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Thursday, July 25, 2019

Micheal Boylan disappointing attacks on the city's schools and children taken to task by a constituent

Councilman Boylan taken to task by a constituent disappointed by him fighting against Duval County's schools and children,

Mr. Boylan,
I appreciate your reply, but I have my own concerns about the Council and their ability to govern.

Your words
“I frankly don’t understand why that same policy shouldn’t apply with capital funds as well but then again that will be up to the voters to decide.”


Capital funds are for repairs. Smaller schools might have fewer students, but need more money than larger schools. The policy of sending capital dollars with the students will hurt smaller schools, which could be in poorer communities that also have less money coming in from PTSAs and other possible community donors. This should not be hard for you to understand, but if you’re trying to get more capital dollars to charters, then using that logic would be a good way to get it done. The Council could actually look at the budget and answer all those money questions on their own; It’s just another excuse to pass it along. It also makes the Council look very ill prepared, as many- if not all-of the questions and concerns have been answered and addressed publicly throughout the year. Part of serving the city is to know what’s going on, not just ask questions, but do the work to find the answers.

The money the district receives is being used to find temporary solutions to problems that need more money to repair and replace long-term. We don’t need students in portables, the money we get won’t cover those costs, plus the continued repairs. PECO funds were also not distributed to public schools for one year as they all went to charters. Those funds are split between charters-32 in Duval- and 129 public (I believe) I am not sure that is even close to being fair, or helps DCPS with the maintenance of 50 year old schools. If the council would accept the more than generous 5% that would be given to charters- it’s in the plan- than I am sure all those “questions and concerns” would be a moot issue. The problem is that the Council is not willing to accept that, they want more for charters and that is a problem for public schools. You should know that- and care.

As far as your concerns about a campaign, I believe the 20 plus meetings DCPS has had, the students’ families and teachers that attend our public schools, and the media recognition this has earned will no doubt bring out the voters. In fact, I don’t know anyone- in and out of education at any age that hasn’t heard about this. DCPS is paying for ballot as stated by Dr. Greene, so that should not be a concern; they are their own governing body and are quite capable of managing their funds under Dr. Greene. I am sure you’re aware this is not her first tax referendum and it is just one of her many attributes.”

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