Former Gov. Jeb Bush has officially joined the ranks with other long forgotten politicians in the never-ending quest to stay relevant.
This week, good ol' Jeb, not to be outshined by his brother's current cavorting with Saudi Arabian royalty, announced the formation of a new, non-profit organization to advance his education policy goals - as if his eight years in office weren't enough.
The Foundation for Excellence in Education will focus on issues like teacher merit pay, school accountability and vouchers that would allow Florida's children to attend private schools with public funds.
This isn't the first time the former governor has come up with an innocuously named initiative to save the sorry state of Florida's schools.
When he instituted the "One Florida" plan as governor, race-based admissions - more commonly referred to as affirmative action - at state universities was cut, resulting in a drop in black enrollment at UF.
And who could forget the A+ Plan?
It ordered standardized testing in Florida's public schools and established the destructive system of funding schools based on FCAT scores through a statewide grading system.
So, now Bush wants us to believe that he is continuing to champion the cause of improving Florida's educational system for all of its students.
We're still not buying it - even if it's coming from a non-profit, charitable organization this time around.
One troubling aspect of Bush's new foundation is the fact that it will present awards of at least $2,500 for up to 100 of Florida's top teachers.
So what makes a "top Florida teacher" according to Bush? Selection for the prizes will be based on how much the applicant's students have improved on standardized tests.
We would certainly support efforts to make sure Florida's teachers, who are paid well below the national average, get what they deserve.
But we fear these merit payments would be rewarding teachers for the wrong reasons.
The main goal of education is not to win some sort of contest to see who can get the most students thinking the same way.
Anyone can teach a fourth-grader how to mechanically bubble in the right answers, but it takes a talented teacher to make sure students leave the classroom having actually learned something.
Another not-so-excellent idea from the Foundation for Excellence in Education is its support of school vouchers for Floridians who want to send their children to private schools.
Based on the 2008 report released last week by Education Week, a national education newspaper, Florida's public education system earned failing grades in college readiness and spending.
It's certainly not a coincidence that, while the state is not spending enough money per student, Florida's children are also not prepared for college when compared to their counterparts in other states.
While in office, Bush reassured worried parents that vouchers would allow children in "chronically failing schools" the chance to attend other schools.
After so many years as our governor, Bush should have realized that setting aside a paltry sum for public education was the reason so many schools were frequent failures to begin with.
His well-known, stubborn refusal to raise taxes for education during his term, including his plan to combat the class size amendment, clearly shows he did not make public education a high priority then.
So why should we trust him now?
