Despite the excuses for his actions, despite the efforts by his friends to defend him, despite the fact that the Fordham Institute named him “the reformiest reformer” in 2011 for his full-throated support of testing and privatization, Tony Bennett resigned today as Florida superintendent of education.
He resigned because of the email trail showing he manipulated Indiana’s opaque A-F grading system to raise the grade of a charter run by a major GOP donor.
No doubt, he will have a soft landing in the corporate or foundation world, where the “reformers” rule. Or maybe a high-level job at the U.S. Department of Education.
Diane Ravitch's blog 
I’m happy that he made the right choice — this time. I’m also happy that this resignation deals a blow to Patricia Levesque and Jeb! Bush and their Chiefs for Change. I’m sad that we have to go through another change with yet another head of the FLDOE; this will be the 4th or 5th in 3 years? And I know that Rick Scott is going to go straight to the Broad Academy or Chiefs for Change for Bennett’s replacement. So one step forward, 2 steps back for Florida schools.
The Broadie bunch keeps spreading like a fungus.
They are chiefs for destruction.
Hey now fungus serve valuable purposes, breaking down leaf litter, being foodstuffs and most importantly being a 100% natural source of the widely recognized best psychotropic compound in the world.
Having been retained by the Fungus amongus (for an undisclosed fee) I must demand a written retraction in triplicate of your prejudiced statement relating my clients to the Broadie Bunch! The Fungus amongus hope that you resolve this concern promptly (I would say “all due haste” but we saw how quickly that went).
I’m a fan of shitakes. . . .
One more nail in the reformy coffin! Who’s next?
Please let Arne and Michelle go down as well!
And Obama, Broad, Gates, and the Waltons . . . .
Congratulations to Florida!
However, I fear he’ll just make another appearance elsewhere. It’s getting about time for Barbara Byrd Bennett to move on by now (and still get her annual salary just like JC Brizard did – after all, a contract is a contract, right?).
I wonder if Bush will move Bennett into the position of Chief Emeritus at Chiefs for Change, just like Gerard Robinson.
They recycle their trash.
Ouch!
Yes, Linda, they do, but their putrid scent follows them wherever they go.
This resignation is absolutely a positive sign, but the disease is has not totally been eradicated.
Mr. Bennett warrants a full blown state investigation (and NOT by a paltry auditing company) by the authorities with charges brought upon him, a fact finding process, a possible suit, and jail time and fines to ensue.
NO ONE should be done with him yet. . . . .
Start putting pressure on your pols to get this done.
If Beverly Hall and her entourage can be arraigned, so too can Phony Bennett.
YES we can!
YES we will.
So Tony wants due process for his scandal, yet he wanted to break the teacher’s union and elimate due process for teachers in order to expedite the firing process so that his business model could be implemented in schools… Hmmmmm. What a low down piece of dog poo!
The tide is beginning to turn. We all realize that this struggle will be long and arduous. As did the Loyalists in the Spanish Civil War, we also say “No Paseron”!
¡No pasarán!
But as F. Franco (who by the way todavía está muerto) stated after gaining control of Spain “Hemos pasado”. So that much like the anti-fascist forces in Spain had to undergo the long haul rear guard struggle against Franco and his dictatorial ways, our antireformista fight must continue unabatedly for the long haul.
Who would hire him? Anyone that hired him would look corrupt.
Anthony Weiner is now hiring him as his campaign manager . . . .
🙂
Looking corrupt is something that Rahm seems not to mind.
Who cares about looks when a friend is in need, indeed!
No other Politician would pick him up. He would have to go work for Rhee, TFA, Chiefs for change or hidden in Walmart somewhere. Maybe a “greeter”?
NOT!
🙂
I want to know where he has his “soft landing”, if it happens. I’m sure I’m not alone.
I hope that this “event” sets a precedent for any other school district around the country who “hires CEO’s to run school districts!
He needs to be prosecuted to ensure that this landing won’t be as soft as he expects. Resignation does not stop charges against teachers. There’s no soft landing for them. The moneyed interest will protect him and you’re right, he’ll turn up somewhere possibly doing the same job, in the same way he did in Indiana and Florida. There should be a long shelf life for corrupt superintendents and it should be in prison.
Good luck, Florida!
ABOLISH THE DEPT. OF EDUCATION!
Start building a charter prison for these evil, conniving edufrauds.
Nice touch, Linda!!
If justice is actually served, he will be too busy with defense lawyers and court appearances and testimony to have time to be employed in any capacity as an educator. There must be some openings for part time sales in Florida….maybe some swamp land to dispose of? We voted him out of Indiana and this voter hopes he will not come back. Of course if he is held legally accountable our courts will have to deal. Sadly, more taxpayer money wasted on his actions and he’s really just the puppet of others. But prosecuting him could lead to revelations about even greater corruption of others. So, maybe Indiana will fall on the sword and take one for the nation.
Ah, but no matter where he lands, he remains tarnished because he resigned after the grade-changing scandal.
He quite literally is the chief of Chiefs For Changing Grades.
Wherever he lands, he can no longer serve as the front for the accountability movement.
Rhee has never been fully tarnished in this way – indeed, the media’s refusal to publish Merrow’s work on Rhee keeps her in that state.
But Bennett, well, let’s just say the Associated Press article speaks for itself and that jive Bennett tried to sling at Rick Hess’s blog didn’t save him.
You can bet that the reason Bennett stepped down is because his friends in reform know he is tarnished and could no longer stand without damaging their brand more than he already has.
And of course Rick Scott is worried about Charlie Crist running for governor again, so he wanted to cut his ties to Bennett the man if not Bennett’s reforms.
It would be great to see Rhee get the same kind of mainstream media exposure over her cheating scandal, but alas, the fix seems to be in there.
Makes little Ricky look pretty foolish too.
I think this had to be Jeb’s decision.
Phone call:
“Hey, Tony!! How many times do I tell you guys not to put anything in writing!!! Now go pack your bags before editorials ask for your firing, and I won’t have one of my chiefs fired!!! By the way, I got another gig for you, but you will be working behind close doors this time so people won’t know you’re involved. Michelle will call you later with the details. Now go resign gracefully before we lose more big donors!!”
I feel like this is a naive question, but — how DID the AP get hold of his e-mails in the first place? It may be that Jeb has never warned his other minions about not putting anything in writing.
FOIL??? That’s why Cuomo works in secrecy yet says he has an open administration.
I believe that the AP obtained the e-mails by filing a Freedom of Information Act request.
So… ANYONE could do that, right? Regarding ANY public official’s e-mails?
I ask because Bennet has a fellow “Chief for Change” in charge of my own state.
I know nothing of how the FOIA can be used to get access to anything, but I’d be happy to wade through pages and pages of e-mails in hopes of finding something interesting. Does anyone here know anything about how this works?
Here is some information from NPE and Jonathan Pelto, but I think they will be careful now and use gmail accounts and other nefarious tactics.
How to File a Freedom of Information Request
http://www.networkforpubliceducation.org/2013/05/how-to-file-a-freedom-of-information-request/
I’m sure the DOE released the emails. They are obligated to honor such requests from the media under the Freedom of Information Act. Anyone can request this information, not just the media. All emails, letters, memos, phone message pads (especially if they keep carbons in one of those books), appointment books (like the ones secretaries keep), cell phone bills (if its paid for by the office), credit card bills ( if it is under the department’s name), expense reports, meeting minutes & notes- all of it can be requested from a Government Office. They are suppose to turn over copies by law.
So does that mean that the current DOE officials (working for Glenda Ritz) have to turn over the e-mails left by Bennett’s gang? Oh, that’s rich!
Funny letter Schoolgal;probably true!
Pennsylvania has its own score manipulation of charter school scores for which the perpetrator was not even reprimanded. His manipulation was far worse because it did not involve one charter, but all charters in the state.
Last year, then PA. Secretary of Education Ron Tomalis attempted to rate charters differently for AYP than public schools. Allentown’s Morning Call explained it this way:
***
“The number of charter schools hitting testing benchmarks plummeted after the federal government said the state Education Department graded them too leniently.
At first, nearly half of the state’s 156 charter schools whose students took the 2012 PSSA math and reading tests made so-called Adequate Yearly Progress under a new grading system Education Secretary Ron Tomalis implemented last summer.
The new system, which Tomalis initiated without federal approval and at the behest of a charter school lobbying group, made it easier for charter schools to reach federal standards than traditional public schools. It classified charters, no matter their size, as school districts, which are measured on a broader scale than individual schools.
The U.S. Department of Education, however, shot down that change in November. It ordered Pennsylvania to recalculate the charters’ AYP status on the school level and publicize the results by January. So under the federal order, charters must have the school-level and district-level grades.
Under Tomalis’ system, 77 charter schools — or 49 percent — made AYP when they were measured as school districts. But when tabulated as individual schools, only 43 — or 28 percent — made AYP, according to a Morning Call analysis of state data.
By comparison, 49 percent of the state’s public schools made AYP and about 61 percent of the state’s 499 school districts that administered the PSSAs did, too.
http://tinyurl.com/nyqz6o6
***
Tomalis resigned as Pa. Secretary of Education on May 31st. He is now a special advisor to Governor Corbett on higher education issues – at the same salary $139,931 but he “works remotely and comes to the Capitol as needed.”
http://tinyurl.com/my2s9qg
You make a great point: PA has been gaming the system for years, thanks to the insane amount of money Vahan Gureghian and the virtual charter industry have thrown around Harrisburg. At least FL and IN are still capable of outrage; PA is so corrupt everyone just assumes the game is rigged and nothing can be done.
Cheater!!
Sadly, Broad will undoubtedly trot out another yet even reformier clone and the non-singing Tony Bennett will slip under the waves without a ripple to note his passing.
We need the NEA attorneys to start prosecuting these guys. Why aren’t more people who cheat on scoring, steal money from charters, and break union contracts going to jail?
NEA attorneys can’t send anyone to jail.
Watching Tony Bennett’s press conference was an experience. His excuses and spin after being caught with his hand in the cookie jar reveal a much more widespread corruption than just here and Indiana. His charge that educators are defying the “reforms” in order to keep the status quo are ludicrous. That’s code coming from the reform funders like Gates, Broad, Bloomberg, Walton, Rhee and others who have a vested interest in destroying the current public education model.
Let’s lay odds that the Indiana Inspector General doesn’t find him guilty of anything. Let’s lay odds that the Indiana scores he’s so proud of are manipulated and let’s lay odds that He winds up as an education policy fellow at one of the right wing think tanks or at ALEC, The Gates Foundation, The Broad Foundation or The Walton Foundation.
Good riddance, Mr. Bennett. Don’t slam the door on your way out.
Confidentially, I hear there are more email exchanges between him and Mitch Daniels that will come out. Some say they are pretty crude. Stay tuned and thanks for all you do to shine the light bright!!!
Sent from my iPad
How Cuomo gets away with it, I have no idea.
IVBE sent the emails to the immediate Florida world. They’re also on our website http://www.ivbe.org Glad he finally go the memo. Now we have to worry who his successor will be.
Starting with a conclusion and manipulating data to support it is unethical. Apparently he didn’t even do that; he just changed the grade. This should follow this man for his entire career, particularly if he makes any other attempts to be in education. If a researcher altered data to support a “conclusion” or plagiarized (for example) it would be the end, as it should be for Bennett.
Check out what the Chiefs for Change are saying about Bennett’s resignation:
http://chiefsforchange.org/chiefs-for-change-statement-on-florida-education-commissioner-tony-bennetts-resignation/
“Dr. Bennett is a living example of what can be achieved when the interests of students are placed at the center of education. His leadership and dedication to our future generations are unquestionable. He has led with the utmost integrity and his departure is a tremendous loss to Florida’s students.”
His departure is a loss to Florida’s profiteers.
Did Weiner write that????
Chris Hayes, MSNBC…has Tony Bennett lined up during this hour, 8-9pm EST
Here’s the Chris Hayes, all in segment on Bennett. Very good, covered a lot.
http://video.msnbc.msn.com/all-in-/52648266
Phony Tony Bennett’s resignation is no “Ding-dong-the-witch-is-dead” moment by any means.
His admission to lying via e-mail about his directives, as exposed on the Chris Hayes show, warrants a legal investigation . . . .
If we don’t hound officials to do so, Bennett’s release will be little more than a rabid untethered dog chased out of one town, all to settle, mouth foaming, into another.
He is a very, VERY bad man . . . . VERY, VERY bad man, as Jerry Seinfeld’s restauranteur friend stated in the last episode of “Seinfeld” . . .
Meanwhile his wife got a job working for a Florida charter operation company. This is the same company Tony hired to run the schools in Indiana. No conflict of interest there!!!
So yes, Linda is correct, they do recycle their trash.
OUCH!
Sorry, but “recycle their trash” hit a nerve with me, and I can’t stop laughing . . . . in a depressing sort of way.
It’s a great phrase. Would you give me permission to use it from time to time?
I’ve heard of Euro-trash, white trash, and trailer park trash. I sincerely don’t like any of those expressions, as they are pejorative and filled with prejudice.
But in Bennett’s case, “edu-trash” has just been born, I think . . . .
Almost as much as French, the English language can be a hoot to fool around with, within reason.
You replied to me, but it’s Linda who came up with that great line. And I hope she gives us all permission to use it!!
Always…take and share everything.
We could make a visual like the water cycle, but make it the trash cycle and photoshop their greedy, lying, sociopathic mugs: Rhee, Bennett, White, Huffman, Kopp, etc… Who did I forget?
Thanks…Unfortunately too many belong in that circus routine.
Linda, you’re on fire! You go, girl!
I hope that he is but the first of the carpetbaggers to go as evidence comes out about the true nature of charters. Now if public schools can only help solve the problem of failing schools in America.
“Now if public schools can only help solve the problem of failing schools in America.”
Bill, not sure if you are being facetious with that one or not. Do I need to take my faceses detector in for repair.