The Chatauqua Center in DeFuniak Springs has the county's contract to administer the GED and provides all preparation courses free of charge. When a student feels prepared to take the test, he is administered a pre-test. In Florida, when a student passes the GED, he is not given a high school equivalency diploma, but the state of Florida issues a State of Florida High School Diploma. Not all educators are against the elimination of the requirement. Elinor Campbell, an assistant principal at Walton High School in DeFuniak Springs, said she can understand why the commissioners made the decision.
Experience counts for something.
There are people that have experience and don't have diplomas but they can still work. Tom Powell, executive director of the Walton County Economic Development Council, said he doesn't think the measure has relevance to economic development in general. County Commissioner Lane Rees, who has a master's degree in education and campaigned on an education intensive platform, said he voted to eliminate the education requirement because of the difficulty in finding low-paid workers. He also said one of the reasons he favored the change was that disabled and disadvantaged people may not have had the opportunity to get an education, and he said he doesn't want the county to discriminate against those workers. We will encourage continued education through pay and advancement incentives.