Should the Mayor take over Duval Public Schools?

Before the idea is dismissed as out of hand, bear in mind that one of the top issues Jacksonville voters regularly bring up to the Mayor and the City Council is public education—even though neither party has any control over it.  This article appeared in The Wall Street Journal on Thursday:

More U.S. cities are considering scrapping a longstanding tradition in American education, the elected school board, and opting to let mayors rule over the classroom.

Dallas and Milwaukee are currently mulling mayoral control of the city’s schools, and Detroit is under pressure to try it — for the second time. A dozen major school systems, including New York, Boston, Chicago and Washington, D.C., already have a form of mayoral control.

Advocates say the structure, in which mayors generally appoint school boards and have the power to pick superintendents, enables tough-minded reforms by promoting stable leadership and accountability. Giving the idea more currency, U.S. Education Secretary Arne Duncan, until recently the Chicago schools chief, is a fan and product of mayoral control. And, this week, President Barack Obama promoted some controversial initiatives that have been pushed heavily in districts with mayoral control: charter schools, merit pay for teachers, and accountability, based on rigorous testing standards.

Read the article in its entirety here.

Filed under: Uncategorized, Arne Duncan, Boston, Chicago, Dallas, Detroit, Duval County Public Schools, Jacksonville Mayor, John Peyton, Mike Bloomberg, Milwaukee, New York City, Washington DC

Duval Schools: Let’s push for fat, uncreative kids

Duval’s public schools are reacting to the growing budget crisis by proposing slashing physical education and art classes. From today’s Times-Union:

Drastically reducing the number of arts teachers, freezing salaries and restructuring health care benefits are part of a $133 million list of cuts that Duval County Public Schools could make in the next fiscal year.

The district said last month it expects a budget shortfall of more than $98 million because of increased costs, less money from the state and having to make up for the $57 million it spent from its reserves in previous years.

The district projects its shortfall could balloon to $139 million if the state pushes forward with a class-size reduction initiative that was put on hold last year because of budget woes.

Let’s just make a concerted effort to increase the childhood obesity rate and educate children without any sense of creativity. That’s how we can build a world-class education system!

Filed under: Jacksonville, Art, Art Teachers, Budget Cuts, Budget Deficit, Budget Freeze, Duval County Public Schools, Physical Education