Sure a couple schools with saved ROTC programs can nod their head to him but what about the bigger issues facing our city.
Two interstate highways intersect here; we are on the ocean and a major river. We have a port, an international airport and one of the best park systems in the country. We have the Jags and are close to entertainment hubs. We have lots of room for growth and have much of the infrastructure already in place to do so. A moderate climate doesn't hurt either. Then perhaps most importantly we are a pro business city, in a pro business state and we don’t have an income tax. Why isn't Jacksonville turning businesses away instead of paying businesses to come here?
You want to know why? It’s our school system. Despite what Rick Scott would have you believe businesses don’t look at what city is the cheapest and for what they can squeeze out of them and despite what the superintendent would have you believe we have lots of issues and we are lacking the leadership to fix them.
More than half our kids in high school can’t read or do math on grade level. Seventy percent of graduates that go to Florida State College at Jacksonville have to take remedial classes. Crime is up and civility is down and all that can be attributed to our education system.
If we had a top education system we would be beating bussinesses away.
Alvin Brown said he wanted to be the education mayor; well it’s time he educated himself about our problems and then did something.
No comments:
Post a Comment