Jeb Bush raises cash, tackles political trouble spots

TALLAHASSEE, Fla. — Jeb Bush brought his nascent presidential campaign Tuesday to his state's capital and focused on two issues — immigration and common-core education standards — that figure to give him trouble if he lands on Republican primary ballots.

At an education forum sponsored by Bush's own Foundation for Florida's Future, the former Florida governor said the state ought to repeal its 2002 class-size constitutional amendment, freeing up billions for improved teacher salaries and other education enhancements. As governor, Bush opposed the amendment that limits class size to 18 kids in pre-kindergarten to third grade, 22 in grades four to eight and 25 in high schools.

"It doesn't have anything to do with student learning," Bush said. "There's no evidence to suggest that 22 kids, rather than 20 kids, or 24 kids rather than 20 kids, is going to change the chance of a child to learn. There is some evidence that if you put a highly effective teacher in a classroom, irrespective of the number of kids in it, you're going to get better results."

Florida Department of Education figures indicate that state taxpayers have shelled out nearly $27 billion on building schools and hiring and equipping teachers since the amendment took effect in 2004.

Bush said Democrats reflexively would hate any education reforms coming from him, so he joked that Andy Ford, president of the Florida Education Association, ought to join him in sponsoring the idea. Spokesman Mark Pudlow said the state's largest teachers union remains committed to the amendment.

"About the only people who don't like smaller class sizes are the people like Bush, and others in the Legislature, who opposed it from the start," Pudlow said. "But reducing class size has been a success as far as it's been implemented."

Merit pay for teachers, the other part of Bush's proposal, has not been so successful, Pudlow said.

If he runs for president, Bush will have to answer critics on the political right for his positions on the Common Core State Standards Initiative. He told reporters that schools need high standards, which can be set without dictation from Washington or taking curriculum choices away from local officials.

"I'm for higher standards and I'm for creating real restrictions of the federal government's role in this," he said. "You can alleviate people's fears that you're going to have some kind of control by the federal government of content or curriculum or even standards. I'm against all that. I'm against the federal government being involved in demanding that assessments are done in a certain way."

Conservative Republicans also cite immigration as another area of concern for a third Bush presidency.

The bilingual Bush said the GOP should view immigration as an opportunity for economic growth, not a divisive issue. The party has lost Hispanic votes steadily in at least the past three national elections.

Bush told supporters here that the nation must enforce immigration laws and secure the border. But the long-range plan should be to "change our immigration system so we can get the best and the brightest" from around the world.

"We have a chance of getting 600,000 first-round draft picks every year," he said. "We don't have a problem with people leaving. That would be a problem.

"People, the best and brightest around the world want to come here, so we should fix our immigration system, control our border, do all the things you have to do to respect the rule of law ... and dramatically expand economic immigration," Bush said.

Florida Attorney General Pam Bondi, who introduced Bush, praised his record in education and law enforcement. She said she hopes he will run for president and predicted that, if he does, he can count on Florida's 29 electoral votes.

"If he decides to take the next step, I'm sure that Florida will remain what it has always been, and that is Jeb Bush country," Bondi said.