A group of concerned parents and administrators in St. Johns County hopes to lead a charge all the way to the Legislature to ensure that public schools get the funding they need.
The new group’s name—50th No More—derives from the the fact that Florida is 50th in the nation in per-pupil expenditure.
Since January, Superintendent Joseph Joyner and the school board have expressed their concern over the state’s ranking at the bottom of the national list as they battled the state over $11 million in budget cuts.
According to Brette Reiman of Ponte Vedra Beach, the grassroots group’s campaign came out of the realization that teachers and administrators needed more support.
Reiman said she received an e-mail from Barbara Zosel, president of the St. Johns Education Association, in May, which brought to light the importance of getting out information to the public about the budget cuts. Reiman and a few concerned parents, including Colleen Wood and Alice Morris, pulled together their resources and reached out to the community.
"Ponte Vedra and St. Johns County as a whole have an incredible group of involved, energetic and educated parents, " said Reiman.
"If anyone is going to help make things better for our schools its going to be this amazing group of parents working together on behalf of our kids, our teachers and our schools," she stated.
The group’s first meeting was held at the end of May and, with the help of District 1 Representative Beverly Slough, 50th No More was born.
"I am excited that a group of parents has become energized around the issue of inadequate funding for Florida’s public schools and the potential danger to our schools should Amendments 5, 7 and 9 be approved this fall," said Slough.
According to Reiman, 50th No More’s mission is three-fold. It hopes to communicate to the public the impacts of the budget cuts due to Amendment 1, as well as the potential impact to the county if Amendments 5, 7, and 9 are passed in the fall.
Additionally, the group plans to build partnerships and coalitions across the county and, eventually, throughout the state and take its concerns to the Legislature in hopes of having members’ voices heard.
"We are not just looking out for Ponte Vedra or Julington Creek schools," said Reiman. "We are looking out for the whole county and, ultimately, the state. Its going to take this awesome community of parents to make a difference. If we don’t do anything, this is all ours to lose."
50th No More’s next meeting is scheduled for Thursday, July 17, at 6:30 p.m. at People’s Bank on County Road 210, with plans to discuss further efforts to get information out to the public.
Staff writer Sara Kaufman can be reached at 285-8831, extension 26
August 5th 2008 - 10:28PM