What's your take on possible Duval school budget cuts?

The school board should not cut anything. They need to look at ways to increase revenue. I have a way that is fair and will raise alot of money. When I lived in PA everyone over the age of 18 that filed a tax return got a bill in the mail for $55 dollars for school tax. When I called the state to ask what this was for they informed me that they do this to help offset the amount of children attending public school whose families live in apartments and do not pay school taxes. Due to the amount of families that fit on a piece of property with apartments as compared to single family homes it seemed reasonable to me. The land owner doesn't pay enough taxes to cover all the kids attending school that live on the property. Another option is raising property taxes on land that has apartments on it.

No one thinks about the children and what is in their best interest. The only thing people think about is politics and what they need to cut not increase. The school board here is amazingly ignorant when it comes to the needs of children and what they want with in their lives.

 For many children the activities mean an outlet for them. They may not come from good homes and the one way that they cope with everything is to have a good time at school and be around friends. Athletics are important to a persons image as well as to the self esteem. As well as art programs, music programs and many other programs associated with the schools. No one in the district understand this because they never ask the students what they want and need.

To others students are just that "STUDENTS" people think that because they are students that they don't know what is in their best interest. However they are the ones who attend the school on a day to day basis and have Ideas beyond anyones imagination. They can create things and come up with ideas for fund raisers. They have done it for YEARS. Students have raised money for events and for things that needed to be done to the schools or for camps etc... They don't mind doing it because it benefits them and allows them to participate. If the students grades are good there should be no reason to take away any programs.

 The school district appears to not care when it comes to the quality of the teachers and the quality of the school work. The drop out rate in the Jacksonville area is incredible. First coast high school in 2002 had a grand total of 150 students graduate. That school was larger than my school back west and I had 850 graduating students in my class. The graduation and literacy rate in the city of jacksonville is sad because the school board seems to not care what is going on. They would prefer to make the children of the city suffer needlessly rather than make something happen that will increase the budgets and increase the revenue coming into the schools.

Have the parents help pay for things for the class. Allow more PTA involvment. Get the PTA larger and ask parents to join more so that they can come up with ideas and ways to help the children succeed. Help the children that need the help to learn to read and maybe they will be the ones tutoring the younger children later on in life.

It is an outrage that people would take things away from children that obviously benefit them. Think of the east harlem schools in NY that benefitted from the violin program. Think of how the schools evolved and how many students graduated with honors because of the fact that there was one person who cared enough to raise the money to get the students the volins and provided the knowledge of the violin and the bow and how it's made and sounds. How music can put passion into a student and how it takes hard work to learn something.

Something that takes practice allows students to learn discipline. It allows parents to give examples to their child and say " you know how when you practice for choir it is hard work? well think of reading that way, sometimes it takes more effort but in then end you read really well. With time and patience it will come easier." 

No one thinks about these things! I wonder if someone sat down and looked at the history behind the athletic programs and how they benefitted students with schollarships and benefitted them in the learning process along with all the other programs out there that they would find a way to increase the budget.

Hold a district wide choir concert at christmas time allowing for the students to use the memorial arena or something and allowing the city to pay 5.00 or 10.00 a ticket to see the promising students and see what they have accomplished.

 It does not take a rocket scientist to believe that there is a way to raise the revenue for the school district. Get some major people involved in the community. Stop the free concerts during the summer and charge 5.00 admission to go towards the schools instead of allowing the country music stars to come in and just sing. There are ways to benefit the schools. The district just refuses to do anything about it. All the lottery tickets that are bought are said to go to the school district but what percentage is really going to the schools? What percentage is really helping?

 Why not produce facts and figures for the parents and students and see what they are willing to do to help the community. A lot of students anymore have political views and oppinions that matter. They are not just dumb kids like some people think. They are intelligent human beings that know what they are talking about when it comes to their education. Program cuts means lack of interest in things and lack of exploration to see what the student wants to do and what they want to be involved in. Students need the opportunity to get involved.

Take all this into consideration because our students do not need to suffer at all they need to be encouraged to succeed and be able to say I LOVE THIS or I want to have my career be part of this program. They need to know what they like to do and if they can't learn about things in school how is that ever going to be accomplished?