This administration has taken the FCAT as a sole determinant. And now it will determine whether a teacher is doing a good job and we think there is so much more to it. There are so many things a teacher does in the classroom such as, classroom management, understanding his or her students and finding ways to reach the students. This provides a narrow approach to determine an outstanding teacher.

We have some real problems with it, how it came about and how it reports to measure outstanding teachers. The state decided to make the rule effective immediately and didn't bother to ask [teachers] for input.

The state Supreme Court has ruled that vouchers don't fly. This federal rule is just a way around state law, and we would definitely be opposed to it.

Until we get the base pay for all teachers up, we are going to have these recruiting and retention problems. It's like putting a fancy porch on your house when your floor is sagging.

As it is, the children in Florida are tested within an inch of their lives, and I don't think they need any more tests.

We thought that it was interesting that the governor enumerated dozens of programs that he was here marketing money for and nowhere in there was there anything for salaries.

I think a lot of what he is proposing is intended to put a happy face on the situation without addressing the real problem.

It is a real problem and a real drain on teachers, but I've always found that every time I get an upgrade of technology, my workload doesn't get easier. It's kind of a Band-aid, a little gimmick that he's using to sell teachers on this.

With all teachers suffering because of low pay in a state with high growth in the cost of living, particularly in housing, (Winn's plan) is like putting a big screen TV in your living room and not fixing the hole in your roof.