Proposed Schools Changes Go To City Council (Yes, City Council)

The Jacksonville Charter Review Commission recently sent recommendations to the City Council, including 5 that directly impact our schools. I'm not sure the City Council has the power to make all (any?) of the changes under the Florida Constitution, but that doesn't always mean anything to our City Council.

I'll discuss each of the proposals in more detail later, but here's the summary from the Times-Union website (linked to above):

The recommendations in order of priority:
1. Allow the mayor to appoint School Board members, who are then confirmed by the City Council. Those members would not be paid. Board members are now elected by voters and are paid $37,300 annually.
2. Keep elected board members, but allows the mayor to appoint a majority of board members. All board members, both elected and appointed, would not be paid.
3. Require School Board candidates to run countywide for at-large seats, but create residency restrictions on who can run for each seat. Under the current system, each board member represents a district and only voters living in the district can vote for those candidates.
4. Urge the city to establish new charter schools or a charter school district, where the city would operate several schools outside of much of the oversight and regulations imposed on other public schools
5. Give school principals greater autonomy to select staff and improve instruction.
The City Council and School Board should work to change state law to create
policies that give principals more control.

Check out the article - I think it's going to be an interesting summer.