Steve Wise is no friend of Public Education

Steve wise recently put forth legislation to end salaries for school boards. This mans hubris and hypocrisy seems to know no bounds. First of all whether you believe they should be paid or not and I happen to believe they should, this should be a Jacksonville issue not another example of Tallahassee telling us rubes by the St. Johns how we should run our school district. Our district has numerous issues but the vast majority can trace their origins to Tallahassee and the politicians there meddling with education.

Then if he is so fired up to save money why doesn’t he offer to cut the legislatures salaries and the size of their ever growing staffs some of who both make six figures ad have dubious qualifications. He says cutting school boards would save ten million dollars statewide, well cutting the legislatures salaries and staff would save tens of millions of dollars. If it I good for the goose Mr. Wise why is not good for the gander?

Yes it is true many school boards do work for just stipends but it is also true that most school boards are not of the size and scope of Floridas’. 24 of the largest school boards in the country are in Florida and it’s not fair to compare the Duval County School Board, which oversees nearly 180 schools with a school board in Ohio or Maine that oversees 12.

This is not Steve Wise trying to do what’s best for public education; this is him bullying school boards who dared question his budget cuts and his unfunded and not research based merit bill. Question he says and I will attack your money, don’t go along, then be prepared to work for free. Steve Wise is no friend of public education and it’s time the citizens of Jacksonville woke up to that before he cause even more irreparable harm.

Chris Guerrieri
School Teacher