I’d like to thank everyone who traveled to Tallahassee on Monday for the Rally in Tallahassee. We left Kissimmee at 6:30 AM and returned at 9:00 PM. It was a long exciting day. As we walked towards the capital, staff from the legislators and senators were on the street watching. Those who support public education also joined in the rally. No one knows for certain if we were successful or not, but when over 15,000 educators show up, they now know we are serious.
For those who were not able to attend, we are in the planning stages for a rally on February 15th at Lake Eola from 1:00 -3:00 PM. We need to keep the pressure on our legislators. Changes must be made to adequately fund public education.
On a different note, we need you to contact our elected officials on the following:
HB953 – This bill would allow charter schools to bypass duly elected school boards entirely by creating an alternate system of sponsoring and authorizing charter schools, allowing the appointed trustees of state colleges and universities to serve as de-facto school boards, establishing and overseeing a “portfolio” of charter schools.
Many of the legislators have a vested interest in Charter Schools. It is important that local school boards continue to oversee the charters operating in our district.
Here is the local contact information for our Legislators and State Senator
Senator Victor Torres (407) 846-5187
Legislators
Honorable John Cortes (407) 846-5009
Honorable Mike LaRosa (407) 891-2555
Honorable Josie Tomkow (863) 968-5666