It is clear that an on-line petition and other actions are in order to send a message to the new school board that the current schedule as approved by the former school board should remain in place. This start-time flip was designed as an operational efficiency, and has proven to be one in its execution. (It is also important that any academic benefits, as experienced in other school districts in the nation, are measured and reported.) Those who voted for it on the former school board, and those on the new school board who voted to maintain it, understood and respected this reasoning.
School boards' fiduciary responsibilities are serious and critical in all times, but especially now in this volatile economy with deep budget cuts expected for the foreseeable future.
While we should all be aggressive in asking our Governor and state legislators to reform Florida's tax structure to provide adequate funding for basic services, including public education, we should also aggressively demand that our school board members, all of them, fulfill their fiduciary responsibilities to maintain the fiscal integrity of our public school system, with or without Tallahassee having the political courage to enact meaningful tax reform. That means supporting all operational efficiencies that ensure maximum protection of our classrooms where teachers teach and children learn.
And while it is helpful to have committees to gather input, ultimately it is the school board's job to make responsible and rational decisions, not emotional or parochial ones, to benefit student achievement, the mission and bottom line of our public schools.
I felt this strongly while serving as a school board member, and I feel it just as strongly now as a citizen, taxpayer and parent.
Anne Geiger, OCPS School Board (2004-08)
