Two Democratic lawmakers called for Florida Education Commissioner Tony Bennett to step down on Wednesday. State representatives Mark Pafford of West Palm Beach and Janet Cruz of Tampa were responding to reports on Bennett's last job as superintendent of public instruction in Indiana.
The Associated Press reported Monday that Bennett tweaked Indiana's grading system in a way that benefited a school founded by a campaign contributor. Cruz raised the prospect that Bennett could do something similar in Florida, while conceding she has no proof that a recent change to Florida's grading system benefits anyone close to Bennett.
"How can we trust Florida's school grades at the hands of Tony Bennett, with Tony Bennett in charge", Cruz asked. "That's my biggest concern is what's going on now."
The AP reported that Bennett and his Indiana staff "frantically overhauled" the Hoosier State's grading system last year when it looked like one of his political contributors' schools might get a "C."
Bennett defended himself in a conference call Tuesday, saying it was "absurd" to believe he inflated grades to help Christel DeHann because of her contributions to his campaign. Instead, Bennett said, the change was made to help 13 schools that hadn't added the 11th or 12th grades and had no graduation rates to report.