Two N.E. Florida Straw Polls, Mixed Results
Two Straw polls were conducted one in St Johns County by the St. Johns Supervisor of Elections and the other by the First Coast Tea party. Both probably bias with the establishment being better represented by the “dinner” poll in St John’s County and the less establishment candidates being represented by the Tea Party voters.
For common core voters the polls show some good things and some not so good. The good thing is that Derek Hankerson trounced John Thrasher in the First Coast Tea Party (FCTP) With Derek Hankerson at 86% and John Thrasher at 14%. The St John’s Supervisor of Elections straw poll had Thrasher ahead at 94% and Derek Hankerson at 50%. The Democrat Kathleen Trued at 21 % and Greg Feldman at 3%., Although Thrasher won he was probably not pleased that Derek’s numbers were a high as they were in his “home turf”. What this shows is that Derek’s message is working and that Thrasher has dissatisfied many voters, but a lot of work needs to be done.
For the school board candidates the incumbents are definitely at an advantage in both name recognition and money. These advantages can be overcome but time is against it. The FCTP did not poll for School Board but the St Johns poll showed
SCHOOL BOARD – DISTRICT 1
Kelly Lorbeer 33 (Opposed to common core)
Bev Slough 113
SCHOOL BOARD – DISTRICT 3
Karen Harvey 24 (Opposed to common core)
Ralph Klein 45
Bill Mignon 75
Common core has not been talked about in the school board election and it should. It is a simple contrast of viewpoints. The question to ask voters is:
Do you want some say in what goes on in your schools or don’t you? Right now you don’t, re-elect the same people and you will have to wait two more years. How old will your kids be then?
In my opinion, there are so many points to make against common core that it is easy to lose track on what points to make.
I would and will ask Beverly Slouth and Bill Mignon one question. “If I disapprove of what the district is teaching my child, who do I go to?
The second point is that when they say that Florida has dropped the common core standards, ask them to prove it. If they retort by saying that common core is better, then other than admitting that their first statement was false, ask them to show us the proof that they are better. Some study, some evaluation, anything? They cannot, because it doesn’t exist. You should make them do what should have been done before they committed to these changes. Prove it!
We are not obligated to prove are way back to December 2009, through the naked assertions made about common core, when common core was signed in by a lame duck Charlie Crist. The burden of proof is on them, as the burden of proof is always on someone asking to change something that is working well. This is especially true when young children are involved because children cannot object, they cannot run away, and most will never say anything. They will suffer in silence. Beverly Slouth and Bill Mignon needed to prove that change was necessary and that it will do no harm, they did neither!
To help get this point across my friend, Willis Pebble, posted this comment on the Historic City news article about the straw poll.
If your issue is common core then the choice in several races is clear,
GOVERNOR
Governor Rick Scott is getting bad advice from Jeb Bush (a paid common core supporter) but would sign a repeal bill if one is presented to him. He should stop with the name change narrative, it doesn’t suit him.
Charlie Crist actually signed the Memorandum of Understanding (MOU) for the Race to the Top application that forced common core on Florida, sight unseen. If elected Governor his signature on the MOU may obligate Florida to all the unfunded mandates embedded in the RTTT application. He was vocal about supporting common core this year, although he may flip as the truth about common core is exposed and the teachers force their union to oppose it.
STATE SENATOR DISTRICT 6
Derek Hankerson is opposed to common core on principle and understands the real threat of giving control of our schools, and our children to federally funded private, unaccountable crony corporations.
John Thrasher supported common core in a letter sent out last year to all the Republican Executive Committees and to news papers. His voting record shows he supports common core.
Kathleen Trued & Greg Feldman Not enough information,
STATE REP HOUSE DISTRICT 17
Rep. Doc Renuart seems to believe that changing the name from common core to the Next Generation Florida Sunshine State Standards actually got Florida out of common core. He makes these claims despite the fact that he sits on the committee that approved the changes to the common core standards, so he should know how trivial those changes actually were.
Rebecca Sharp, Not enough information about their position on common core
SCHOOL BOARD – DISTRICT 1
Kelly Lorbeer is definitely opposed to common core, her web site has a page titled “No Child is Common” which explains her opinion on high stakes testing (an integral part of common core)
Bev Slough was the deciding vote on applying for a district level Race to the Top application. By doing so she committed, one of the top ranked School Districts in the State, to the dumbed down common core standards. In addition, this vote virtually turned the School Board into an enforcement arm of the Federal Department of Education
SCHOOL BOARD – DISTRICT 3
Karen Harvey is another person who opposes common core for all the reasons mentioned above. She probably entered this race for the purpose of returning control of our schools to the local school board, the parents and the teachers.
Ralph Klein, Not enough (or any Information)
Bill Mignon voted for the District level Race to the Top grant application committing St John’s County to unfunded mandates which persist long after the RTTT grant money is gone. As the Board member whose signature is on the RTTT Memorandum of Understanding (MOU), his continued presents on the Board may cause legal issues if the District does not comply to whatever policy comes down from the Federal Department of Education.
For more information on from on why we shouild oppose common core visit Truth In American Education.com or Florida Stop Common Core Coalition.org
The supporters of common core have several big dollar websites to tout it, many of them funded but you, as a taxpayer. Here are two links to the partners of the two private special interest organizations that own the common core standards The National Governors Association and the Council of Chief State School Officers.
If some of the corporations listed seem familuar, it is because most ot them are getting lucritive contacts from State and Federal Departments of Education for everything from assessments to textbooks.
