Scott: ‘Different issues’ in black schools
by Michael C. Bender | July 23rd, 2010Republican gubernatorial candidate Rick Scott said today that race was one of the reasons to support local control of schools.
“If you’re 70 percent African-American, you’re going to deal with different issues,” Scott said.
“Yes, you are,” said Sean O’Flannery, a high school teacher from Pinellas Park.
O’Flannery, who met Scott at a Clearwater campaign stop, had raised the issue of Senate Bill 6, the controversial teacher tenure bill Scott and other Republicans supported. Opponents said the bill would take local control away from schools and centralize more power in Tallahassee.
We asked Scott to clarify his thoughts: “Every school has different issues. And so we have to make sure that whatever programs we put in place to measure teachers that its fair in that area. Beacause every school is different. And every community is a little bit different. So that’s what that focus was on.”
Scott is starting the third day of his six-day trip.
Tags: Rick Scott
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July 23rd, 2010 at 11:10 am
Wouldn’t be the first time Rick Scott has made his racist tendencies known:
http://rickscottfraudfiles.com/solantic/
July 23rd, 2010 at 11:19 am
Racist? I guess it is better to tap dance around real issues to avoid being labeled a racist!
July 23rd, 2010 at 11:26 am
This isn’t racist, this is true. Economics play a role in education. Black schools tend to have low socioeconomic students…that’s racist???
That’s REALITY, with politicians and media tossing out racism.
It’s economics, it’s parents who don’t value education…and that spans ALL racial groups.
Media=Racists
July 23rd, 2010 at 12:30 pm
Well said Jeff!!
Its economics not race. Black kids from Riviera Beach cannot be compared with Black kids from the Acreage (lots of Haitian and Jamaican families with strong family structures who do great academically), or affluent Black kids in Jupiter or Wellington. The only thing they have in common is skin color. I have taught and enjoyed all kinds of kids from all kinds of backgrounds, and Scott is right in that each school has its own problems to deal with. That’s not racism, its pragmatism.
July 23rd, 2010 at 1:39 pm
Jeff and former teacher,
It is so refreshing to see that there are intelligent people replying to articles in the Post. I was beginning to think that most replyers were mostly rabbblerousers!
July 23rd, 2010 at 2:05 pm
Thank you Jeff and former teacher!
July 23rd, 2010 at 4:13 pm
I beg to differ with “former teacher” in your comparison of black kids from Riviera Bch. and black kids from other areas. Current and former students of Riviera Bch. schools have strong family structures and have done very well academically. We are lawyers, Principals, Asst. principals, Administrators, Educators, Businessmen and women and the like! Suncoast High/Riviera Bch. is one of the best schools in the country graduating black and white students receiving full scholarships to college. That is clearly a slap in the face to all black students and former students of Riviera Beach.
July 24th, 2010 at 9:07 am
It’s not just the black kids that are different from area to area, the same occurs with whites. Socio-economic and cultural differences do exist and do create differences between schools. I taught 42 years at 4 different schools, from Belle Glade, to Boca, to Lake Worth and PB Gardens. It is NOT racist to state the facts, sheesh; some just want to stir the pot. White and black kids in Belle Glade are different from the same in Jupiter. There isn’t anything wrong with either group, they are just different. Being different isn’t wrong; it is what it is.
July 24th, 2010 at 12:09 pm
My take:
http://www.practicalstate.com/2010/07/24/what-now-for-bill-mccollum/
Cheers