Aronowitz Challenges New Governor on STAR 

“The STAR program is a black hole that sucks money away from districts and their teachers in the name of rewarding the best,” UTD President Karen Aronowitz told the School Board members at Wednesday’s meeting.  

Aronowitz was referring to Florida’s Department of Education new merit and performance pay scheme which places M-DCPS in an untenable position by illegally requiring the implementation of the STAR program.  STAR – as the program is known – stands for Special Teachers Are Rewarded and it is meant to reward a selected group of teachers for their outstanding performance.     

The district is required to set aside $19.6 million for bonus money to reward this limited number of teachers which are measured solely through the students’ performance scores on FCAT.  Aronowitz pointed out this money could be removed from the district’s budget and distributed elsewhere in the State if M-DCPS failed to develop a plan for STAR’s implementation. 

“The issue of the STAR program will not go away,” Aronowitz said.  “I challenge our new governor to listen to all the voices in this debate, including those whose professional voice is raised through union membership.