More proof the Times Union is in the bag for superintendent Vitti. Uniform edition. (rough draft)

First let me say personally I like Denise Amos Smith the chief education writer for the Times Union and she is heads and shoulders above what we used to have but come on man, enough is enough.

The first headline read, School Board discussing uniform policy which is heavily favored by parents.

http://jacksonville.com/news/2016-03-04/story/school-board-discussing-uniform-policy-which-heavily-favored-parents

I don't think it is a secret that the super really wanted uniforms too.

This teaser piece had no details to support this assertion, nope they came later.

The second piece was titled, Duval tosses uniform plan in a hamper.

Okay let me say that was pretty punny but it also means I don’t have to write the following pieces.

The super tries another gimmick.

Uniforms haven’t helped the following schools in Jax, and

Where’s the beef, I mean data that says uniforms make a difference, oh wait it doesn’t exist.

So thank you school board for having a rare moment of clarity and allowing my House of Card’s marathon to proceed relatively uninterrupted.

All that being said let me get to my, the Times Union is in the bag for the superintendent point.

Here is the heavily supported by parents data.

 By contrast, most of the 6,930 or so adults surveyed said they prefer school uniforms. That includes 54 percent of parents, 57 percent of teachers and 63 percent of the people who attended PTA and School Advisory Council meetings.

6930, that’s not a small number well that is unless you compare it to the 250,000 parents and teachers in the district.

Furthermore does 54 percent equal heavily favored? Also did they use the same techniques to filter out multiple voters that they used on students?  

According to the district’s non-scientific polls, 75 percent of 2,070 or so students shot down the idea of an official wardrobe.

“There were some students who went on and voted hundreds of times in order to rig the results,” said Superintendent Nikolai Vitti.

Staff was able to “clean up” the survey data by counting one vote per computer device, he said.

http://jacksonville.com/news/metro/2016-03-04/story/duval-board-tosses-uniform-plan-hamper

Two things, my bet is not and let’s give those students kudos for all their hard work.

Now maybe I am nitpicking but words have meaning and when the Times Union says, heavily favored but the truth turns out that it was a small unscientific sample it seems to me like the TU is spreading a narrative not facts, not the truth and definitely not news.

Look I get it earnest people can disagree about issues like uniforms but what we should all agree with, is that we need a media that is going to present facts, not one that is going to sell an agenda.