Florida education measure gets on the ballot

Floridians alarmed at Gov. Jeb Bush's planned takeover of public higher education in the state achieved an important victory this summer when they succeeded in placing an initiative on the November ballot to undo the governor's reorganization.

The initiative is an amendment to the constitution that would create a statewide governing board to oversee the operation of the 11-university system. Gov. Bush's plan, which the Legislature quickly passed in 2000, abolished Florida's Board of Regents and replaced it with governor-appointed boards of trustees for each university. The Board of Regents had overseen the entire system and had served as a shield from the changing directions of political winds.

Critics of the governor's plan were concerned that the universities would be politicized by the new structure because each institution could use whatever political leverage it had at its disposal to lobby for new programs and resources. This would benefit the larger institutions that have produced the greater number of alumni who are in the Legislature or reside in legislative districts.

Faculty were especially concerned that the new governance would undermine academic freedom because boards of trustees who came from business backgrounds might not understand the education missions of universities. Another issue for the faculty, who are represented by the United Faculty of Florida/NEA-AFT, is the effect the decentralization would have on the process of negotiating a statewide contract.

When the reorganization was announced, critics of the plan formed a group called Education Excellence for Florida. EEF includes faculty organizations, a former university chancellor and a former university president, business leaders and other education supporters. Most important, EEF is headed by Sen. Bob Graham, who is a former governor and a passionate believer in the autonomy a separate governing board can provide the system.

This summer, EEF cleared two hurdles for the amendment. The language of the amendment passed muster with the Florida Supreme Court, and the group turned over the 488,722 signatures required to place an initiative on the ballot. The amendment accompanies two other education initiatives on the ballot that are likely to gain public favor: One concerns voluntary universal preschool, and the other is about class-size reductions.

Rosie Webb Joels, immediate past president of the United Faculty of Florida, joined EEF at the ground floor. As the Board of Regents passed out of existence this year and the new boards of trustees were appointed, conflicts of political interest have already arisen, she says. "It is a process that, if not turned around, foretells waste and greed and lack of stewardship."

Come Nov. 5, Election Day, many in Florida will be working to see that Amendment 11 passes and provides a permanent safeguard against politicizing higher education in the state.

New unit brings international flair

The AFT's newest higher education affiliate extends the union's global reach to 50 nations. The 63 "academic directors" in the unit work for the School for International Training (SIT), based in Brattleboro, Vt. The school offers master's programs, but its main service is administering study-abroad programs all over the world for institutions like Middlebury and Dartmouth, among others.

The academic directors are based in the United States and in the countries that host the students. They hire and oversee the instructors in the foreign countries, teach and evaluate the students, and help prepare the curriculum. The terms under which the professionals work vary widely from country to country, says Roy Vestrich, president of the United Professions of Vermont. That is why the educators came to the state federation for help last year.

"There is a tremendous inequality in how people are compensated" at SIT, notes Vestrich, and also great "differentiation in types of job security." Some people work semester to semester; others have one-year renewable contracts. Some are paid on the wage scale of the country in which they are posted--no matter how inadequate the package might be. "They wanted to work with management to get more equitable treatments," Vestrich says.

Another complication the unit faces is the range of assignments its members are given. "Some people are stationed in interesting places, like the Netherlands, Berlin, Chile. Others are in destinations less attractive to students, and the programs can be cancelled with little notice before [they're] set to begin."

Given these challenges, the membership decided the union's approach was the way to broach issues of equity and balance with the SIT management. In August, the academic directors voted to affiliate with UPV/AFT as a unit of associate members.