Florida Names Interim Education Commissioner After Resignation
August 3, 2013
The State Board of Education quickly installed Public Schools Chancellor Pam Stewart as interim education commissioner Friday, returning her to the post she held before Tony Bennett was tapped for the permanent job late last year.
Bennett resigned Thursday in the wake of reports that, while the elected superintendent of public instruction in Indiana, he tweaked that state’s school grading system to benefit a school founded by one of Bennett’s political contributors.
The board unanimously backed Stewart during a conference call, even as some members lamented the loss of Bennett.
“I can assure you that I did everything possible to convince Tony Bennett to stay on with us,” board Chairman Gary Chartrand told the group.
Another member, Kathleen Shanahan, said the board should begin looking at its accountability system and its commitment to a multi-state consortium developing a new test for students, following Bennett’s decision to step aside.
“It’s a mess, and I think a mess provides an opportunity,” Shanahan said.
Legislative leaders had called for the state to pull out of the exam shortly before Bennett’s resignation. Meanwhile, Democrats and the Florida Education Association called for the state to go back to choosing its education commissioner in statewide elections.
“For more than a decade the office has been relegated to a political appointment, and as we have just seen, is subject to the latest political whims,” FEA President Andy Ford said in a statement backing the proposal. “The appointed commissioner is not accountable to parents, not accountable to students, not accountable to educators and not accountable to taxpayers.”
Raymond Dale Hobbs
August 3, 2013
He was born on September 16, 1936, and was a member of Scenic Hills Church of Christ.
He was preceded in death by his mother and father; three brothers; and one sister.
Survivors include his loving wife of 57 years, Barbara; sons, Franklin (Marie) Hobbs, Sean (Pamela) Hobbs and Barbee Rollins; one sister, Janie (Tony); five grandchildren; and many friends and family.
Visitation will be held from 9:30 a.m. until funeral service begins at 11:30 a.m. on Monday, August 5, 2013, at Scenic Hills Church of Christ. Burial will follow at Barrancas National Cemetery.
In lieu of flowers, donations may be made to Scenic Hill Church of Christ Youth Group. Trahan Family Funeral Home is in charge of arrangements.
Sybil Elliott Schachle
August 3, 2013
Sybil Elliott Schachle went to be with the Lord on Saturday, July 27, 2013, at the age of 65. She was born at Pine Barren on March 12, 1948.
She is survived by her loving husband, John Schachle; daughter, Diannia Hastings (Lamar); four grandchildren; six great-grandchildren; sisters, JoAnn Reeves, and Fran Fournier (Bob); and numerous nieces, nephews, cousins, extended family and friends.
Graveside services were held Thursday, August 1, 2013, at Morgan Cemetery with Tony Schachle officiating.
Pallbearers will be Paul Schachle, Matthew Milstead, Jonathan Cardwell, Josh Allen, Ben Porter and Charles Schachle.
Honorary pallbearers will be Bob Fournier, Vince Schachle, Jon Farmer and Mark Lewis.
In lieu of flowers, donations for funeral expenses may be made to Faith Chapel Funeral Home North.
Faith Chapel Funeral Home North is in charge of arrangements.
Mary Jean Vaughn
August 3, 2013
Mary Jean Vaughn 89, of Pace, passed away July 26, 2013, after a brief illness.
Born to Homer and Ada Wiggins, married to Melvin Vaughn for 60 years, she was a devoted mother, sister, grandmother, and great-grandmother. She was a life member of the Barrineau Park Historical Society.
She was preceded in death by her husband, Melvin; daughter, Pam McCook; brother, Pat Wiggins; and sister, Annette Suggs.
Jean is survived by sisters, Bettye Rusche, Sarah Nell Mayfield, Evelyn Ferguson, and Faye King; her children, Debbie Ward (Robert), Larry Vaughn (Christy), Speedy Vaughn (Karen), and Billy Vaughn (Debbie); grandchildren, Cam Ward (Julie), Tara Freeman (Timmy), Shannon Willis (Shane), Justin Ward, Randal Vaughn (Minthea), Dylan Williams (Bess), Haley Vaughn, Mallory Rogers (Josh), Kristin Hill (Caleb), and McKenzie Vaughn. She had 17 great-grandchildren.
Celebration services were held Thursday, August 1, 2013 at Faith Chapel Funeral Home North with Pastor Pam Avery officiating.
Faith Chapel Funeral Home North is in charge of arrangements.
Jail Transfer Meeting Rescheduled
August 2, 2013
The next meeting concerning the transfer of control of the Escambia County Jail from Sheriff David Morgan to Escambia County will be open to the public.
The joint meeting between Escambia County and the Escambia County Sheriff’s Office that was originally scheduled for Monday, August 5 to continue negations for the transfer of the Jail and Central Booking operations, has been rescheduled to Wednesday, August 7, at 10 a.m. The workshop will be held at 221 Palafox Place in the fourth floor training room within the Escambia County Administration office. This meeting will have limited space and is open to the public.
Teens Arrested For Cantonment Vehicle Burglaries
August 2, 2013
Two juveniles have been arrested in connection with at least four vehicle burglaries in Cantonment.
During the early morning hours Thursday, the Escambia County Sheriff’s Office received a call reporting that a vehicle burglary had just occurred and the victim was chasing the suspects down the road. Deputies arrived in the 1800 block of Wareham Way in Cantonment where a resident advised that the victim had chased the suspects in the direction of Highway 297A.
One of the suspects, 17-year old Marquis Derrell Byrant, was quickly apprehended. Two K-9 units were used to track the second suspect, leading the arrest of 17-year old Lakendrick Jiles Holmes.
An Escambia County Sheriff’s Office revealed the duo was responsible for at least three other vehicle burglaries.
Bryant and Holmes were charged with four counts of burglary of vehicle and larceny. Holmes was also charged with possession of marijuana.
Education Boss Bennett Resigns Amid Grade Changing Scandal
August 2, 2013
Saying he didn’t want to be a distraction, Florida Education Commissioner Tony announced his immediate resignation Thursday amid a rapidly growing controversy stemming from his former job heading the Indiana education system.
Bennett, who during a news conference at the Department of Education called media reports out of the Hoosier State “politically motivated,” said Gov. Rick Scott and Florida Board of Education Chairman Gary Chartrand accepted the resignation.
“The decision to resign is mine and mine only because I believe that when this discussion turns to an adult we lose the discussion about making life better for children,” Bennett said.
Declaring that Bennett’s resignation “created an immediate danger to public welfare,” the Board of Education scheduled an emergency conference call Friday morning to appoint an interim commission.
Both Bennett and Scott recommended that Pam Stewart, chancellor of public schools, be named interim commissioner.
Stewart served as interim commissioner before Bennett was hired in December, a month after he lost a bid to be re-elected as Indiana’s superintendent of public instruction. Voters choose the Indiana superintendent, while Florida’s education commissioner is appointed.
Scott praised Bennett for helping with the governor’s legislative priority this past session of raising pay for teachers.
“He made a difficult decision today with the best interest of his family in mind, and he will no doubt continue to make a great contribution wherever he chooses to serve next,” Scott said in a release.
Bennett was the third education commissioner to serve since Scott was inaugurated in January 2011.
Bennett, who had no immediate plans for the future outside of a weekend with his family, said he made his decision so Scott, taxpayers, teachers and students wouldn’t be distracted by “the malicious, unfounded reports out of Indiana.”
Bennett has been engulfed in recent days in a controversy about whether he improperly changed a school grade to benefit a political contributor while he was Indiana’s education chief.
“Every minute we spend defending the credibility of your commissioner, because of what is said 800 miles away, is a minute we waste that we should have been thinking about educating children in Florida,” Bennett said.
During the news conference, Bennett reiterated his contention that he had done nothing wrong and he would request Indiana’s inspector general to investigate the allegations.
“I am fearless about what they will find,” Bennett said.
While running the Indiana schools, Bennett was noted for following the educational blueprint former Gov. Jeb Bush implemented in Florida, from the A-to-F grading system to expanding charter schools and voucher programs.
Bush on Thursday issued a statement that praised Bennett for his work in Indiana.
“Today, more Hoosier kids are graduating high school ready for college or a career and fewer are dropping out,” Bush said. “Last year, the parents of nearly 10,000 children in low-income homes were able to select the school that best fit their son or daughter. Leadership is doing what is right, knowing the results will follow.”
Patricia Levesque, chief executive officer of Bush’s Foundation for Excellence in Education, in the same release called Bennett “a good man and a good friend. Florida’s students will feel the loss of his leadership the most.”
Bennett’s downfall played out quickly in Florida.
The Associated Press, after obtaining candid emails between Bennett and his Indiana staff, reported Monday that Bennett and his staff “frantically overhauled” the Hoosier State’s grading system last year when it looked like one of his political contributors’ charter schools might get a “C.”
Bennett said Thursday there was a “statistical anomaly that didn’t allow 13 schools . . . to have their grade truly reflect their performance because they were unfairly penalized for kids they didn’t have in their school. That wasn’t rigging anything.”
On Thursday, the Indianapolis Star reported that Indiana wouldn’t have had to take over a pair of Indianapolis public schools if similar changes were offered to local district schools. The charter school alleged to have received favored treatment is called Christel House.
“The issue was similar in both cases,” the Star reported. “Christel House had recently added ninth and 10th grades, and (Indianapolis Public Schools’) Howe and Arlington had added middle school grades. The students who filled those seats posted poor enough scores to drag down the schools’ overall ratings.”
The AP reported that Bennett acted to improve the grade of Christel House, raising the school from a C to an A by removing the ninth- and 10th-grade scores. The Star wrote that the local public-school superintendent asked Bennett to remove the middle school scores, allowing the schools to avoid a state takeover, but “Bennett was unmoved.”
Teachers unions in Indiana have demanded an investigation of the A-to-F rating system, the Star reported.
Last month, in advance of the release of Florida school letter grades, the Florida board of education voted 4-3 to back a recommendation by Bennett to prevent drops of more than one letter grade due to changes to the accountability system.
Without the changes, state officials said, 261 schools would have received failing grades this year.
A trio of Democratic lawmakers on Wednesday, Sen. Dwight Bullard, D-Miami, and Reps. Mark Pafford, D-West Palm Beach, and Janet Cruz, D-Tampa, called on Bennett to resign due to the Indiana reports.
Florida Education Association President Andy Ford wrote Thursday that Bennett’s policies have had no value in advancing education.
“The resignation of Florida’s latest commissioner of education is another symptom of the mistrust parents, teachers and the public have in the state’s incoherent and unsound school reform and accountability policies,” Ford wrote.
by Jim Turner, The News Service of Florida
Back To School Sales Tax Holiday Underway In Florida And Alabama
August 2, 2013
Back-to-school shoppers will get a chance to save some cash this this weekend with a sales tax holiday in both Florida and Alabama.
FLORIDA
From 12:01 a.m. Friday through midnight Sunday, there will be no sales tax collected on certain clothing items priced at $75 or less, schools supplies at $15 or less and computer priced at $750 or less.
For complete details, click here for a pdf.
ALABAMA
From 12:01 a.m. Friday to midnight Sunday, Alabama’s four-percent sales tax is waived throughout the state while sales taxes levied by 274 cities and counties also will be waived on:
- clothing priced at $100 or less;
- school supplies valued at $50 or less;
- books that cost $30 or less; and
- computers and computer equipment with a selling price of $750 or less.
Atmore, Brewton, and Escambia County, Ala., will not participate and waive local taxes. Other towns, including Flomaton, Bay Minette, Foley, Gulf Shores and Mobile will take part.
For complete details, click here for a pdf.
Investigators Seek Person Of Interest In Monday Homicide
August 2, 2013
The Escambia County Sheriff’s Office is searching for a person of interest in a Monday homicide.
Investigators want to locate 36-year old Larry Huff for questioning in the July 29 homicide of 57-year old Jeffrey Weber, who was found in a room at the Homestay Lodge on Mobile Highway. Weber’s body was discovered by a hotel employee after he did not answer his door.
Anyone with information on the whereabouts of Larry Huff is asked to call he Escambia County Sheriff’s Office at (850) 436-9620 or Crime Stoppers at (850) 433-STOP.
Pictured: Two different looks for LarryHuff, as seen in photos provided by the Escambia County Sheriff’s Office for NorthEscambia.com.
Tri-County 12U Competes In Softball World Series This Weekend
August 2, 2013
The Tri-County 12-U All Star softball team is competing in the 2013 World Series in Alachua, Florida, this weekend.
Friday morning Tri- County, the Alabama Babe Ruth State Champions, lost to Floyds Knob, Indiana by the score of 10-8. They will play Independence, Kansas, later today. On Saturday, they will face Ormond Beach, Florida, and Creeks, Florida.
Team members include Hayylee Watson, Avarie Jackson, Kendall Barrow, Kassadi Borders, Kolbi Bray, Malarie Foster, Olivia Cook and Katlynn Hobbs.
Pictured: The Tri-County 12-U All Stars Thursday at the 2013 Babe Ruth World Series in Alachua, Florida. Photo for NorthEscambia.com, click to enlarge.