Educational Racism.

JACKSONVILLE AND ITS WHITE CHARTER SCHOOLS. EVERYONE KEEPS WAITING ON JACKSONVILLE TO “GROW” INTO BEING A TOP-TIERED CITY. AIN'T GONNA HAPPEN.

Jacksonville shows every day it is not close to...and perhaps chooses not to want to be...a top-tiered city, even with, an NFL football team. Passing the half-cent sales tax for public education makes so much sense. Yet, Jacksonville’s City leadership is poised to kill this much needed resource for Jacksonville's children. Jacksonville once again FLUNKS another test to represent “ALL” the people.

Let me start by saying, I Am Not a fan of Charter Schools. Charter Schools, to me are nothing more than White Segregation Academies...i.e., the Charter schools on the White side of town are massively White and counting; and the few, very few by comparison, Charter schools on the Black side of town are massively Black. Many of the Black Charter school’s student numbers are simply used to “inflate” the White Charter School numbers to make it appear they are more than the Segregation Academies they are.
The Florida Legislature over the years intentionally sabotaged public education by not being responsive and not appropriating the needed dollars. Then they proclaimed public education is “failing”, when it is really the legislators who were failing by not providing public school teachers and students with the necessary and required resources and money.

Of course, White politicians -ad nauseum- rationalize the only people being hurt by their actions are the Black students and the Brown students, and their parents. So What? Over the years, White Jacksonville/White Florida purposely did not “maintain” the school facilities in Black Jacksonville, but you certainly maintained them in White Jacksonville.

Then in the midst of their slovenly treatment of Black educational facilities and their maintenance needs, we see this tremendous spike in Segregated Charter schools of late, to the further diminution of public education. And it is not Choice, just another “code word.” IT is White parents getting their White children away from the “Black infested school system” (words I have read and heard here in Jacksonville.)
There is a need to build, rebuild and renovate public school buildings. Florida’s Legislature over the years and with the total support and the insistence of the Jeb Bush administration, and certainly continuing until now, have “dedicated” a substantial portion of the monies intended for public education, including "bricks and mortar" money to instead, go to Charter schools... White, Segregated and Segregating Charter Schools.

Let me point out, there is no Such Thing as a Public Charter School. They are ALL private. They have a quasi-administrative involvement with the State of Florida. Charter schools in Jacksonville are not subject to the Duval County School Board. There is little or no oversight as you can determine with Charters closing regularly and the owners of the Charters and their “front men and women” walking away with taxpayer’s money, leaving parents, especially Black parents scrambling to get their children back in the public school system. It has happened a number of times here in Jacksonville and throughout the State of Florida.

Charters can do whatever the hell they want to do, with a nod and a wink wink from the State of Florida, and get away with it. Charters are for White students and White parents. Even with the need to build new public schools and renovate/rebuild others. RIGHT NOW, TODAY, Jacksonville’s City leadership is DEMANDING a disproportionate amount of money “off the top” for the Private Charters in exchange for their support of the dollars, a sales tax will bring.

Don’t give us ---White City officials, White parents, and White students---what we want for the Charter Schools, and we will not support the extension of the sales tax. Still another reason why you CANNOT say the word “progressive” and Jacksonville in the same sentence. It obviously will not work. Let’s just call it Educational Racism and White Privilege intimidation. I am waiting for someone...anyone...to explain to me in a public discourse why I am wrong.

The Struggle Continues!