TALLAHASSEE | For the third time during Gov. Rick Scott's administration, Florida is without a top education official.
Education Commissioner Tony Bennett resigned Thursday amid a grade inflation scandal stemming from his time as Indiana?s education chief.
The resignation, effective immediately, comes two days after the Associated Press reported he helped boost the grade of a school run by a GOP donor when he was Indiana?s Superintendent of Public Instruction.
Bennett, became education commissioner in January, said he did not want to be a distraction to Gov. Rick Scott or Gary Chartrand, a St. Augustine resident who is chairman of the Florida Board of Education. Bennett said both encouraged him to stay on the job.
Bennett said he would like Pam Stewart, the department?s chancellor of public schools, to take over as interim commissioner until the state Board of Education selects a permanent replacement. Stewart, the former deputy superintendent with the St. Johns County School District, served as interim commissioner when former Education Commissioner Gerard Robinson resigned in July 2012.
Emails obtained by the Associated Press show that changes made to Indiana?s grading system boosted the grade of a charter school operated by Christel DeHaan, who had given Bennett $130,000 in campaign contributions, from a ?C? to an ?A.?
The school, Christel House, had been used as a poster child for Indiana?s school reforms, which were modeled after those pushed by former Florida Gov. Jeb Bush.
?They need to understand that anything less than an A for Christel House compromises all of our accountability work,? Bennett wrote in an email to his chief-of-staff.
During a news conference, Bennett called the stories ?malicious? and ?unfounded,? and defended the decisions he made while in Indiana. Though the emails show that Bennett and his staff spent a lot of time discussing Christel House, he emphasized the change impacted more than one school.
?What we did in Indiana was very simple,? he said during a Thursday news conference. ?We found a statistical anomaly that did not allow 13 schools ? to have their grade truly reflect their performance because they were unfairly penalized for kids they did not have in their school.?
Bennett?s resignation comes as Florida?s own school grades are being debated.
Last month, the state Board of Education voted 4-3 to add a ?safety net? that would not allow a school?s grade to drop more than one letter grade this year. The Bennett-crafted proposal was suggested after superintendents said this year?s grades would not reflect student performance as Florida implements tougher standards.
In a statement, Chartrand thanked Bennett for his service. He is calling a board meeting Friday to recommend Stewart get the interim post.
Bennett said he spoke with Bush prior to making his decision. The two remain close friends, and Bennett serves on Bush?s ?Chief?s for Change,? an education reform group.
?His opinion was that I stay,? Bennett said.
In a statement, Bush praised Bennett?s time in Indiana. ?The data is clear; thanks to Tony?s leadership children are better prepared for success,? read the statement, which was issued through Foundation for Florida?s Future, a Bush-led education reform group.
Bennett?s departure is another blow to the Department of Education, which has had three commissioners under Scott?s administration.
Former commissioner Eric Smith, who served for three years, resigned in March 2011 amid rumors that Scott was elbowing him out. ?Robinson resigned 16 months later over the handling of state testing and school-accountability systems.
Matt Dixon: (352) 233-0777
Breakout
During Tony Bennett's brief seven months as education commissioner, he has faced a handful of controversial issues.
Common core: Bennett has been working to implement a new testing system tied to national standards known as common core. The system has been hammered by conservatives, who view it as federal overreach. Legislative leaders have not asked the state to pull out of common core, but penned a letter to Bennett asking him to drop out of a consortium of state's developing a uniform test. They want Florida to develop its own test.
School grades: To avoid hundreds of schools getting "F" grades, Bennett pushed to extend a plan that would not let a school's grade drop more than one letter grade. The extension was requested by superintendents concerned school grades would be misleading as Florida implements tougher standards. Last month, the state Board of Education passed the plan on a 4-3 vote.
Reorganization: Bennett proposed to reorganize the Department of Education. Among the proposed changes was the creation of an "Innovation and Technology" division. The plan, which was in its infancy, did not include sweeping changes because state law limits how Bennett could change the department's organizational chart. The state Board of Education had urged Bennett to seek changes in law if needed.
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