by Glenn Tschimpke
Staff Writer
The walls of Albert Wilcox’s middle school civics and history class are plastered with posters and maps. While he teaches his students about people, places and events from the days of yore, Wilcox is thinking toward the future.
It’s no coincidence that the biggest map on the wall is a blown-up rendering of Duval County School Board District 4. The Daniel Payne Academy teacher wants to extend his influence beyond the trenches of the classroom and into legislative realm of the School Board.
“I have big shoes to fill,” said Wilcox referring to current board member Gwen Gibson who can’t run again because of term limits. “Because of my background, I can immediately have an impact being a teacher and a person who’s experienced in the political arena.”
The 29-year-old Jacksonville native is no stranger to the woes of local public education, nor is he particularly a political rookie. Currently an elected member of the Duval County Soil and Water Commission, his bid for the School Board will be his third campaign after his unsuccessful City Council run in 1999 to replace E. Denise Lee, who left for the State legislature. While he came in fifth place in a field of 10 that saw Gwen Yates the victor, he was encouraged by his showing. In 2000, he regrouped and ran a successful campaign for the Soil and Water Commission.
So why not take another crack at City Council?
“Well, I’m a teacher at heart and education is critical for me,” said Wilcox. “I’m going to do something where I feel comfortable talking about the issues. Right now, our education system needs an invigorated voice to try to get some things done. After all, I want to be known as someone who has brought everyone to the table. I’ll be able to do that as a school board member. I want to bring you to the table and let’s work out some differences. The perception of the School Board will change, hopefully, with my input. I want you to feel comfortable sending your kids to Duval County Public Schools.”
The seven-member board will have three new faces next year when term limits see Linda Sparks, Susan Wilkinson and Gibson to the door. With new faces could come a new overall personality to the board.
“The new members of the School Board are going to have to really get down and do their homework and know what’s going on so they can make good decisions and wise judgments as it comes to our children in the upcoming years,” he said. “There is a big concern right now with teachers going into schools that are called critical and being effective. The district I’m running in, we are going to be working aggressively to try to put in place programs that are being introduced like the Core Program. We are going to be working with those programs to identify the critical needs at the schools right now. I see that as a big problem in our community.”
Despite his relative youth, Wilcox has already logged a fair amount of time in local politics. After graduating from Alabama State University in 1995 with a degree in political science, he went to work for State Sen. Betty Holzendorf. He also interned for City Council member Terry Fields, the Chamber of Commerce and the Supervisor of Elections Office. As the School Board election approaches, look for Wilcox to turn up the intensity on his campaign.
“We’re going to revive an old political tradition started by Lawton Chiles,” he said. “Lawton, when he ran for the U.S. Senate, walked the whole state of Florida. What we’re going to do, we’re going to have a walk for education. We’re going to start in our newly drawn district, which stretches from the Arlington area to the inner city. We’re going to start from the Arlington area and we’re going to walk every precinct and every school and every neighborhood to talk about issues that are affecting us right now. Hopefully, we’ll get a message out there.”
And the message is?
“Education is not about race or gender. It’s everyone because everyone is concerned about how their child is being educated. That’s important right now in Jacksonville. We won’t be able to grow unless our school system is one of the top tiers in the country. That’s what we’ll hopefully be working on in the next School Board.”