Suggestions for the Duval County School Board

I sent the following to the Duval County School Board this morning:

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Given the current fiscal problems our schools are having, I thought I'd make a few suggestions:

1) Put transportation services out to bid as individual routes, as was done prior to the consolidation of the routes into bidding packages. If a large company can undercut smaller companies, so be it, but increased competition usually reduces costs.

2) Allow (and encourage) parents to enroll their children in schools based upon where they work, if they choose, with the understanding that transportation would not be provided. In many cases that would be at least as convenient for parents, it would allow more integration in our schools (since our workplaces are more integrated than our neighborhoods), and it could reduce transportation costs considerably.

3) Install motion-detecting switches for lighting, especially in restrooms.

4) Replace labor-intensive grass with low-growing ground cover where appropriate.

5) Allow parents the option of receiving information via email.

6) Eliminate the community education program mailings. Use other promotion methods such as CraigsList, brochures at the public libraries, and community bulletin boards.

7) Reduce the cost of textbooks by staggering teaching schedules and using specialized books. For example, a high school English class could have copies of Shakespeare's plays one semester, and the Greek tragedies the next, alternating with another class. With modern on-demand textbook printing services, only the portions of texts that would actually be used would be printed, the curriculum could be divided into units, and books for each unit shuffled from class to class each semester.

8) Provide transportation for interested high school students to go to nearby elementary schools and tutor at-risk students for an hour or two a week.

If you have any interest in pursuing any of these possibilities, I would be willing to help research them.

Dave Baldwin
Concerned Parent and Citizen

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I know the savings wouldn't be enough to make up for the cuts in the state budget, but every penny helps! (And yes, I know there are places they could cut if they would, like administrator's salaries. They know that, too.)

It's Time for Leadership in Tallahassee

In 1972, when I was in the First Grade, Duval County Public Schools were not accredited. The system as a whole was incapable of doing its job. (Fortunately for me, my parents, and especially my mother, chose to sacrifice a great deal so that I could attend a private school.)

By 1985, when I graduated from high school, Stanton College Preparatory School was just beginning to earn its reputation as one of the best high schools, public or private, in the nation.

Today, I have a nine year old son, in the Third Grade, who has attended private schools since kindergarten. His mother and I recently decided we would like for him to attend a public school, Pine Forest Elementary School, next year. It's not that we're good liberals and believe in public education. It's not that we can no longer afford private school. It's that we believe Pine Forest, a dedicated magnet school for the visual and performing arts, can best meet our son's needs.

Obviously, the Duval County Public Schools have come a long way.

Of course, upon hearing the recent news from Tallahassee, I'm fearful. As a parent, I'm afraid we might be making the wrong decision, that our son may not receive the education he needs. As a citizen, I'm fearful for what a failing public school system means to our children's future, to society's future.

The Florida Legislature is still debating next year's budget. Among the options being considered are an increase in the state sales tax and a deal to allow casinos on Seminole lands in south Florida.

At first thought, it's encouraging that the Legislature is considering a tax increase, in a state where budgets have for far too long been balanced by reducing services. Take a closer look, though, and a sales tax increase doesn't seem like such a good idea to me.

I know what you're thinking - Of course sales taxes are the way to pay for everything! Why not let all the tourists pay? That is certainly the "conventional wisdom" here in Florida.

First of all, tourists aren't the only people who pay sales taxes. You and I pay sales taxes on nearly everything we buy, except unprepared food. Furthermore, sales taxes are regressive - those of us who have less tend to pay a greater percentage of our income in sales taxes than do those who are better off.

For example, suppose a family of three with $150,000 in annual income pays sales taxes on $3,000 a year for clothing, an occasional meal out, etc. - here in Duval County they would pay $210 in sales taxes a year.

Now suppose a similar family of three with $50,000 in annual income spends the same $3,000 a year on the same kinds of things - we all have the same basic needs, after all. That family would pay the same $210 in sales taxes, even though they have one-third the income!

It doesn't seem fair to me that a family with one-third the income should pay the same amount in taxes.

Perhaps more importantly, sales taxes are not a reliable funding mechanism. In fact, our reliance on sales taxes is one reason our state government faces major budget shortfalls this year. Those tourists who pay a large percentage of sales taxes don't come when they are struggling to make ends meet, or when we've been hit with a series of hurricanes and our attractions are in tatters. Similarly, those of us who live here spend as little as we can, and the first things we cut out of our budgets are exactly those things we would pay sales tax on - eating out, clothing we don't absolutely need, new automobiles.

So, why not cut a deal with the Seminole Tribe to allow gambling on their reservation in exchange for a cut of the proceeds?

Personally, I don't really care whether or not the Seminoles have a casino. However, that is a public policy question - Should we allow more gambling in the state? It should be debated honestly. I'm offended by the insinuation that allowing more gambling is the only way to pay for our children's education. My son's future is more important than that.

Education is recognized in the Florida Constitution as a priority. Our political leaders, who have sworn to uphold that Constitution, should treat it as one. That doesn't mean offering to let us vote to tax ourselves to pay for it. That doesn't mean using it to coerce lawmakers into going along with unrelated public policy decisions. That means finding a stable source of funding and designating it for education, even though that might upset some wealthy campaign contributors.

I believe it's called leadership.

Dave

Good Deal - for Waste Management

Much has been written about how the deal Mayor Peyton has struck with Waste Management for operation of the Trail Ridge landfill should have been put out to bid.

While true, that misses the point.

Even if no one else submitted a proposal, or if Waste Management submitted the lowest bid by far, the proposal from Waste Management would do a great disservice to the taxpayers of Duval County.

Think back 35 years, if you're able.

Thirty-five years ago, soda came in glass bottles. You paid a deposit for the bottle and, when it was empty, took it back to the store to get your deposit back. If you were thoughtless and it ended up in the ditch, someone like me would come along and pick it up, because it was worth money.

Thirty-five years ago, no one had ever heard of a two liter bottle, and there was certainly no such thing as a coat made from discarded soda bottles.

Thirty-five years ago, there was no curbside recycling program in Duval County. People put everything in the garbage.

Thirty-five years ago a landfill was just a big pile of garbage with a little soil thrown on top. There was no clay lining to prevent contamination of the groundwater. A landfill was an inexpensive alternative to incineration.

Simply put, our garbage and, for that matter, our landfill looked a lot different thirty-five years ago.

Today, things are changing at least as quickly as they have over the past thirty-five years. The raw materials that went into our garbage, especially the oil used to make plastics and the aluminum used to make cans, are more valuable. Better technologies are being developed to take those raw materials out of our garbage more efficiently and less expensively.

In thirty-five years, we might look back on the landfills of today and wonder how we could have been so foolish. It would be a shame to be wondering that also about the checks we're continuing to write to Waste Management.

Dave

Update - Mayport - First, Do No Harm

Last night, the Jacksonville City Council voted to send the three bills related to JaxPort's proposal to build a terminal for cruise ships at Mayport back to committee, citing a lawsuit over possible violations of the Sunshine Law.

Perhaps the City Council was merely following sound legal advice. I don't know - I'm not a lawyer. I do think it is curious how often proposals from JaxPort and its twin, the Jacksonville Airport Authority, are introduced to the City Council only to be withdrawn or deferred. It is as if they are engaged in a war of attrition - Maybe they hope people will eventually get tired of paying attention to a proposal and they can go on with their plan without anyone noticing. They have the advantage - they get paid to lobby City Council, while most of us have to take time out of our busy lives. I know it was a challenge for me to be at the meeting last night, and the uncertainty over when or if I would have the opportunity to speak ruled out any kind of real plan for the evening.

Members of the community do have one advantage - they aren't going anywhere.

My understanding is the legal challenges to JaxPort's proposal have just begun. They might prove effective in stopping the ill-conceived boondoggle. If not, they will have provided opponents with valuable time to organize.

Mayport - First, Do No Harm

Below is the text of an email I sent to my City Council member and the five At-Large members voicing my opposition to the rezoning of 7 acres at Mayport to allow the Jacksonville Port Authority to build a terminal for cruise ships.

I could make many other arguments against bringing cruise ships to Jacksonville, starting with the lunacy of trying to compete with south Florida as a tourist destination. However, those arguments don't seem appropriate to a rezoning bill, so I stuck to the classic "how does this affect the community?"

If you agree the construction of a cruise ship terminal at Mayport is a bad idea, I suggest emailing or calling your City Council members. The rezoning is on the agenda for the February 10th meeting of the Council, near the end so most community members won't be able to voice their views. (It's difficult to stay at a meeting all evening when you have children at home.) You can find email addresses and telephone numbers at: http://www.coj.net/City+Council/City+Council+Members.htm

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In government as in medicine, it is important to remember a simple rule - First, do no harm.

While I understand that Mayport Village is in need of economic development, a cruise ship terminal is not the form such development should take.

A cruise ship terminal would bring people to Mayport, to be sure, but they would in all likelihood go directly to the cruise ship in the excitement to begin the trip. Furthermore, cruise lines offer "free" food and drink, so there would be little demand for the services of local restaurants or other shops.

Most of the jobs on cruise ships are filled by foreign nationals, because they are willing to work for low wages. Those jobs that are filled locally would, again, either be low-wage service jobs or jobs for which few people currently living in Mayport would be qualified. (How many aspiring entertainers live in Mayport?)

In exchange for a few low-wage jobs, the people of Mayport would get:

1) Increased traffic, and the pollution that goes along with that. Automobiles produce more pollution while idling than they do when being driven, and that pollution is concentrated. Living adjacent to a parking lot worth of idling cars as they line up to enter the terminal area would be akin to living near a major industrial polluter. Would you want to breathe carbon monoxide and other fumes? Would you want your children or grandchildren breathing them?
2) A large obstruction to their view whenever a ship is in port. I have seen a cruise ship from the beach at Huguenot Park - I wouldn't want one towering over my home.
3) Possible disruption of commercial fishing operations. Fishermen have been battered by high fuel prices, low-priced imports, environmental degradation, and a host of other problems for years. If anything, we ought to be finding a way to help them, not asking them to share the docks with cruise ships.
4) Possible elimination of eco-tourism opportunities. Tourists who want to fish, paddle or sail our waters, or walk our beaches, don't want to do so in the shadow of a cruise ship.

I haven't even begun to discuss the various environmental impacts of cruise ships in general - most of those occur miles from the docks. Do we really want to invite someone to town who will dump raw sewage just a few miles offshore? (They will, and it is legal for them to do so.)

So, who benefits?

In the short run, of course, local contractors and their employees would presumably benefit from construction of a terminal. However, the Port Authority is in the business of operating our port, not providing make-work jobs. If contractors want jobs, we should find something productive for them to do. Perhaps they could begin work on the storm water improvements that we're told we have to pay for?

The Port Authority would gain a source of revenue, assuming that the cruise lines actually operate from Jacksonville. In the current economic climate, that doesn't strike me as a safe bet. In any case, the Port Authority exists to manage our port for the benefit of the community, not to make the largest possible profit. If this project doesn't benefit the community, why are they pursuing it?

I ask that you deny the Port Authority's request and suggest that an honest effort be made to revitalize Mayport, rather than merely taking advantage of its location.

For what it's worth, I live in District 5, far from Mayport.

Dave Baldwin

Suggestions for the US Senate

I just sent the following to Senator Bill Nelson's office. Feel free to add your support to one or more of my ideas.

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I just thought I'd share some ideas that might be somewhat acceptable to the Republicans and my liberal friends alike:

1) Fund coupons to be distributed by manufacturers good for the purchase price of their product or, in the case of high-end items, a certain percentage. These would have the greatest impact if they were applied to products that require a great deal of labor to produce (like automobiles) or to install (energy efficient windows, furnaces). Because manufacturers already have their marketing and distribution systems, implementation would be quick and easy.

2) Set up a plan similar to the student loan guarantee program for home energy efficiency improvement loans. If the government paid the interest and I had 10 or 15 years to pay the loan off, I'd replace our heat pump and windows tomorrow, save energy, and reduce our expenses. Banks could even combine the payments with the existing mortgage.

3) Establish a fund to be administered through banks and credit unions that are not in trouble for the express purpose of refinancing mortgages. Terms: The existing mortgage holder has to forgive 20 percent of the principal. The new mortgage is 30-year fixed. The value of the home must be between 50 and 80% of the existing mortgage. The government guarantees the difference between the value and 80% of the existing mortgage.

Good luck!

Dave

Put Students to Work!

We have a great resource in the Duval County Public Schools which, as far as I know, has been completely overlooked until now, but which could revolutionize the way children in the county learn.

I know what you're thinking. Our schools are failing - how are they going to revolutionize anything?

Perhaps you've heard of the Magnet Program. Certain schools have been designated Magnet Schools and given additional resources to specialize in certain subject areas, or perhaps a certain teaching method. There are schools for Visual and Performing Arts, Science and Technology, and Pre-Med, among other things. Each of these schools is open to students from across the county, with the intention of creating integrated schools.

The Magnet Program is no longer revolutionary, of course, but it could be.

Think about how the company or organization you work for operates. Once an organization reaches a certain size, each employee has certain responsibilities. I'm a computer geek - I don't generally sell our product. I leave that to the sales people, who have an entirely different set of skills. We group people together by job or skill into departments.

Now, look at the various Magnet Schools. We have some for Math and Science, some for Visual and Performing Arts, some for general college preparation. Many of the magnet schools are full of students, faculty and staff with a great deal of talent in a few areas. In the corporate world, the Visual and Performing Arts magnet schools might be the department that produces the television commercials, full of creative types. The Math and Science or Technology magnet school might be the Research and Development department, full of people like me. You get the idea.

We know children (and adults, for that matter) learn best when the material is presented in a creative way. Why not use all of the talent in the various schools to present the material?

For example, a student at a Math and Science magnet school could pick a topic that is appropriate for younger students and present it to a group of Performing Arts students. The Performing Arts students could figure out a creative way to present it to younger students. Of course, the math or science student would collaborate with them to make sure the topic is taught accurately. Visual Arts students would assist where needed with props, sets and so on.

In the process, the Visual and Performing Arts students would learn something about math or science. The math or science student would learn a little bit about putting on a theatrical production. Everyone involved in the production would learn how to collaborate with others.

The resulting production could be performed numerous times at schools throughout the District, so that our investment in the Magnet Program would benefit many students.

Of course, the process wouldn't be limited to math or science. It could be used to teach history, social studies, or just about any other subject, with a little creativity.