by Karen Brune Mathis
Managing Editor
Jacksonville Civic Council Chair Peter Rummell challenged a Jacksonville Community Council Inc. study group Wednesday to consider a new “brand essence” for the area.
“What if it were generally known that we had the finest K-12 education system in the United States?” he asked, amending that to include having a system in the top six.
“What an unbelievable brand essence that would be,” he said. “It’s economic development in spades.”
Rummell was the kickoff speaker at the first meeting of the “Recession Recovery and Beyond” study group Wednesday at JCCI offices.
Rummell said a strong school system would provide a strong education that would help solve problems, including murder rates and unemployment, by providing the means to attract, create and hold well-paying jobs.
The JCCI study group will meet regularly through May to look at strategies “for Northeast Florida to retain and quickly create jobs, while best positioning the region for long-term economic growth,” according to JCCI.
Jacksonville’s public school system has been criticized for years, Rummell was reminded. “We’ve had a dysfunctional school system for 100 years,” said study participant Jim Rinaman, an attorney for 50 years and an expert in the 1968 movement to consolidate City and county governments.
Regarding the question of an elected vs. appointed school board, Rummell said he would rather focus on ensuring the appropriate people served.
He said a school board should consist of the smartest people in the area and that it should be an honor to serve.
An appointed board doesn’t necessarily ensure high-quality members.
“You can appoint idiots, too,” he said.
Rummell outlined the concerns and focus areas of the 50-member Jacksonville Civic Council of community and business leaders.
Those topics included Downtown, the City budget, the medical sector, the Jacksonville Jaguars, race relations and education.
He said the civic council was taking a strong look at Downtown. Having attended last week’s Jacksonville Regional Chamber of Commerce Leadership Trip to Indianapolis, Rummell said that city’s mayor offered a saying: “You cannot be the suburb of nothing.”
For more information about the JCCI study, visit www.jcci.org.
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