I feel duped and betrayed by the announcement the mileage change won't kick in this year, and I know I am far from the only one. Before you lambast me for not understanding, money won't start immediately; I did understand that, and I didn't expect any mileage money until after the holidays; read what the district told Jax Today just a few short weeks ago.
From Jax Today
In an email to Jacksonville Today, a Duval County Public Schools spokesperson says there are three reasons the district chose to bring the tax increase to voters in August instead of November. The first: because “the teacher shortage is real, so the sooner they know about their future salaries the sooner we can impact that trend.”
The district also wanted to start union negotiations for the pay increase as soon as possible.
Um, as things stand now, passing the mileage will do nothing to help this year, absolutely nothing, despite it being sold as a necessity to fend off a pending disaster, and that's how the district sold the mileage rate for months. Help us, please; we need to save our teachers; there was never a "we will do it next year" caveat.
Then how hollow are those excuses? We have to get it done quick so we can get the ball rolling, well friends, that ball screached to an almost immediate halt.
I never expected the district to have mileage money this year, not for a second; I did expect the district would borrow money on expected income and or tap into their reserves to start things off, something I believe they could still do if they wanted to. If they were sincere about taking care of its people, but the reality is DCPS has never cared about its staff; we are all just a means to an end, and up till recently, an easily replaceable means to an end.
You may not have been one of them, but lots of people voted for the mileage increase with the expectation something would kick in this year, and those people were tricked, and if you want evidence, look at every single thing the district said about it.
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