I am writing as the parent of a student at Somerset, regarding the remarks made by School Board chair Shirley Washington, as printed in the March 29 edition of the Jefferson Journal.
As a parent I am very disappointed with Ms. Washington’s position on the $3.1 million appropriation request that Somerset has made to the legislature. For the life of me I cannot understand why anyone would oppose a $3.1 million dollar appropriation request made by a district for which she is supposed to be advocating. To this parent, it looks like she is working against the very school children she was elected to serve and help.
The article quotes Ms. Washington as saying, “After reading both bills, it makes it seem as though all of our kids are somewhat handicapped in learning, mentally.” I would like to know how Ms. Washington arrived at that conclusion. I have looked at both bills and their applications. Bill 4283 is one page long and says nothing about how the funds will specifically be used, which takes us to the application for the funds. I looked at the PDF file request form that Somerset submitted to the legislature (the same one that the school board read) and have arrived at different conclusions than that of Ms. Washington. I see the requested funds as proactive and preventative measures to provide needed services to help students who might otherwise be at risk of dropping out or having other issues
The article quotes Ms. Washington as saying “nowhere in the original contract between Somerset and the Jefferson County School Board did Somerset state that they would go and ask for additional monies from lawmakers in order to make changes to the school system.” As a parent, I fail to see how adding these new personnel would change the school district anymore than hiring additional teachers or office support staff. The work and mission of Somerset Academy remain the same, as do the curriculum. Also, as a parent, I would ask why would any board member object to the school district receiving an additional $3.1 million?
Regarding the issue of the busses. HB 4285 was introduced after the submission of an application from Somerset. Responding to statements made by Principal Cory Oliver, Washington stated, in part, “You are saying that we don’t have good busses.” I do not know if that was Principal Oliver’s intention, but let me give a parent’s perspective: My child, who is a student at Somerset, is not allowed to ride those buses due to concerns about maintenance. If my child goes on a field trip, either my wife or me will drive her in our own vehicle. To the best of my knowledge, there is still no mechanic at the bus barn on a regular basis. As a parent, I find the maintenance situation at the bus barn unacceptable and the funds requested by HB 4285 are needed to get the bus fleet (some of which are nearly twenty years old) up to an suitable standard.
According to the article, Ms. Washington brought up the fact that HB 4285 also included a request for a bus director, which the school district had already asked for, prior to Jefferson Somerset's takeover of the school system in the county. “You are asking for something that we wanted, that we asked for, and didn't get,” said Washington. “But even still, you can take these bills to Tallahassee and make it seem as though Jefferson County is the worst and the lowest in the state of Florida.” Unless I read a different application that the one Ms. Washington read, this parent sees no such impression in the request for the funds for new buses. As a parent, I see that new buses are needed, to replace an aging fleet, as well as at least one full time mechanic to keep them on the road.
As a parent, I find Ms. Washington’s objections without merit and I would urge the Jefferson County School Board (including Ms. Washington) to put aside whatever issues they have with Somerset, put the students first and do what is necessary to encourage the legislature to approve the requested funds and for Governor DeSantis to sign the bills.
Steve Cordle, Parent
The March 29, 2019 Jefferson Journal contained an article by Ashley Hunter detailing the March 11th Jefferson County School Board meeting. I attended the meeting and while Ms. Hunter’s article was informative, it did not begin to convey the atmosphere of that meeting. Board Chair Shirley Washington’s exchange with Jefferson Somerset’s (Somerset) Principal Cory Oliver can only be described as confrontational and adversarial. Her words dripped with disdain and anger, her attitude that of righteous indignation. How dare he presume to know what the students of Jefferson County need, let alone commit the sin of asking the government for a portion of available funding to help our students? Perhaps the most egregious sin of all – he and his team didn’t first seek the Board’s permission!
Mr. Oliver was challenged to explain and defend 2 grant requests submitted by the Somerset team – $1.865M for new buses and the other for $1.287M in resources to help at-risk physically and/or developmentally disabled students. In the February meeting, the Board discussed the state of disrepair of our buses. There were statements about engines and other parts being “borrowed” from one vehicle to make another operational. Complaints were made about the overall condition of the buses. One would think Ms. Washington would be ecstatic about the possibility of a new bus fleet for our kids, especially one that wouldn’t cost Jefferson County anything. Sadly, that wasn’t the case. Ms. Washington repeatedly stated her opposition to the request, going so far as to say that you are asking for something that …. we asked for and didn’t get. I guess she doesn’t believe in the old adage “if at first you don’t succeed, try, try again.”
The 2nd grant was for more personnel and services to assist 150 of our kids who, after parental approved and professional administered testing, were found to “display significant learning issues and critical maladjustment and social-emotional problems.” Ms. Washington’s response: I don’t like our kids being referred to like that. I don’t believe there we have that many kids (needing those services). Refusing to believe the quantity doesn’t change the veracity of the findings. Mr. Oliver and staff are not denigrating or punishing our kids, nor are they saying our kids are less than other students. They’re trying to secure additional resources to help them! Ms. Washington likes to say “it’s all about the kids” but it seems to be all about her. I call that hubris!
Ms. Washington has been a School Board member since 1990, with the exception of (1) 4-year term. She was a member of the Boards that oversaw the decline of the once proud Jefferson County School System – a decline that resulted in the state-mandated remedy we know as Jefferson Somerset. It’s blatantly obvious Ms. Washington resents Somerset and perhaps the loss of authority and relevancy she once had. The truth is Somerset is here to stay and is making great strides forward. The HS is now a “B” school; the MS a “C”! Students have told me that they were upset at having Somerset forced upon them. Now, however, they’re realizing how much they were missing under the Jefferson School System. If Ms. Washington is truly all about the kids, then she needs to start partnering with Somerset instead of fighting them ... or step down.
Karen Purser