SCHOOL BOARD - DISTRICT 6 (includes southwest Jacksonville and rural areas of Jacksonville, as well as a southern portion along the St. Johns River. Schools in this district include Lee High School and White High School.)
Six candidates competed in the primary in this nonpartisan race, with the top two candidates advancing to November's general election.
Recommended Videos
Advancing Candidates |
|
|
Dave Chauncey
Age: 30
Candidate's family: Wife - Lauren Chauncey.
Occupation: Attorney
Education: University of Florida, J.D., B.A. with honors in Political Science and History
Political experience: N/A
Summarize your political platform in 10 words or less.
Safe Schools, Fiscal Responsibility, Innovation, and Empowering Parents and Students
What do you see as the top three issues in this race?
1) School safety and discipline.
Providing a safe, structured, and orderly environment in our schools is our first task so we have an environment where students can learn and achieve. I would partner with law enforcement and security experts to create effective plans to harden schools and create a deterrence to any potential intruder, including designating secure entry and exit points on all campuses.
The district should be hiring the best DCPS Police Officers, who can engage with students and are proactive in keeping school buildings safe. We need comprehensive protocols in place to ensure any report regarding a student's mental health made to a police officer, teacher or district official is documented, fully vetted and handled immediately, not overlooked, like what happened in Parkland.
We must also offer specialized training for administration, school officers, and guidance counselors to better-identify and treat mental health issues in students long before they result in a catastrophic outcome. It is clear that any students who have taken the lives of classmates in acts of violence had consistent patterns of concerning behaviors that were known to those around them but not addressed by adults in the public schools. I am committed to ensuring that does not happen in Duval County.
2) Fiscal Responsibility: We need to get our fiscal house in order.
After running a $21 million budget deficit in 2016-2017, the District ran a $62 million budget deficit in 2017-2018. This is unacceptable. The Board must work with its Superintendent to align expenditures to that Superintendent's board-approved strategic plan and vision. If expenditures are not clearly aligned to the strategic plan, those expenditures should be questioned by the Board and defended by the Superintendent. The strategic plan, in concert with the budget, should be centered around raising student achievement.
As a School Board member, I would review the prior year's budget to analyze what surplus and deficits existed that year, and I would do this using a zero-based—not baseline—approach. In doing so, I would first consult staff on expected revenue levels for the next fiscal year in relation to new demands. While employee overhead and benefits consume the majority of the budget, I would conduct a hard evaluation of all spending, starting with the General Fund.
Furthermore, I would ensure our planning keeps long-term implications in mind, including ensuring we maintain healthy reserves and "rainy day funds," while complying with state statute. Likewise, it is important to assess the debt load of the district relative to its fiscal health.
We cannot repeat the large budget deficits seen the past two years. This exposed a systematic failure of the board to manage expenses.
3) Empower Parents with Innovative School and Program Options.
When parents are dissatisfied, they seek options. If local schools fail to improve in response, the local economy suffers. That in part explains why a staggering 16.5 percent of Duval's school-aged children are enrolled in private school. This is one of the highest rates in Florida and far exceeds the 11 percent state average.
In fact, more total students attend private school in Duval than in other large counties, such as Palm Beach and Hillsborough. Another way parents are opting out of public education is home schooling. According to a 2017 Florida Department of Education report, nearly 6,800 students living in Duval County are home-schooled. This is the highest home school enrollment figure in the state, even eclipsing behemoth Miami-Dade County, a district serving nearly three times as many students.
The 30,000 children in home or private schools does not include the many more thousands of children whose parents work in Duval County but live elsewhere, signifying their parents' preference for neighboring school systems. This has contributed to widespread sprawl, long commute times and strain on our infrastructure.
As Florida nets 1,000 new residents per day and Northeast Florida adds tens of thousands of residents every year, it's alarming to see Duval County Public Schools' enrollment remain flat. Meanwhile, bordering counties have seen double-digit enrollment increases over the last five years.
Parents should always have the right to choose the best educational option for their children. For many, a faith-based education in a private school or individualized instruction at home is essential. However, every parent should also have an option for a quality public school education.
As a former Duval County educator, I believe every parent should be able to access a high-quality public school for their child.
We can achieve this by strengthening blended vocational education partnerships with the business community, strategically offering parents more magnet options, and using innovative instruction incorporating technology to more effectively impact, prepare, and assess students.
We must also bolster access to early college programs, ensuring more students can graduate with a certificate or an associate's degree and a high-wage career waiting for them, not insurmountable student debt and underemployment. We have to be innovative in our program offerings and cannot settle for the status quo.
How can you help voters in a way that others running for this office cannot?
I have been in the classroom as a 6th, 7th, and 8th grade teacher at Ribault Middle School. I have seen many of the positives and negatives happening in our schools first hand. Currently, I run the Ribault High School "Future Lawyers Program" through the Jacksonville Bar Association in partnership with the DW Perkins Bar and the Jacksonville Public Education Fund. Last year, the program provided thirty students a mentor in the legal community and training to conduct a mock trial at the Federal Courthouse.
I have professional experience outside the classroom as an attorney. My law practice focuses in education law which encompasses representing K-12 institutions, colleges, and universities throughout the State of Florida. My law practice is also focused on labor and employment law representing management. I work with businesses every single day about their employment issues. It is important to have been in the classroom, but it is also important to understand the policy/legal mandates and implications especially when overseeing an organization with a $1.7 billion budget. I want to bring both experiences to the School Board.
What would you hope to be remembered for accomplishing after serving in this office?
I want to be remembered as a part of the movement to see every child in Duval County, no matter their Zip Code or background, have the opportunity to get a quality public education which I believe will take our city to new heights in the future.
Website: davechauncey.com
Social media: Facebook / Twitter
Charlotte Joyce
Age: 46
Candidate's family: Husband, Patrick. Five children who attended Duval County Public Schools.
Occupation: Teacher and Magnet Coordinator, Joseph Stilwell Military Academy of Leadership
Education: B.A. - Univ. of N. Florida
Political experience: None.
Summarize your political platform in 10 words or less.
Student Discipline; Teacher Retention; Mental Health; Faith Based/Business Partnerships
What do you see as the top three issues in this race?
Enhancing student code of conduct/school safety.
Improving teacher retention rate.
Building community through faith based and business partnerships
How can you help voters in a way that others running for this office cannot?
I am the only candidate in my race who is a teacher, magnet coordinator, and parent. I will bring experience to the Board from each perspective. As a mom, I understand the concerns common to all parents. As a teacher, I am experienced in the means and methods that effect positive change in student comprehension. As a magnet coordinator, I am well-versed in the data and budget processes regularly affected by Board policy decisions.
What would you hope to be remembered for accomplishing after serving in this office?
Our objective should be nothing less than making Duval County public schools a shining light that draws people from all over Northeast Florida to make Jacksonville their home and the place where they want to send their children to receive a world class education. An element of my platform – enhancing the student code of conduct and focusing on behavior management skills like conflict resolution and character building – goes to the heart of how that vision becomes reality.
Website: votejoyce.com
Social media: Facebook / Twitter