The fast pace with which newly minted Florida Governor Ron DeSantis is cleaning up the state appears to have stopped some establishment politicians dead in their tracks. Last week as DeSantis signed an executive order to eliminate Common Core Curriculum in Florida’s public schools, Pasco County Schools Superintendent Kurt Browning, a former Democrat now serving as a Republican, took to local news outlets to complain that DeSantis is getting things done way too quickly.
‘It caught a lot of superintendents, including myself, off guard’ said Browning of the order. ‘All of a sudden, BOOM, the executive order is in the process of being issued. Something like that is a huge shift.’ Browning’s complaints didn’t stop there as he told FOX 13 that if he were a teacher, he’d be ‘troubled’ by the scrapping of Common Core, a set of standards that has caused an uproar amongst parents and teachers nationwide. ‘How do teachers teach’ without Common Core? Browning wondered. Well Mr. Browing, if I had to guess, I’d say they teach just as they taught for centuries before the massive federal takeover of classroom curriculum began.
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Although Common Core was introduced in Florida nine years ago, the practice has yet to be fully implemented in the state and was watered down by former Governor Rick Scott, who reintroduced the curriculum as ‘Florida Standards’ during his time in office. Contrary to what Browning insinuated during his interview with FOX 13, just as Common Core was gradually implemented statewide, it will be gradually phased out over what looks to be a roughly two-year period, as new standards set by the DeSantis Administration are put into place.
But for Browing that isn’t good enough, so in a school district performing as poorly as Pasco County, it is fairly obvious that Browning is looking for someone – anyone – to point the finger of blame towards. Since being elected Superintendent of Pasco County Schools in 2012, Browning has presided over a period of massive decline in school performance. Over his first term in office, which ran from January 2013 to January 2017, Pasco County Schools have suffered from dismal performance levels as test scores have dipped and positions have been cut, and the state has taken notice. Of the 79 schools within Browning’s district, only 3 raised their grades under the state’s letter grading metric used to rate public schools, while 40 schools saw their grades drop by one letter and 11 schools by two letters.
When Browning was elected Superintendent in 2012, 27 of the district’s schools carried grades of ‘C’ or ‘D’. By 2016 that number had increased to 50, comprising well over half of the public schools in Pasco County. Additionally, the number of elementary schools listed on the state’s ‘low 300’ list quadrupled as vital employees such as literacy specialists saw their jobs eliminated. In the wake of statewide embarrassment caused by the sudden dip in performance, Browning conceded to teachers and parents that removing literary specialists and others from the county’s schools had taken a toll on attainment levels and rescinded many of the cuts.
Pasco County School Board member Steve Luikart, a retired assistant principal, has been a strong critic of Browning, lamenting his removal of professionals in the field of education from the district, while creating even more bureaucracy in district offices. Luikart has also criticized Browning’s penchant for standardized teaching practices, saying that telling teachers what to teach and when to teach it takes creativity out of the classroom, a position also held by many teachers, students, and parents. As Browning’s first term as superintendent came to a close, Luikart wasn’t impressed, saying Browning had failed to meet the goals he set upon assuming office. ‘I don’t see anything that’s earth-shattering’ Luikart said of Browning’s time and accomplishments in office.
Browning has also faced pushback from United School Employees of Pasco, a local teachers union, whose president has expressed the fear of retribution local teachers face for speaking out against changes brought to the district. ‘There is less autonomy in the classroom than there was four years ago’ said the union’s president Kenny Blankenship in 2016. Aside from pay raises, ‘I don’t know that there’s a whole lot more that is positive’ he said of Browning’s time in office. Blankenship, whose union initially supported Browning in 2012 has also conceded that many in the district regret that decision.
After running unopposed in 2016, Browning began his second term in office much like he ended his first, under public scrutiny for the failings of Pasco schools under his watch. According to figures released shortly after his re-election, only 4 of Pasco County’s 13 high schools saw an increase in graduation rates during Browning’s first term. Of the remaining high schools, all saw a decrease in graduation rates, ranging from a drop of 1.9% at Hudson High School to a whopping 5.5% at Pasco High School. To make matters worse, although they boast the highest graduation rates in the county, Wiregrass Ranch and Land O’Lakes High Schools both saw graduation rates dip below 90%. Although some schools experienced a rebound the following year, Pasco County Schools have continued to perform below state average levels, a problem that many parents of students feel Browning has continued to fail to properly address. Obviously, Common Core isn’t working, as evidenced by school performance and complaints by teachers, parents, and students alike, not only in Florida but nationwide. It’s time for career politicians like Kurt Browning to get out of the way while the American people take their education system back from the federal government.
