Florida ed chief changed GOP donor?s school grade in previous job

INDIANAPOLIS -- Former Indiana and current Florida schools chief Tony Bennett built his national star by promising to hold ?failing? schools accountable. But when it appeared an Indianapolis charter school run by a prominent Republican donor might receive a poor grade, Bennett?s education team frantically overhauled his signature ?A-F? school grading system to improve the school?s marks.

Emails obtained by The Associated Press show Bennett and his staff scrambled last fall to ensure influential donor?s Christel DeHaan?s school received an ?A,? despite poor test scores in algebra that initially earned it a ?C.?

?They need to understand that anything less than an A for Christel House compromises all of our accountability work,? Bennett wrote in a Sept. 12 email to then-chief of staff Heather Neal.

The timing could not be worse for Bennett, who recently came under fire for revising the school grading formula in Florida.

Superintendents complained that the new formula would cause school grades to sink, despite gains in student achievement. Bennett ultimately recommended a ?safety-net? provision that prevented any school from dipping more than one letter grade. But some school system and union leaders blasted Bennett anyway, saying the credibility of the entire system had already been undermined.

Florida Democrats weighed in Friday, saying the latest development cast further doubt on Bennett.

?How can we trust Florida?s school grades ? already the product of political manipulation ? with Tony Bennett in charge?? Florida Democratic Chairwoman Allison Tant said.

But state Sen. Bill Montford, a Tallahassee Democrat and CEO of the Florida Association of District School Superintendents, said the situation in Indiana should not be compared to the situation in Florida.

?It does not shake my confidence in the commissioner at all,? Montford said. ?I think I speak for the majority of the superintendents of Florida when I say that.?

The emails, which also show Bennett discussed with staff the legality of changing just DeHaan?s grade, raise unsettling questions about the validity of a grading system that has broad implications. Like Florida, Indiana uses the A-F grades to determine which schools get taken over by the state.They also help determine how much state funding schools receive.

A low grade also can detract from a neighborhood and drive homebuyers elsewhere.

Bennett reviewed the emails Monday morning and denied that DeHaan?s school received special treatment. He said discovering that the charter would receive a low grade raised broader concerns with grades for other ?combined? schools ? those that included multiple grade levels ? across the state.

?There was not a secret about this,? he said. ?This wasn?t just to give Christel House an A. It was to make sure the system was right to make sure the system was face valid.?

However, the emails clearly show Bennett?s staff was intensely focused on Christel House, whose founder has given more than $2.8 million to Republicans since 1998, including $130,000 to Bennett and thousands more to Indiana legislative leaders.

Other schools saw their grades change, but the emails show DeHaan?s charter was the catalyst for any changes.

Source: http://www.miamiherald.com/2013/07/29/3530149/florida-ed-chief-changed-gop-donors.html

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