 GOVERNOR
BUSH: All opposed?
14 TREASURER
GALLAGHER: No.
15 GENERAL
BUTTERWORTH: No.
16 GOVERNOR
BUSH: General Butterworth.
17 GENERAL
BUTTERWORTH: I move deferral.
18 GENERAL
MILLIGAN: Second.
19 GOVERNOR
BUSH: There is a motion and a
20 second.
All in favor say aye.
21 CABINET
MEMBERS: Aye.
22 GOVERNOR
BUSH: I think we won something
23 there.
24 COMMISSIONER
BRONSON: We are back to square
25 one.
145
1 MR. STRUHS: Item 3 is a great item; it's
2 boys
and girls clubs, monitoring programs and free
3 medical
clinics and a playground and it's one that
4 we
really like.
5 GOVERNOR
BUSH: Is there a motion?
6 COMMISSIONER
BRONSON: So moved.
7 GENERAL
MILLIGAN: Second.
8 GOVERNOR
BUSH: Moved and seconded. Without
9 objection,
it's approved.
10 MR.
STRUHS: Thank you very much.
11 Item
4 is not unlike item 3 in that it's
12 just
a great piece of public policy.
13 The
reason we brought this one to the
14 board
is ordinarily we would have done a
15 50-year
lease and you would not have had it on
16 your
agenda.
17 Because
they are seeking a federal
18 government
grant from Housing and Urban
19 Development,
HUD requires a 75-year lease and
20 because
we can only do a 50-year lease we have
21 to
do it bring back to you for your approval.
22 We
are recommending approval. This is a
23 marvelous
facility, and it's already providing
24 real
benefits at that property and other areas
25 the
south Florida.
146
1 COMMISSIONER BRONSON: Motion on item 4.
2 GENERAL
BUTTERWORTH: Second.
3 GOVERNOR
BUSH: Moved and seconded. Without
4 objection,
it's approved.
5 MR.
STRUHS: Item number 5, we are
6 recommending
approval of an option agreement to
7 acquire
3,225 acres within -- and I understand
8 there
is a North Florida pronunciation of this
9 word
-- Goethe State Forest by Department of
10 Agriculture
and Consumer Services.
11 TREASURER
GALLAGHER: Move to approve 5.
12 GENERAL
BUTTERWORTH: Second.
13 GOVERNOR
BUSH: Moved and seconded. Without
14 objection,
it's approved.
15 MR.
STRUHS: Item 6 is the McKeithen option
16 agreement.
We are seeking to do three things.
17 One
is to execute the option agreement to
18 acquire
65.6 acres, to designate the University
19 of
Florida as the managing agency and to
20 confirm
the management policy statement.
21 Dr.
Jan Matthews is here from the Department of
22 State
to speak to this issue.
23 The
reason we are recommending approval of
24 this
is this site is the site of some
25 exceptional
preColombian examples of ceramics,
147
1 and we have already done a lot of research
2 there
through the University of Florida.
3 GOVERNOR
BUSH: Is there a motion?
4 GENERAL
BUTTERWORTH: Move.
5 COMMISSIONER
BRONSON: Second.
6 GOVERNOR
BUSH: Second. Without objection,
7 it's
approved.
8 MR.
STRUHS: Thank you.
9 Item
number 7, item number 7 is one of the
10 string
of related items that we've brought to
11 the
board as part of the acquisition of land
12 along
the Oklawaha River corridor in reservoir
13 properties.
14 I
would just remind you of the obvious,
15 that
is that we are in the midst of settlement
16 negotiations
on other similar and adjacent
17 properties;
and any discussions obviously that
18 occur
here in the public session may very well
19 affect
our ability to negotiate advantageous
20 terms
for the state for the remaining two.
21 Just
to put it in context, there are nine
22 parcels
here. Three of them were purchased
23 outright
at the very beginning. Three were
24 purchased
and approved by the Board of Trustees
25 through
settlements. This one is now pending
148
1 before you, and there are two remaining.
2 GOVERNOR
BUSH: Commissioner Gallagher.
3 TREASURER
GALLAGHER: I want to understand
4 something.
Is this land and all the ones you are
5 talking
about land that has been flooded because
6 of
the reservoir?
7 MR.
STRUHS: Yes, it is.
8 TREASURER
GALLAGHER: And we have purchased
9 some
of these parcels from people?
10 MR.
STRUHS: Yes, we have.
11 TREASURER
GALLAGHER: -- on some kind of a
12 deal.
And if, in fact, we had eliminated Rodman
13 Dam,
which this board historically has tried to do
14 a
few times, what would have happened to the land?
15 MR.
STRUHS: Well, the land would be --
16 TREASURER
GALLAGHER: It would now not be
17 merged
anymore?
18 MR.
STRUHS: That's correct.
19 TREASURER
GALLAGHER: What would happen;
20 they'd
own it and that would be it, right?
21 MR.
STRUHS: That's correct.
22 But
the point I think in part is when that
23 the
project was deauthorized, I believe in
24 1991,
they have lost -- the owners have
25 arguably
lost the value of that land, at least
149
1 in part, because of the inundation for the last
2 dozen
years.
3 TREASURER
GALLAGHER: Here's something I
4 don't
understand. When the Cross Florida Barge
5 Canal
is authorized, they build a dam, they put a
6 lock
in and these peoples' lands are under water.
7 MR.
STRUHS: Yes.
8 TREASURER
GALLAGHER: Since -- when did they
9 put
the dam in, 1968 or something?
10 MR.
STRUHS: '66, I think.
11 TREASURER
GALLAGHER: Okay. '66. Everybody
12 is
happy? Why didn't they want money back then?
13 GOVERNOR
BUSH: They did get money.
14 GENERAL
MILLIGAN: We already paid this guy
15 money.
16 TREASURER
GALLAGHER: That's where I am
17 coming
to. If we already bought it once, why are
18 we
buying it a second time?
19 MR.
STRUHS: Let me address that. If I can
20 take
these one at a time, it would be easier for
21 me.
22 The
Florida Canal Authority -- in 1966,
23 when
the Florida Canal Authority was acquiring
24 the
flowage easements for the construction of
25 the
reservoir, they, in fact, in some cases
150
1 bought the land fee simple, and other examples
2 such
as this one they purchased an easement, a
3 flowage
easement. There may be some debate as
4 to
whether or not the folks back in 1966 paid
5 too
much.
6 GOVERNOR
BUSH: What did they pay?
7 MR.
STRUHS: I don't know exactly.
8 GOVERNOR
BUSH: They paid appraised value?
9 GENERAL
MILLIGAN: They paid $440,360.
10 GOVERNOR
BUSH: Is that equal to at that time
11 the
fee simple title equivalent?
12 MR.
STRUHS: I guess my point is we can tell
13 you
here exactly how much they paid, but the issue
14 isn't
what they paid; the issue is what did the
15 state
purchase? And I think that's a very
16 important
distinction.
17 GOVERNOR
BUSH: Answer the first question,
18 then
you answer the question you want to.
19 What
is the -- when we bought the land,
20 the
flowage easement, did we pay the equivalent
21 of
a fee simple title?
22 MR.
STRUHS: No, but my guess is it would
23 probably
be very close to that because, in fact,
24 most
of the value of the land was actually being
25 taken
up because of the easement.
151
1 GOVERNOR BUSH: I thought that would have
2 been
the logical thing to do. We got an easement,
3 but
we paid the equivalent of buying the land.
4 Now
we are back, it looks like we are paying
5 190
percent of the appraised value. Triple.
6 TREASURER
GALLAGHER: Let me ask you this
7 question.
We paid an acquired flowage easement,
8 right?
9 MR.
STRUHS: That's correct.
10 TREASURER
GALLAGHER: And --
11 MR.
STRUHS: It was done through
12 condemnation.
13 TREASURER
GALLAGHER: Right. We put a dam
14 up.
Right? And we created a reservoir. For
15 whatever
reason, that's what government did. And
16 we
still have the dam up and there is still water
17 flowing
over this land. Right?
18 MR.
STRUHS: That's correct.
19 TREASURER
GALLAGHER: So just because it got,
20 the
Barge Canal got deauthorized, why does that
21 mean
that all of a sudden we are supposed to buy
22 the
land?
23 MR.
STRUHS: Because in 1997 the Seventh
24 Circuit
Court ruled that with the deauthorization
25 of
the project, that essentially constituted a
152
1 reversion of the property to the original owners.
2 TREASURER
GALLAGHER: If we sat here and said
3 we
are going to recondemn it based on what we
4 already
bought it for, they get nothing.
5 MR.
STRUHS: Of course, you got the fact that
6 between
1991 and 2002-- right? I am sorry,
7 Commissioner,
your question?
8 TREASURER
GALLAGHER: If we, as a state,
9 said:
Look, we already paid for this, we
10 condemned
it once, the courts now said that:
11 Okay,
the reason you condemned it doesn't exist
12 anymore,
so you've either got to give them back
13 the
land, which we tried to do by taking the dam
14 down,
we are not taking the dam down, so we
15 obviously
made a state decision to keep that
16 reservoir.
Therefore, we keep the land, and we
17 recondemn
it and they've already been paid for it.
18 MR.
STRUHS: But according to courts, we have
19 to
repurchase it.
20 GOVERNOR
BUSH: Why would we repurchase it at
21 180
percent of the appraised value?
22 MR.
STRUHS: This gets into the area that we
23 can
talk about it in great detail, but it will
24 obviously
affect the remaining two.
25 GOVERNOR
BUSH: I hope you are getting a
153
1 sense that we are helping you with the next buyers
2 because
we are pushing the price down in my
3 opinion.
You are marking it up, we are marking it
4 down.
I think we are helping you a lot.
5 GENERAL
BUTTERWORTH: Governor, if possible,
6 unless
this is time-sensitive, if we could defer
7 this
for two weeks and perhaps have someone from
8 David's
shop and my shop talk to everybody here.
9 COMMISSIONER
BRONSON: That's --
10 GENERAL
BUTTERWORTH: I am worried about the
11 ones
down the road.
12 COMMISSIONER
BRONSON: That sounds like a
13 good
idea, but at the same time, Governor,
14 General,
I would like to get a reading from you
15 also
as a Cabinet Member here before I make a
16 vote;
the fact we are in this mess is because we
17 started
out on a project that we condemned the
18 land
and offered a price to the land owner for a
19 purpose,
which that purpose was never delivered;
20 and,
therefore, sometimes these people did not
21 want
to give up this land, but had to because it
22 was
a condemnation process by the state.
23 And
they are saying, they are either going
24 to
come back and say: You have created a mess
25 on
my property that you didn't deliver on, and
154
1 that probably is why they are asking more
2 money.
3 But
the fact is we need to know because
4 this
is going to affect every other piece that
5 we
ever condemned, that there may be a change
6 on
down the road. I need to know before I
7 vote:
What is our obligation here?
8 TREASURER
GALLAGHER: I would like to take a
9 look
at this and hold off on it and not vote on it
10 because
there are a lot of unanswered questions
11 for
me. This is going to set a precedent, and I
12 just
have a problem buying things two or three
13 times.
14 For
me, I would like to take -- I would
15 like
to -- if we've got to give it back, it's a
16 lot
cheaper to just take the dam down and give
17 them
their money back.
18 GOVERNOR
BUSH: Go talk to Senator King. The
19 state
policy has not changed; it's just a little
20 difficult
to implement if -- we haven't changed
21 our
policy; we, in fact, continue to argue for
22 that,
and I don't know what damages would have to
23 be
given to a property owner after we drain the
24 dam
or the pool or whatever it's called, and the
25 property
would be dramatically different, that's
155
1 for sure.
2 MR.
STRUHS: There are two questions --
3 GENERAL
BUTTERWORTH: Three miles of
4 waterfront
property.
5 MR.
STRUHS: There is now two questions
6 pending
and I want to be able to respond to both
7 of
them.
8 The
Attorney General asked the question:
9 Is
there a issue or risk if the item is
10 deferred?
11 The
answer is yes. Our understanding is
12 that
the Millers could, with a failure to act
13 on
it today, arguably they could walk away from
14 this
settlement proposal.
15 GOVERNOR
BUSH: Are the Millers here?
16 MR.
STRUHS: Their representative says they
17 would
be willing to extend for another two weeks.
18 GOVERNOR
BUSH: Okay. That answers that.
19 MR.
STRUHS: That answers that. The second
20 issue
--
21 GOVERNOR
BUSH: I don't think there is a
22 second
issue.
23 MR.
STRUHS: There was a second issue --
24 TREASURER
GALLAGHER: Let's just hold off two
25 weeks
and we'll talk about all those issues over
156
1 two weeks. I move to hold this --
2 GOVERNOR
BUSH: General Butterworth has made
3 a
motion for deferral. There is a second. Any
4 other
discussion?
5 Without
objection, the item is deferred.
6 We
had some interesting items on your agenda,
7 David.
8 MR.
STRUHS: Thank you.
9 GOVERNOR
BUSH: You are most welcomed.
10 Department
of Administration.
11 GENERAL
MILLIGAN: Governor, before we do
12 that,
before everybody departs, the issue raised
13 on
the payment of former members of the Parole
14 Commission
is set in law. And to change that will
15 require
a statute change.
16 And
I will talk to Commissioner Henry,
17 Chairman
Henry I guess is the right term,
18 Chairman-elect
Henry, and encourage him to do
19 an
assessment of what a fair value would be and
20 then
pursue it.
21
22
23
24
25
157
1 GOVERNOR BUSH: Okay. State Board of
2 Administration.
3 MR.
HERNDON: Item number 1 is the minutes.
4 GENERAL
BUTTERWORTH: Moved.
5 TREASURER
GALLAGHER: Second.
6 GOVERNOR
BUSH: Moved and seconded. Without
7 objection,
it's approved.
8 MR.
HERNDON: Item number 2 is approval of
9 the
fiscal sufficiency of an amount not exceeding
10 $200
million, State of Florida full faith and
11 credit
state Board of Education Bonds.
12 GOVERNOR
BUSH: Can we have a little -- just
13 a
second. Thank you.
14 Item
2.
15 MR.
HERNDON: Is approval of fiscal
16 sufficiency
of an amount not exceeding $200
17 million,
State of Florida full faith and credit
18 State
Board of Education Public Education capital
19 outlay
bonds.
20 GENERAL
MILLIGAN: I move item 2.
21 TREASURER
GALLAGHER: Second.
22 GOVERNOR
BUSH: Moved and seconded. Without
23 objection,
it's approved.
24 MR.
HERNDON: Item number 3 is approval of a
25 fiscal
determination of an amount not exceeding
158
1 $13,535,000 tax exempt Florida Housing Finance
2 Corporation
Revenue bonds for Grande Court at
3 Boggy
Creek Apartments in Osceola County.
4 TREASURER
GALLAGHER: Motion.
5 GENERAL
MILLIGAN: Second.
6 GOVERNOR
BUSH: Moved and seconded. Without
7 objection,
it's approved.
8 MR.
HERNDON: Item number 4 is approval of a
9 fiscal
determination of amounts not exceeding
10 11,020,000-dollar
tax exempt and 1,895,000-dollar
11 taxable
Florida Housing Finance Corporation
12 Housing
Revenue Bonds for the Hampton Pointe
13 Apartments
in Charlotte County.
14 TREASURER
GALLAGHER: Motion.
15 GENERAL
MILLIGAN: Second.
16 GOVERNOR
BUSH: Moved and seconded. Without
17 objection,
it's approved.
18 MR.
HERNDON: Item number 5 is approval of
19 fiscal
determination of an amount not exceeding
20 $2.8
million tax exempt and 380,000 taxable
21 Florida
Housing Finance Corporation Housing
22 Revenue
Bonds for Lindsey Gardens Phase III in
23 Indian
River County.
24 GENERAL
MILLIGAN: Move item 5.
25 TREASURER
GALLAGHER: Second.
159
1 GOVERNOR BUSH: Moved and seconded. Without
2 objection,
it's approved.
3 MR.
HERNDON: Item number 6 is approval of
4 fiscal
determination of amounts not exceeding
5 $8,070,000
senior tax exempt, 2.76 million
6 subordinate
tax exempt, and 2.970 senior taxable
7 Florida
Housing Finance Corporation Housing
8 Revenue
Bonds for the Palms at Vero Beach
9 Apartments
in Indian River County.
10 TREASURER
GALLAGHER: Move.
11 GENERAL
MILLIGAN: Second.
12 GOVERNOR
BUSH: Moved and seconded. Without
13 objection,
it's approved.
14 MR.
HERNDON: Item number 7 is approval
15 fiscal
determination amounts not exceeding
16 $9,690,000
tax exempt and $3,090,000 taxable
17 Florida
Housing Finance Corporation Housing
18 Revenue
Bonds for the Peacock Run Apartments in
19 St.
Lucie County.
20 GENERAL
MILLIGAN: Motion on 7.
21 TREASURER
GALLAGHER: Second.
22 GOVERNOR
BUSH: Moved and seconded. Without
23 objection,
it's approved.
24 MR.
HERNDON: Item number 8 is approval of
25 fiscal
determination of amounts not exceeding
160
1 $6,040,000 senior tax exempt, $2,200,000
2 subordinate
tax exempt and $2,745,000 Senior
3 Taxable
Florida Housing Finance Corporation
4 Housing
Revenue Bonds for Valencia Trace
5 Apartments
in Orange County.
6 TREASURER
GALLAGHER: Move.
7 GENERAL
MILLIGAN: And I will second 8, and
8 will
note that we are doing a lot better on these
9 things.
It's taken a long time to see competitive
10 bid
bond efforts in this area and glad to see it's
11 happening.
12 GOVERNOR
BUSH: We ought to get Mark Kaplan
13 to
come.
14 GENERAL
MILLIGAN: He has done a good job
15 there.
I think that would be a great idea,
16 Governor.
17 GOVERNOR
BUSH: We should probably do that.
18 I
will remind myself to get him to come. Would he
19 come
to -- he should probably come to the Cabinet
20 meeting,
not to the State Board, since it's on
21 both
side and maybe some Cabinet members would
22 like
to him.
23 Moved
and seconded. Without objection,
24 it's
approved.
25 MR.
HERNDON: Item number 9 is a statistical
161
1 report for informational purposes only that was
2 provided
to you yesterday reflecting the status of
3 the
PEORP program as of this date.
4 Again,
let me point out that enrollment
5 doesn't
officially open for the group one
6 employees
until June 1, but we have mailed a
7 little
over 99 percent of all the first
8 employee
traunch kits, and for the second
9 traunch
of 282,098, .7 percent have been mailed
10 or
about 440,000 kits have been mailed.
11 We
now have about 14 or so thousand people
12 who've
exercised a preelection period choice,
13 and
30,000 people who are signed up for
14 workshops.
15 So
again, we are moving along in
16 recognition
of the fact that human nature,
17 being
what it is in deferring these decisions
18 until
later on, we hope to see enrollment and
19 workshop
sign up, and so forth, accelerate as
20 we
get closer to the time.
21 GOVERNOR
BUSH: That's just for information?
22 MR.
HERNDON: That is for information
23 purposes
only.
24 Item
number 10 is also for informational
25 purposes,
and we amended several of these items
162
1 at the suggestion of your staff to make it
2 clear;
and that is to simply give you a status
3 report
on the bundled providers on contract
4 negotiations
which are essentially the items
5 that
we have outstanding. Actually there are
6 two
items.
7 One
is the stable value and the status of
8 that
particular product. And I am pleased to
9 say
that it looks like virtually all of the
10 problems
as it relates to that last remaining
11 stable
value product have gone away.
12 We
still have a few I's to dot and T's to
13 cross
to make it a final official situation,
14 but
it looks like all liquidity issues, and so
15 forth,
that had previously been of concern have
16 been
resolved.
17 As
it relates to the specific bundled
18 provider
contracts themselves, we now are we
19 think
closing in on getting signatures on all
20 of
the these bundled provider contracts. We
21 have
asked the parties to be prepared to sign
22 them
prior to June 1, which is when enrollment
23 actually
begins.
24 We
have negotiations essentially completed
25 with
three of the firms. One firm has a couple
163
1 of minor points; the other remaining firm has
2 some
broader issues, but we had a lengthy
3 conference
call with them and we think we
4 resolved
most of those concerns.
5 TREASURER
GALLAGHER: These provider
6 contracts
are going to be pretty much identical,
7 is
that correct?
8 MR.
HERNDON: Yes, sir, they are identical.
9 Obviously
the names are a little bit different and
10 the
description of the products, and so forth.
11 But
other than that, it's pretty much boiler plate
12 material.
13 That's
for information only, too,
14 Governor.
15 Item
number 11 is request approval of the
16 Florida
State Board of Administration's budget
17 for
fiscal year 2002-2003.
18 I
understand you have an interest in
19 postponing
some of this, and in the interest of
20 time,
if you would rather me not go through the
21 explanation
now or whatever is your pleasure.
22 GOVERNOR
BUSH: What I requested was -- I
23 have
no problems with the -- my concern relates to
24 the
PEORP out-year budgets; I would like to see
25 that
before we approve the next fiscal year's
164
1 budget. It's just a lot of money, that my
2 assumption
was that there would be a decline after
3 the
initial recruitment and education process,
4 that
it would stabilize at a lower rate.
5 So
before we -- I feel comfortable about
6 seeing
some runs going out in the outyears.
7 The
rest of it is related to the CAT Fund and
8 other
things, I have no problems.
9 MR.
HERNDON: CAT Fund, prepaid college
10 tuition
and bond finance; if you are supportive of
11 those,
we can get those off the deck.
12 TREASURER
GALLAGHER: I move to approve all
13 the
budgets, with the exception of the PEORP. I
14 guess
that ties in with SBA. So let's do --
15 GENERAL
MILLIGAN: That's something Tom and I
16 talked
about this yesterday. The SBA is the
17 defined
benefit and defined contribution. And I
18 kind
of take exception to separating the two.
19 COMMISSIONER
GALLAGHER: Let me amend that
20 and
say the FHCA, Hurricane CAT Fund, Bond
21 Finance,
Florida College Savings Program, which
22 includes
both prepaid and savings, let's move
23 those
three.
24 GENERAL
MILLIGAN: And I second that.
25 GOVERNOR
BUSH: Moved and seconded. Without
165
1 objection, it's approved.
2 MR.
HERNDON: And item number 12 is to
3 request
approval of a resolution relating to the
4 Florida
Retirement System Retirement Plan Choice.
5 This
is a resolution going out to the employers to
6 encourage
that they let their employees
7 participate
in the program to and make choices.
8 TREASURER
GALLAGHER: We have a resolution to
9 pass,
right? That's a resolution?
10 MR.
HERNDON: Yes, sir.
11 GENERAL
MILLIGAN: We already signed it. Do
12 we
have to second it?
13 TREASURER
GALLAGHER: I don't know. Moved.
14 GENERAL
MILLIGAN: Second.
15 GOVERNOR
BUSH: Moved and seconded. Without
16 objection,
it's approved.
17 GENERAL
MILLIGAN: You are not going to talk
18 about
the audit committee? You want to defer
19 that?
20 MR.
HERNDON: I will do that when we come
21 back
and talk about the budget, unless you want to
22 talk
about it further now?
23 GENERAL
MILLIGAN: No, that's fine.
24 (The
proceedings concluded at 12:10 p.m..)
25
166
1
2 CERTIFICATE
OF REPORTER
3
4
5
6 STATE
OF FLORIDA )
7 COUNTY
OF LEON )
8
9 I,
SANDRA L. NARGIZ, RMR, CRR, certify that I
10 was
authorized to and did stenographically report the
11 proceedings
herein, and that the transcript is a true
12 and
complete record of my stenographic notes.
13 I
further certify that I am not a relative,
14 employee,
attorney or counsel of any of the parties,
15 nor
am I a relative or employee of any of the parties'
16 attorney
or counsel connected with the action, nor am I
17 financially
interested in the action.
18 WITNESS
my hand and official seal this 27th
19 day
of May, 2002.
20
21
22 ______________________________
23 SANDRA
L. NARGIZ, RMR, CRR
100 SALEM COURT
24 TALLAHASSEE, FL 32301
850-878-2221
25
Cabinet
Affairs
