by Max Marbut
Staff Writer
Attorney W. C. Gentry chairs the Education, Truancy, Dropout and Literacy subcommittee of The Jacksonville Journey. He noticed a meeting at City Hall with one of the other subcommittee members last Thursday morning and when he arrived a few minutes late, he apologized and then said there was a good reason.
Gentry had just left 105 E. Monroe St. where he notified the Supervisor of Elections he will seek the Duval County Public School Board Dist. 3 seat currently held by Kris Barnes, who must vacate due to term limits.
A graduate of the Duval County Public School system, Gentry received his Juris Doctorate magna cum laude from the University of Florida in 1971 and joined the UF faculty as an adjunct professor in civil litigation in 2000.
He was appointed to the State of Florida Council on Education Policy, Research and Improvement (CEPRI) in 2002 and chaired the council from 2004-05. From 2004-07, Gentry served as pro bono counsel to the State Senate and defended legal challenges to education appropriations under the Florida Education Finance Program (FEFP). He has also served as pro bono counsel to the Duval County School Board and Florida School Boards Association.
Gentry currently serves on the boards of the Early Learning Coalition of Duval and the Alliance for World Class Education. He is also founding director and chair for the Schultz Center for Teaching and Leadership.
He was appointed last December by Mayor John Peyton to chair the Education Subcommittee of The Jacksonville Journey.
“I’ve been using my legal skills to do a lot of work for the School Board on legislative issues,” said Gentry. “I enjoy the academic side of law, so I also enjoy teaching.”
His appreciation of the value of education starting even before he graduated from Andrew Jackson High School, and Gentry said, “education is what has allowed me to succeed.”
With two seats being vacated by term-limited School Board members, Gentry decided the time was right to throw his hat into the ring. He said he thinks it’s time for a new philosophy for Duval County’s public schools.
“Working on The Jacksonville Journey has put me in a position to recommend policies that will make a positive difference,” he said. “The School Board may be the best way to have more effect and it’s the next logical step to stay engaged.
“I think the School Board needs people with backgrounds in business and education, and the Board should be engaged in policy issues, not management. That really excites me,” he added.
Three other Statement of Candidates for the Dist. 3 School Board race have been filed with the Supervisor of Elections to date: Debra Jahns-Nelsen, Chris “Dale” Monti and Jack Daniels. Qualifying week for the non-partisan ballot is June 16-20 and the Primary Election will be held Aug. 26.