December 11, 2012 The Honorable Rick Scott Office of Governor, State of Florida The Capitol 400 S.

Monroe St. Tallahassee, FL 32399-0001 RE: Commissioner of Education & Board of Education Dear Governor Scott: We represent a broad alliance of parents, taxpayers and voters who are disappointed that the three final candidates for Florida Commissioner of Education appear to be ardent supporters of reforms you no longer favor. You have acknowledged that deep funding cuts to Public Education cannot continue. You are concerned about the extreme role of standardized testing and you have criticized the State Board of Education for setting different achievement goals based on race. We are confident that you have had far too many conversations with the parents and teachers of Florida to ignore the fact that Tony Bennett, Charles Hokansan and Randy Dunn apparently endorse an extreme reform agenda that does not represent our vision of public education. We will not be silent as our state Board of Education, who serves at your pleasure, considers candidates who are a comfortable fit for them, but a poor choice for the 2.74 million public school children who will bear the brunt of this decision. We strongly urge you to convince the Board of Education to reject these last-minute political applicants, who are not the product of a thoughtful search independent of ideology. Finally, Governor Scott, you decide who sits on the Board of Education. The terms of Roberto Martinez and John Padget expire on December 31, 2012. You alone are empowered to change the direction of this board. We implore you to choose two new board members from the qualified people you met on your tour. Florida is rich with authentically engaged and uniformly respected citizens ready to focus only on whats best for our children. This is your chance to back your sincere concerns about education reform with action. Its your choice. As parents, taxpayers and voters, we believe you will choose us. Respectfully, Eileen Segal, President, FL PTA Mindy Gould, Legislative Chair, FL PTA Rita Solnet, Parents Across America FL Nancy Noonan, Marions United Mark McGriff, Citizens for Strong Schools Kathleen Oropeza, Fund Education Now Melissa Erickson, Alliance for Public Schools Colleen Wood, 50th No More Don Kearns, Support Dade Schools

Page two/Governor Scott December 11, 2012 RE: Commissioner/Board of Education

Contact Information
Citizens for Strong Schools Mark McGriff, 352.372.8406 Florida PTA Eileen Segal, President, 305.494.4526 Mindy Gould, Legislative Chair, 305.439.8979 FundEducationNow.org Kathleen Oropeza, Florida, 407.234.8948 Christine Sket , Manatee, 941.356.0197 Laene Keith, Brevard, 321.271.7990 Amy Nowell, Volusia, 386.679.9041

Hillsborough Alliance for Public Schools Melissa Erickson, 813.785.3142

50th No More Colleen Wood, 904.591.3207 Marions United for Public Education Ray Seaman, 352.454.4851

Nancy Noonan, 352.245.2152 Testing Is Not Teaching/Parents Across America FL Rita Solnet, 561.289.7333