flynn082

That would be Howland with a dash of Willie and Chauncy in case you were wondering Via Facebook It is disappointing that the TU and certain candidates through campaign mailers have been perpetuating inaccurate information. First let me say that Duval did not spend $62 million mo re than it received last year nor has there been a two-year deficit spending practice.  State statute requires school districts pass a balanced budget with a minimum of 3% unrestricted funds to be held in reserve. This essentially is like a savings account that is to be used to cover unanticipated costs that can occur throughout the fiscal year. You can read here to see what I have been saying for several years.  https://www.jacksonville.com/news/metro/education/2017-10-10/duval-school-budget-woes-178-million http://jaxkidsmatter.blogspot.com/2016/10/the-districts-unsound-budgeting.html At no time did the district go below the required 3%.  When preparing the 2018-2019 fiscal year district budget ...

Parent's for Great Schools, should really be called charters for more money, and is advertising for Darryl Willie, because, despite his claims to the contrary he's been bought by the charter school industry. https://www.facebook.com/parentsforgreatschools/videos/502851876863874/ Parents is actually an astro turf group created by one of the most insidious charter chains around, the Rocket ship charters which think sixty kids in front of a computer with a trained money,  low paid assistant walking around checking on them is the way to go. From the Tennessean "They are really phenomenal at marketing their schools," said Roxana Marachi, an associate professor in the Connie L. Lurie College of Education at San Jose State University. "But they have not shown they can deliver on all that they are promising." Rocketship leaders say their own internal number-crunching shows significantly more improvement than the more dated California-wide comparisons suggest. They c...

People running for public office will often say what they think people want to hear. It’s a sad truth. Darryl Willie says what he thinks people want to hear to the point of absurdity. In the Times Union when talking about his haul from charter schools and corporate raiders, Willie tried to turn that into a positive. She (Smith his opponent in district 4), like the other female candidates, has warned that much of the financial support the male candidates receive come from supporters of charter schools and private school vouchers, which drain students and funds from traditional public schools. Their opponents disagree that such contributions come with strings attached. Each of the candidates vowed to strengthen Duval’s neighborhood schools and hold charter schools accountable. Willie, for instance, vows to bring the same fundraising skills he used in his campaign and on behalf of Teach for America to play for Duval’s District 4 schools, which serve the most disadvantaged students. “This ...

District 2 In District 2 we have former DCPS teacher and current mental health counselor Elizabeth Anderson going against Navy veteran and businessman Nick Howland. Before I continue you should know the corporate reform movement hardly ever supports teachers preferring to go with the businessmen to lead our schools a pattern you will see when we discuss the other two races. In the Primary, Elizabeth Andersen raised 6,845 dollars while Howland took in 56,559 dollars or more than all the other candidates, 4, combined. Andersen went on to spend $5,236.99 and received 4,823 votes for $1.09 a vote. Nick Howland spent $51,496 dollars or nearly ten times as much and received 6,678 votes for a cost of $7.72 per vote. I am told he spent 17 thousand on his commercial, where he touted that he was a conservative businessman which should have raised flags for many, as school board races are supposed to be nonpartisan because what is best for our children is supposed to transcend political ideology....

District 4 In district 4 we have teacher and lifelong resident Cynthia Smith versus Teach for America executive Darryl Willie who has been in Jacksonville for seven years and has now run for school board twice. Cynthia Smith has a compelling story, she started as a book keeper and worked her way up to assistant principal before leaving to run a preschool. She served in DCPS schools for sixteen years, which is only sixteen years longer than Darryl Willie did. Smith is also certified in ESOL, Reading, Guidance and Counseling and leadership while Willie has no certifications. Darryl Willie did spend three years in a classroom in Arkansas over a decade ago. Since then he had a variety of jobs but has been with Teach for America since 2011, becoming the Jacksonville location executive director in 2015. These however are troubling times for TFA and that more than anything may have influenced his decision to run again. It's no secret that Teach for America is on its way out of town. They ...

District 6 District 6 sees long time teacher and lifelong Jacksonville resident Charlotte Joyce going against recent transplant, former Teach for America corp member and current lawyer David Chauncey. Mrs. Joyce has been working in our schools since Chauncey was in middle school. Joyce would have the unique experience of being a school board representative of not just the schools she worked at but the schools she went to as well. Chauncey on the other hand does have some relevant teaching experience, teaching for two years at Ribault middle as a Teach for America teacher. He left however as soon as his two-year commitment was over while Mrs. Joyce has spent her entire adult life in our public schools. Joyce raised $9,455, spent $8,396.47 and received 6,629 votes, for a cost of 1.22 per vote while Dave Chauncey raised $75,247 and spent 65.952.24 on 6,624 votes, for a cost of a whopping $9.92 per vote. Then Becki Couch the two term current school board member has supported Joyce as well ...

Wearing a vote Cynthia Smith she was at the Highlands library supporting Smith to take her place on the school board. She spoke about her impressive education resume which saw Smith spend 16 years in our schools or sixteen years longer than Daryl Willie. She also mentioned how Smith is a lifelong resident and graduated from DCPS schools two more things that Willie can't say. https://www.facebook.com/paula.wright.37853/videos/1505933436217242/ Paula Wright, "Cynthia Smith is best suited to ensure the continued progress that District 4 is enjoying." I agree Mrs. Wright, I agree.

Oh, he's not in bed with the charter school industry. Not only has Dave Chancey taken in over six figures from the charter and business community but he is having Charter Super pacs pay for and run ads for him too. On Facebook he has been running the ad below paid for by Parents for Great Schools A more honest name for the pac might be, We want to make money off of your children. http://parentsforgreatschools.com/?fbclid=IwAR1WOS7il2gRrDVntO3hv9TU0fqux9s-1sXkpTXLHKlTeRJrr_yLSZbZCjQ Who are the parents? They were John Danner of the Rocket ship Charter chain. You may have heard of them as they are famous for having rows and rows of children sit in front of  computer, with one teacheresque person navigating through the warehouse like classrooms providing assistance when needed. https://www.csmonitor.com/World/Making-a-difference/Change-Agent/2011/0901/John-Danner-shoots-for-the-stars-with-Rocketship-charter-schools Where some people might like the idea of their children sitting in fro...

I am no fan of the Times Union's editorial board. A broke clock is more accurate than they are when it comes to education, so I was surprised when the Times Union in a blistering take down of Fischer endorsed Ken Organes for the HD 15 race. From the Times Union: Generally experience is the most valuable asset for a politician.  But that’s as long as the experience is constructive. Incumbent state Rep. Jason Fischer did not find the time to meet with the Times-Union Editorial Board. He did not bother to provide a bio or answers to a questionnaire. And even Fischer’s campaign website is skimpy on any achievements in Tallahassee. In short, Fischer’s experience isn’t the plus that it should be. Why not? Because it is experience that Fischer appears have gained while also developing a sense of entitlement along the way.  And that’s just not a good look for any public servant. District 16 deserves a representative who is both knowledgeable and humble. That’s where Fischer’s opponent...

In a way I agree with DeSantis. There is a lot of money being wasted in education. We are wasting money on charter schools, vouchers and high stakes testing. We spend/waste billions on those corporate reform options. Unfortunately for DeSantis those are the things he supports.  From The Tampa Times: Florida’s school leaders have made plain for years their desire for more money to run their districts. They’ve asked lawmakers for higher per-student funding, and the freedom to spend the money where it’s needed. They’ve requested more construction money, and pushed to keep property tax rates the same so schools can reap the benefit of rising values. Not so fast, says Ron DeSantis, the Republican candidate for governor. He suggests the system has plenty of money in it already — unlike Democrat Andrew Gillum, who has backed a corporate tax rate hike to bolster education spending by $1 billion. It just needs to be spent more wisely, DeSantis suggested, calling for reductions in "bureaucr...

I was out last week and when i returned i was told the superintendent told us to change our bus release schedule. I work at a center school for disabled children and everybody rides a bus and pretty much everybody has to be escorted to the bus.  Then there are a lot of buses and they come in waves. This new schedule has thrown everything out of whack and now the last buses have typical still been picking students up after teacher and para hours end. She didn't discuss this with anybody, find out our reasons behind the schedule nope she just showed up and said change it and didn't worry about the chaos that ensued. Then there is this , from WJCT about meta detectors, School board members had a lot of questions for who would be monitoring the metal detectors and how the process would work. A lot of that hasn’t been figured out, because the plan wasn’t supposed to be made public yet. Edwards originally talked about the plans at Monday evening’s safety meeting at Raines High School...

I was very disappointed today that the district has chosen to put metal detectors in our high schools.  This is a knee jerk decision which doesn't address the real problem mental health and a lack of discipline, and which quite frankly I don't believe will keep our schools safer.  From WJCT, Duval County public high schools will probably have walk-through metal detectors for checking students for weapons later this school year, according to the district's police director Micheal Edwards at a school board workshop Tuesday. The recommendation was made after security risk assessments of district schools, including principal feedback identifying their schools’ most vulnerable areas. More cameras with better resolution and walk-through metal detectors in high schools were determined to be most needed. “Our goal is to quadruple the amount [of cameras schools] have,” Superintendent Diana Greene said. “The average school only has about 16 cameras. Our high school campuses have thou...

Jason Fischer has been terrible. He quit his job n the school board to run for the state house and he only showed his love for the school board after he failed to get elected to the soil and water board.  In Tallahassee he has been a constant foe of public education and has actively tried to enrich his employer John Kirtley and biggest donor Gary Chartrand. From the Folio Weekly   The District 16 race has the feel of a classic election upset. Organes, a retiree who worked at CSX for 32 years, was an active community volunteer until he became frustrated by the current political discourse. Energized through his involvement in the Duval County Democratic Party, Organes decided to run for office. On the stump, no one will confuse Organes’ oratory with that of Andrew Gillum’s. He has made school funding and school safety his top legislative priorities. Yet his sincerity connects with those he meets and his ideas are at the heart of Democratic values: Education, opportunity and equa...

Dave Chauncey a recent transplant and thirty year old lawyer has raised 98,000 dollars for a local school board race or about 2 and a half years salary. From September 15th through the 28th he brought in over 17 thousand dollars or more than his opponent Charlotte Joyce has raised in 9 months. Now don't think he is popular with the masses as most of the money came from a handful of millionaires looking to dominate our schools and that should trouble us all. Investor William Walton the III and his trust have given 4,000 dollars. The Baker family who lives in Ponte Vedra sent him 5 grand The Steins, more Ponte Vedra residents chipped in 3 grand The Weavers and their various companies gave him 5,500 too. Then look at this, VCP real estate investments, JDR Jax LLC and Vestcor Communities all sent him a grand each, and they all share the same address too. Then their owners, the Roods, donated another four grand on top of that. Do you know a teacher or parent who has 7 grand to chip into...

Delores Bar weaver, wife of former Jags owner Wayne Weaver has been in the news a lot recently. She gave a million dollars to United Way, a freaking million dollars. From the Times Union: Jacksonville philanthropist Delores Barr Weaver has donated $1 million to the United Way of Northeast Florida’s endowment, which provides a sustainable revenue source to the nonprofit and its partners. The donation is the first endowment gift of that size in the nonprofit’s 94-year history, according to the agency. “United Way of Northeast Florida is a critical leader in addressing the most challenging conditions of our community,” Weaver said. “I am proud to support United Way’s efforts for generations to come, knowing the lives of local children and families will be irrevocably transformed.” https://www.jacksonville.com/news/20180906/delores-barr-weaver-boosts-united-way-of-northeast-florida-endowment-with-1-million-donation Then she is fighting against human trafficking too, From CBS 47 The Delores...

First let me say I think DTU has done as well as humanly possible on economic issues, hands down, though I have been disappointed on how we have given in on the treatment of veteran teachers, especially when it has to do with surpluses. Then as somebody who has been in trouble multiple times with the district I can say unequivocally the union has always been there and fought for me. I can't express in words how appreciative I am of them. So with that out of the way I can't stress how disappointed I am that the union choose to co endorse businessman Nick Howland and former teacher Elizabeth Andersen. The union co endorsing Howland and Andersen is like rooting for Florida and Georgia when they play, or wanting to vote for DeSantis and Gillum, it doesn't make any sense. Howland has taken money from people who would drown the union in a bath tub given the chance while Andersen is a former teacher who was in our classrooms. Howand is the candidate of charter schools and alternat...

Electing Andrew Gillum will stop the assault on public education and school teachers, but it won't reverse the decades of damage done. To do that we also need to elect senators and representatives to Tallahassee that care about public education as well. If you care about public education then you only have one choice for governor and that is Andrew Gillum. DeSantis would undoubtedly keep up the attacks on teachers and continue to privatize our schools despite the fact evidence overwhelmingly says it has been a disaster. We can turn things around or we can continue the republicans plan of the last two decades.

By John Meeks With a $62 million budget deficit, our school district has been forced to make painfully difficult decisions, including ending middle school block scheduling and cutting schools' faculty.  Whatever our austerity, however, I hope that our school board commits to increased mental health services for our students - and even redoubles their efforts.   I know that naysayers would write off mental health services as superfluous to essential instruction.  To them, I would say that mental illness should be taken as seriously as we insist on students being vaccinated.    According to the Anxiety and Depression Association of America, 80 percent of children with a diagnosable anxiety disorder and 60 percent of children with diagnosable depression are not getting treatment.   If public schools are to be held accountable for students' learning gains and responsible for their safety, should they not be allowed to assist with handling obstacles to...

We are going to miss Mrs. Couch when she leaves the school board. She started slow but during her second term she has been a fierce defender and advocate of pubic ed. We are also really going to miss her if she is replaced by Dave Chauncey, the privatizers  dream candidate. On a Facebook post  Mrs. Couch let her feelings about the upcoming election be known. Via Fcebook All of these (air condition units, old lap tops and a failing copier machine) are paid out of capital funds.  Our legislature has reduced the amount school boards can levy from 2 mil to 1.5 mil. That resulted in a loss of $36 million every year since 2010.  They also kept the required local effort flat which does not  allow for school districts to benefit from rising property values.  They gave over 50% of PECO taxes to charters 600 schools versus over 4,000 district schools.  To top it off they now require school districts to share what little amount they have in property taxes with ch...

This was in my inbox Classroom Supply Assistance Money Agreement Eligible classroom teachers were paid classroom supply assistance money on the September 28th paycheck. The State requires that teachers have, in hand, a current teaching certificate in order to receive the award. Because of that requirement, many classroom teachers, who otherwise would have been eligible, did not receive the funds because Tallahassee has fallen behind in processing certificates. DTU filed a grievance after being notified that some teachers would not receive the money. These teachers were ineligible through no fault of their own. They had submitted their paperwork in time as required, but the DOE didn’t process the paperwork in a timely fashion. After conversations between DTU and DCPS, an agreement was reached to allow the 4 teachers to be paid the classroom supply assistance money of $325 after their certificates are received. In order to be eligible, those impacted classroom teachers must have complet...

I am being told that new teachers and veterans that applied for re-certification last year have lost out on the teacher lead money. 320 dollars that many had already spent to out fit their rooms and buy supplies. They are being told with a shrug by the district that their certification process has not been completed by the state and thus they aren't eligible. It doesn't matter that they had their paper work in, in plenty of time or that they had already spent their own money. What makes the situation worse is there was no heads up, that they weren't going to get the money, they only discovered it after they opened their checks and the the money wasn't there. What a slap in the face that must have been to professionals who dedicate their lives to the service of children. Then there is no make up pay time either, when the state finally does complete their certifications because of some state imposed arbitrary deadline, that teachers missed through absolutely no fault of t...