The sunshine state laws are in place to ensure open government. Without a doubt they make things more difficult but without a doubt they give the public transparency. The school board already skirted the letter of the law when thy fired the superintendent at meetings called quarterly updates and didn’t take notes about it but they may have skirted the law earlier too.
Let me connect the dots. Duval County had apparently gone since the beginning of time without a succession plan, when suddenly creating a succession plan became important at the beginning of this year. Then just like that 28 days later Pratt-Dannals was fired. At the time I thought he was fired because he basically called the board a bunch of idiots for not noticing the hundred million dollars in extra funds they had nestled away (at the same time they were pleading poverty, firing people and cutting programs), though now I think the plan may have been in the works for a while.
Mrs. Burney as much admits so in a recent article in the Times Union when she says she wanted to replace the super earlier this school year but didn’t think she had enough votes to do so.
Well somewhere between her desire and the beginning of the year it seems like she found enough votes and if she did so at meetings there is no record.
In my opinion the school board hasn’t made a lot of good calls but replacing Ed Pratt-Dannals, about two years to late was one of them. What I didn’t understand was why all the subterfuge behind it.
Well that was before I read an article about the Center for School System Reform, Burney’s other employer and a little policy they have of recommending school boards make important decisions in private and then always having a 7-0 vote.
So did they violate the sunshine state laws, well I guess we will never know but it sure seems like something hinky went on.
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