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The association for administrators, district superintendents, principals, supervisors and those who support the public schools of Florida. |
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POLITICAL ACTIONLast session a bill was passed providing for the election of an Orange County district-wide school board chairman by countywide vote.The referendum has now been placed on the November 4, 2008, ballot in Orlando. Currently, the Orange County Public School Board is comprised of seven members, each elected from single member districts and each year they elect a chairman from among their seven members. This new referendum would add an eighth "super" school board member, a powerful chair, with two votes in the event of a tie. While school leaders in Orange County now face the potential problems created by the increased "politicalization" of their school system if this referendum passes, we should all be concerned about the potential for this bad idea to spread throughout our state. Just as NAESP came to our aid because they understood that if amendments 5, 7, and 9 passed in Florida, they were more likely to spread to other states; FASA believes we should help our colleagues in Orlando stop this bad idea now. Click on the graphics below for more information:   ___________________________________________________________________________________________________________________ Click here to download "Florida: A Fiscal Overview" -- Dr. Amy Baker, Office of Economic & Demographic Research __________________________________________________________________________________________________________________ Advocacy was our September FASA board meeting’s theme and Dr. Schooley brought us a powerful message from the national association about the importance of advocacy from the local, state, and national levels. He spoke eloquently about the need for a closer collaboration between all three levels and provided resources and materials. Dr. Schooley’s PowerPoint is available here. ____________________________________________________________________________________________________________________ Broward County's Amendments 5-7-9 Tool KitProposed Florida Constitutional AmendmentsAmendments 5-7-9 Talking Points Amendments 5, 7 and 9 Do's and Don'ts Recommended District Actions Voters Info Click here to download Supt. Joe Joyner's "Shining the Light On the Education Budget" Powerpoint. Click here to download the "Talking Points". Click here to download the "Protect Our Public Schools" informational flyer and contribution form. Click below to view our archived Action Alerts Political Action Guidelines It is important that the FASA lead an "information-only" effort. We can not tell anyone how to vote, but we do have a responsibility to inform all voters about the consequences of Constitutional Amendments on the ballot in the November election. Complaints filed with the Secretary of State's office of election violations mainly concern improper use of school resources for advocacy campaigns. Another problem is when enthusiastic staff members directly or indirectly tell students or parents how to vote. This is a direct violation of election laws. Guidelines 1. It is our responsibility to inform the public about the constitutional amendments and to encourage voter registration and participation 2. In correspondence we must remember that: public funds (including your time on the job) may not be used to promote - they may be used to provide information . Advocacy letters and bulletins can't be prepared during an employees work day - information can be prepared during the work day . Advocacy letters can't be printed on school stationary - information can . During the working day, individuals can't be encouraged to vote yes, but they can be encouraged to vote . Information must be factual in nature . Staff members must clear with the principal any messages they send to parents or the community to assure it informs rather than promotes . All efforts must be made to avoid any appearance that you are using influence on students to obtain a no vote 3. In phone calls remember that: . Advocacy can only be conducted outside an employee's contracted work day . Informational calls and those encouraging people to exercise their right to vote are not advocacy calls If you have questions regarding these guidelines, please contact FASA or the Public Relations/Communications Officer. Amendment 5 debates:Many of you have asked about the details for the debates that are being hosted by Senator Haridopolos, who is leading the opposition to Amendment 5 in the legislature. You can help by attending the debates in your area. Here is a link to his website that includes all of the debate dates, times and locations:http://www.protectfloridasfuture.com/index.php/go/debates.
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