Scott Nicholson, who described himself as a Vietnam veteran and a Republican, said he congratulated state schools Supt. Tom Luna on Election Night on his re-election, because he fought for education. But Nicholson said he's against SB 1108 and 1110. "I'm a tad tired of the vilification of teachers," he told the House Education Committee. "Politicians calling teachers union thugs is unacceptable and disrespectful." He said, "Silencing the opposition is never a good path forward. Engage them and they will help you." Nicholson's testimony was followed by a burst of applause. House Education Chairman Bob Nonini not only banged the gavel, he warned the audience that he could easily have the room emptied and just call them in one at a time.

Tom Taggart, business manager for the Lakeland School District and head of the state association of school business managers, spoke against the removal of the 99 percent floor funding provision. He said his district has not had to use the provision in the past, but next year, a new charter school will open in the district, started by "two well-respected teachers of ours. ... We know we're going to lose students to it. We don't know how many, and we won't know until next fall. So if this provision doesn't pass, ... I could build a budget at 99 percent and have an orderly process. If it's taken away, then I have to look at the worse-case scenario. And what that does, either you're hiring teachers back at the start of the year in a scramble, or you're letting people go ... and you're moving children around." He said, "We prefer a method that goes through and you can actually plan for the impact of those things."

Ann Campbell, who described herself as "a concerned mother of a four-year-old son," spoke against the teacher contract changes. "I do not understand why anyone would think that fear and powerlessness would improve the performance of employees in any field, especially teaching," she said. "Don't turn teachers into temps."