Jefferson County School District, Florida
From Sunshine Review
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Contents |
[edit] Website evaluation
- Main article: Evaluation of Florida school district websites
[edit] The good
- School board members are listed with contact information. Meeting date/time posted.[1]
- Administrative officials are listed with contact information.[2]
[edit] The bad
- Only most recent minutes are posted and only agenda is from October 2008.[3]
- Site does not have a search function
- Does not provide information on budget, taxes, contracts, audits, public records, academic performance, and background checks.
[edit] School board
The school board controls school property, establishes, organizes, and operates the schools of the district, including: establishing schools, adopting enrollment plans, providing for school elimination and consolidation, cooperating with school boards of adjoining districts in maintaining schools, maintaining the school year schedule and other more specific duties as outlined in the Florida statute. [4]
It operates, controls and supervises the district's public schools as well as determines the rate of school district taxes, with the option of two or more school districts operating and financing educational programs together.
Below is a list of current Jefferson County School Board Members. [5]
| Member | District |
|---|---|
| Edward Vollertsen Chair | 1 |
| Sandra Saunders Vice-Chair | 2 |
| Shirley A. Washington | 3 |
| Marianne Arbulu | 4 |
| Charles Boland | 5 |
William Brumfield serves as the district's superintendent.
[edit] Teacher contracts
[edit] School Budget
In the 2008-09 school year the schools budget was $38,879,735.[6] Of that $1,271,370 towards instruction and $2,115,885 on Administration.[6] The Jefferson County School District is slated to receive $250,031 in Title I Grant allocations under the American Recovery and Reinvestment Plan.[7]
Revenue for the school totaled at $36,561,825 as well.[6]
- Federal: $433,000
- State: $9,791,000
- Local: $26,337,825
Additionally, there are 1,232 students currently enrolled in the school district.[8]
The Jefferson County school district's rainy day funds have become so depleted that Florida Education Commissioner is recommending an oversight board for the district's finances.[9]
[edit] Academic Performance
[edit] 2007-2009
Below is a chart of the school's grade based on the student's performance of the statewide test called the FCAT.[10]
| School | Level | Grade: 2007-08 | Grade: 2008-09 |
|---|---|---|---|
| Care Charter School of Excellence | Elementary | Not Applicable | Not Applicable |
| Jefferson County Elementary School | Elementary | D | C |
| Jefferson County Middle/High School | Combination | F |
[edit] Unions
[edit] School Choice
- See also: Florida school choice
According to a 2009 survey,[11] the Jefferson County School District currently has one Charter School; Care Charter School Of Excellence. The school offers grade levels K-5th to 104 students.
[edit] Lobbying
- Main article: Florida taxpayer-funded lobbying
The school district pays membership dues to the Florida School Boards Association, a taxpayer-funded lobbying association.[12]
[edit] Public Records
In late 2008 reporters organized by the Florida Society of Newspaper Editors requested the most recent budget emails from central Florida county and school district officials in order to audit the responses.
The Jefferson County School District failed the audit. When met with a request for an e-mail, the school superintendent and office staff became confused and suspicious, and later admitted to tracking down the requestor by her license plate number. "I meant no disrespect to her. I didn't intend to break the law," says the secretary who ran the requestors license plate. Once school officials realized that the requestor was a reporter, the e-mail was provided. [13]
See also public record requests meet with confusion in central Florida.
[edit] External links
- Jefferson County School District website
- Great Schools - Jefferson County
- Public School Review - Jefferson County
- School Matters - Jefferson County
[edit] References
- ↑ Board Members
- ↑ Offices
- ↑ Board Members
- ↑ School board powers and duties, Florida statute
- ↑ Jefferson County School Board Members
- ↑ 6.0 6.1 6.2 Jefferson County 2008-09 budget
- ↑ Grants to Local Educational Agencies - FLORIDA
- ↑ Jefferson County School District Information
- ↑ State Contemplates financial oversight for Jefferson County Schools
- ↑ Florida School Accountability Reports
- ↑ Charter Schools by district
- ↑ Florida School Boards Association members list
- ↑ Florida open record laws often violated, media finds, Associated Press, November 21, 2008
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