by Mike Sharkey
Staff Writer
Several months ago, pharmacist Jim Koivisto and communications firm owner Les Loggins approached JEA about a plan to ask the utility company’s 380,000-plus customers to voluntarily donate money to help fund the Duval County school system. After speaking with JEA officials about the feasibility of their idea, the project stalled and seemed to disappear.
Earlier this month, JEA officials and Koivisto revisited the idea and, while it’s still a longshot and several months from becoming reality, the project is back on the radar.
Nancy Kilgo, director of local legislative affairs for JEA, said JEA is certainly interested in the project, but stressed many hurdles have to be cleared and JEA will play a very minimal role.
“We want to be supportive of the community, but we do not want this to look like a JEA project,” said Kilgo.
Koivisto’s program is called “Dollars for Education” and is purely voluntarily. Kilgo sent Koivisto a sample form that JEA would consider including in each month’s statement. The form basically informs customers about the program, describes JEA’s role and emphasizes the voluntary nature of the monthly donation. By signing on, customers would agree to allow JEA to add a specific amount to their bills each month — the form has boxes for $2, $5, $10 and other dollar amounts — until customers notify JEA they no longer wish to participate.
Kilgo said JEA supports the idea and would work with Koivisto and Loggins, but the two must submit a petition showing enough public interest before JEA will proceed administratively. She added JEA will not poll customers themselves in an attempt to determine the public’s interest.
“We have asked them to gather 50,000 signatures from people willing to donate on a monthly basis,” said Kilgo. “If they do that, we will put it into the administrative process. We would only be the collector of funds, not the decider and distributor of funds. That would have to go through a trustee. All we would do is pass the money through.
“If there’s enough support, we’ll put it on the bills.”
Koivisto has already organized the petition drive.
“I met with the president of the PTA Monday night and the 29 sub-district volunteers. They are all on board and they are going to coordinate with all the different PTAs in the county,” said Koivisto. “I think we can get it done in less than 90 days.”
According to Koivisto, public education officials have bought into the idea and support the project.
“When we get the signatures, we will take it with the superintendent [John Fryer] and the School Board and present it to the JEA,” said Koivisto. “I eat in the same restaurant with Fryer sometimes and he’s all for it.”
Some of the big considerations are who will monitor whatever funds are collected, how they will be distributed and how the money will be spent. Koivisto has taken all of this into consideration.
“We are trying to set up a 501 (c)(3) non-profit organization,” said Koivisto, explaining the organization would be responsible for collecting the funds from JEA and transferring them to the school system. “We have told the School Board, and they agree, the money is not for buildings and it’s not for salaries. We want it to go to science projects, the arts, music classes and books for libraries. We are also trying to create a deal for the average kid — one who’s not bound for Harvard and stays out of trouble — to get a push into at least the junior college.”
With a broad range of donation options, it’s impossible to determine how much the program could raise annually. That hasn’t stopped Koivisto from doing a little math in his head. Koivisto figures the program, with about 40 percent of JEA customers donating minimal amounts and businesses doubling individual customers, could raise about $300,000 a month which equates to $3.6 million a year. That kind of supplement to the funding the county already gets from the State Department of Education, could help elevate Jacksonville public schools to the level parents want, elected officials talk about and businesses demand.
“We are a growing city. We have the Super Bowl coming and we’ll be on TV a lot,” said Koivisto, adding a city’s public education system is as important to businesses as incentives and other quality of life aspects. “I think businesses look at that heavily. These days, when a business looks at a city, they look at the school system.”