Letter: School board should hold February 17 meeting to hear public feedback on rezoning plan
Letter to the editor
Traditionally during the school year in Alachua County, there is a school board meeting every first and third Tuesday of the month. This month, the third Tuesday falls on February 17, and there is no meeting scheduled. This particular meeting is significant due to the rezoning, which is scheduled for a final vote on March 12.
The school board should give the public the opportunity to respond to the school redistricting in a public forum so the school board members can be collectively involved and respond. The only board meeting available now to respond is on March 3.
Apparently, the meeting on February 17 was removed at the discretion of Dr. Patton. She should reinstate this meeting. Transparency is the key to having everyone involved in this redistricting feel that their voices are heard. The school board members cannot respond to the public at the community forums, so it is imperative that the board meeting on the 17th of February be rescheduled. At least two board members have publicly supported the February 17 meeting.
John Abbitt, Gainesville
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“Transparency is the key to having everyone involved in this redistricting feel that their voices are heard.”
Wishful thinking with this group if you count in one ear and out the other. It’s all woke BS with this board.
The same crowd that preached political correctness and transparency when they were not in power, have now abandoned it when the same is asked of them.
Lou, correct me if I’m deficient in understanding but isn’t this in contemporary times defined as…HYPOCRISY???
If the Superintendent canceled the meeting, it’s probably a scheduling conflict. Given the number of companies she’s likely aligned with, and the number of meetings she has with school staff, it’s probably difficult to separate her business interests from her leadership responsibilities.
I’m going to keep this simple: the Superintendent is not the problem
She’s causing a lot of problems.
The 16th is a holiday so they just want an even longer weekend, that’s why nothing on the 17th.
This is correct they should reinstate the meeting. I attended the meeting at Buchholz last night and not only was there no real contact with any school board members (only one was even there), the public was not permitted to ask any questions in a public forum of the consulting firm doing the planning. It completely managed to prevent any meaningful discussion, unless you could corner a consultant. The public could write comments on a card and stick them in a box – no responses from the consulting firm, nothing about timelines, nothing about how changes might have consequences for a student’s academic continuity particularly at the upper grade levels.