by Joe Wilhelm Jr.
Staff Writer
The last meeting of the year for the Charter Revision Commission may have been its most contentious to date.
One of the major issues the Commission has been exploring is whether or not Jacksonville’s elected officials should continue to be elected or be changed to appointed positions. It welcomed back Ed Pratt-Dannals, superintendent of the Duval County Public Schools, and Brenda Priestly-Jackson, chair of the Duval County School Board, to discuss the issue.
The Commission has been discussing elected vs. appointed positions since it began its review of the City Charter in August and got a nudge to continue to “have the conversation” from Mayor John Peyton during his Nov. 19 presentation before the Commission. During that presentation the mayor lamented about not having more control over the School Board.
“The voters have impaneled, probably, one of the most effective Boards we’ve had in many, many years,” said Peyton at the Nov. 19 meeting. “But the truth of the matter is this, in a strong mayor form of government, should the mayor have more influence for something he is probably held accountable for.
“My observation is this: there are major metropolitan areas that have chosen a different route than Jacksonville has chosen. I would point to Chicago, New York, Boston and Washington, D.C., where cities have decided that an appointed board is better than an elected board.”
Pratt-Dannals and Priestly-Jackson asked the Commission to look at the change that is already occurring and allow the plan they have in place to continue to improve Duval County Public Schools.
“The district created a strategic plan shortly after I came on two years ago,” said Pratt-Dannals. “I’ve been working that plan, the purpose of which is to provide focus, help us narrow where our resources are placed, provide transparency and accountability. In fact, I would argue that, at this point, we are the most accountable agency in the community.”
The strategic plan lays out a guideline for accomplishment in the District and Pratt-Dannals explained he is held accountable for the progress in reaching the plan’s goals. He worried that adding that work to the issues Peyton and the new mayor will have to face would be a daunting task.
“Both the current mayor, Mayor Peyton, and the incoming mayor are having dramatic issues that have to be resolved here within the city, certainly not the least of which is the pension issue,” said Pratt-Dannals. “That’s going to be more than enough for an individual to handle. Much less taking on the responsibility of an institution that’s larger than the city. We have 4,000 more employees than the City has and our budget is about the same as the City’s budget. But to more than double the role and responsibility of the mayor, I don’t know who would want that responsibility.”
Both Pratt-Dannals and Preistly-Jackson warned the Commission about how moving to an appointed board would disenfranchise the parents who are active in the development of the school system.
“When the people exercise their power through the voting booth, we are at our best,” said Preistly-Jackson. “It was with this in mind that the framers of our State’s Constitution memorialized the importance of public education by stating that ‘the education of children is a fundamental value of the people of the State of Florida. It is, therefore, a paramount duty of the State to make adequate provision for the education of all children residing within its borders...’”
Current School Board Member and former Jacksonville Mayor Tommy Hazouri was asked his opinion on an appointed board by Commissioner Jim Catlett and the former mayor passionately supported his fellow board member and superintendent.
“You’ll have a chasm between North and South here in Jacksonville if you choose to make a recommendation, which I don’t believe will ever pass because I believe it is a state issue,” said Hazouri, “but if you choose to take that course, you are going to see this community become more and more divided.”
The Commission has been researching the processes by which a transition from elected board to appointed board could take place. At the Commission’s request, the City’s Office of General Counsel has advised the Commission that if the City Council were to pursue a recommendation from the Commission in support of an appointed board it could do so through an ordinance and voter referendum or by legislative action of the Duval Delegation.
The Charter Revision Commission is created every 10 years and Commissioner Jeanne Miller was interested in using that time to see if a change would work.
“What’s wrong with a 10-year experiment?” said Miller. “It doesn’t seem to me that we are getting to where we need to be in the classroom.”
Preistly-Jackson wasn’t ready to experiment with the school system.
“What would be the harm? I think the first, and foremost, is going to be disengagement from the public. It’s not so much where we are right now, but where we’ve come from,” said Jackson. “Duval County is unique in that it has 44 percent African-American students, 44 percent white students, 6 percent Latino and the other 6 percent are multiracial. So when you compare us to St. Johns County, which does not have the same amount of minority students or low income students, or Baker County, and you use those statistics that also have a higher per capita income, it’s apples to oranges. It’s not apples to apples.”
The next meeting of the Charter Revision Commission is Jan. 7.
356-2466