Scott Wilson attacks DCPS in an op-ed to the Times Union.

Scott  Wilson attacked the district in an op-ed, the link is below.
https://www.jacksonville.com/opinion/20190729/guest-column-citizens-deserve-more-information-on-school-board-plan

This is a letter I wrote to the Times Union, I would encourage everyone to write them a letter exposing Wilson as well. 

Scott Wilson complained in an op-ed that the school board had not had a meeting in his city council district. I think it's embarrassing that we have a city council president that doesn't understand how school districts work. In case like Wilson you didn't know 2 city council districts combine to form one school board district. In this case city council districts 4 and 5 combine to make school district 3, and people were invited on several occasions to discuss the schools there.

I also find it troubling, that during his community meeting he didn't stand up for our schools. When they asked him about the lottery he could have said, that money really doesn't go to help pubic schools anymore and instead goes to scholarships. When they said they didn't want to pay more taxes, he could have explained that it would cost the average person a dollar fifty a month and that the money was needed (something he has said repeatedly). Furthermore when they asked why should they contribute since they didn't have children in school, he could have pointed out that a high quality public education system benefits everyone whether they have children attending or not and when somebody said the district needs to do a better job educating our children he could have pointed out the district was less than one percentage point away from an A. He could have explained those things but he choose not too. Though since he obviously doesn't understand how school districts work he may not have known those things either. 

He says all he and the city council want are answers to questions. It's my personal opinion he and the city council are holding out so a handful of their rich donors with charter school interests can get a bigger cut of the referendum but I have some questions for him. Whats the plan for the Landing? How come there have been zero community meetings about it. Whats the plan to address the murder rate which is now 20 percent higher than our previous high? What's the plan for Liberty Street, the road collapsed over 4 years ago and now the project is millions over budget and years behind schedule. Whats the plan for the iconic firehouse number 5. If the city is going to spend millions to acquire it shouldn't there be a plan? 

It seems to me that Wilson and the city council have enough on their plate without trying to usurp the authority of the school board  

I want to answer two of his questions, most of which have already been answered repeatedly. The school board wants to have the vote this fall because it will save 5 million dollars, speed up the implementation of safety measures for our schools, slow wear and tear on our most needed projects and who knows what public school hating Tallahassee will pass this upcoming session. Then the reason some schools are being replaced while others are being refurbished is based on their needs which were determined in a comprehensive study that the district did. I didn't have to have personal meetings with the superintendent and school board to learn those things. All I had to do was read the Times Union.

But if we are being honest the city council isn't really interested in answers.