Gary Chartrand is a villain and his villainy has been on center display during the sales tax referendum battle. Make no mistake the complete privatization of Duval's schools and an end to teaching as a profession is his agenda and he doesn't care who he has to hurt or deprive along the way.
He has fought against our schools getting the resources they desperately need and in an attempt to justify his villainy he wrote an op-ed that the Times Union choice to print.
From the Times Union,
He has fought against our schools getting the resources they desperately need and in an attempt to justify his villainy he wrote an op-ed that the Times Union choice to print.
From the Times Union,
Great schools lead to great communities, but great schools are hard to create when school facilities are inadequate, poorly maintained or dangerous.
That’s why we support a half-cent sales tax to provide capital improvements in Duval County’s public schools. Jacksonville’s public school students deserve safe and well-maintained schools to help every student reach their full potential.
However, when we say “public school students” we mean all public school students.
And that is where we have a difference of opinion with the members of the Duval County School Board, who are working to keep the proposed sales tax revenue from benefiting children in public charter schools.
This is nothing new: for a decade now, public charter students have suffered from a facility funding shortfall.
Deep breaths, deep breaths, where his first sentence is true, his second sentence is a straight up lie. You don't support a referendum by having your personal government officials all of which you gave 30 pieces of silver fight against a referendum that would help improve the entire city. You just don't.
Then without sourcing he makes a claim that is misleading. First not one charter school has been required to open, the owners make a choice to do so, and they do so knowing what they are going to get. Chartrand doesn't mention the tax breaks and grants that these schools get to help them either. If you were going to open up a restaurant you might get a small business loan you would be expected to pay back and to pay taxes. Well friends, charters often get huge grants and despite being run by for profit businesses avoid many taxes.
He wants charters to get more money, he wants charters who were sold as being able to do things cheaper and better to get more money. He wants charters many of which are for profit and already making lots of money for their owners to get more money. That's what he wants. He cares about the kids in them only so much as he thinks they will lead to the complete privatization of the district.
Chartrand also doesn't mention his pet charter the KIPP school already gets more money than every other school be it charter or not. 2 million extra from the state and 700k extra from the city. Heck they even got more in PECO funds 800k than any other school in the city too. I want to point out this is something the Times Union has yet to point out as well.
Chartrand takes a kernel of truth to bolster his cob of lies.
Chartrand is a villain don't think for a second he isn't.
A quick analogy: A physician, let's call her Dr. Duval, has a sixty year old patient with a brain tumor. Dr. Charter, on the other hand , has a five year old with a routine ear infection. Mr. Council, with no authority except in his own mind, tells the health insurance provider to give equal amounts to both Dr. Duval and Dr. Charter. Dr. Duval complains she will at best be able to put a "bandaid" on her patient since money that would be provided for his care was siphoned off to the five year old. Dr. Charter sends the kid to Publix for some free antibiotics, and pockets the rest.
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