?There is no way in our state right now that the dadgum unions are going to agree with this kind of stuff.? So said state senator John Thrasher of Florida, referring to the teachers' unions that last year worked double-time against his ambitious tenure-reform bill, which was eventually vetoed by the governor, Charlie Crist. ?So you either bring them to the table and tell them what you're going to do,? the senator continued, ?or you run over them.? Thrasher spoke yesterday at an education conference in Washington, D.C., organized by Jeb Bush. According to the St. Petersburg Times, ?Florida's fingerprints were all over the Foundation for Excellence in Education gathering, which has become a rallying point for conservative education reformers.? Bush, for instance, commended in his opening statement the states that have adopted laws similar to those that he, when he was governor, helped enact in Florida. And?while some participants talked about collaboration with the unions, the dominant tone was bellicose.?Thrasher, for one,?noted that a revivified tenure bill is forthcoming: ?Rest assured, our bill will be as strong this year as it was last year.?
?Liam Julian, Bernard Lee Schwartz Policy Fellow