Overheard

"Wanted: Teachers and support personnel for Florida public schools. Below average salary, overcrowded classrooms, benefits reduced annually. Apply to Governor Jeb Bush."
—The message on six billboards in Tallahassee designed by the Florida Education Association to draw attention to the governor's education policies.

"When I saw them on the commercial on TV, I thought, We are going to have problems with them here. They're driving me crazy."
—Irene Diaz, dean of students at Central High School in Phoenix, on the belly-baring jeans that are a current fashion craze for girls.

"It is merely a trap for teachers, designed to keep them quiet in the face of a scheme that only masquerades as school improvement."
—From a statement issued by the faculty of Wildwood Elementary School in Piedmont, California, to explain why staff members who received $591 bonuses from the state for raising Standard 9 test scores are donating the money to charitable causes.

"The teachers always get good contracts, but I kind of feel—and a lot of people do—that we're like the lambs for the slaughter."
—Philip Laing, president of the support-workers' union in Central Bucks County, on why his group is considering quitting the Pennsylvania State Education Association to join the Teamsters. Two nearby support-workers' unions switched allegiance this summer.

Vol. 13, Issue 2, Page 11