Total Pageviews

Search This Blog

Wednesday, March 21, 2012

Education is Jacksonville's biggest economic issue

Jacksonville has two interstate highways that intersect; we are on the ocean and have a major river, a port, an international airport and one of the best park systems in the country. We have the Jags and how we are close to entertainment hubs in central Florida and southern Georgia. We have lots of room for growth and much of the infrastructure is already in place to do so and we are a pro business city, in a pro business state that doesn’t have an income tax. Why instead of bribing businesses to come aren’t we turning businesses away?

Former Mayor Peyton said we are a great education system away from being a great city. Former mayor and current president of UNF John Delaney has echoed the sentiment. The Chamber of Commerce has pointed to the education as something that needs to improve if we want the economy to improve and businesses report having a hard time finding good applicants from recent grads.

Our school system is holding us back. This B district that the superintendent and school board tout is handcuffing us.

The leadership we have abdicated their responsibility to educate our children by massaging numbers to protect their niches. A little hint of power for the school board and a six figure salary for the super has superceded what is right as they have ran our district into the ground, harmed our children's future and held the city captive economically.

Friends it doesn’t have to be this way and it is only this way because we have let it.

The city and its children deserve much better.

No comments:

Post a Comment