Guest Blog: What happens during a school board meeting?
6/24/2017
Hello! My name is Christian and I will be working with JPEF this summer as a Policy Intern. I am a Political Science and Sociology Double Major at Howard University in Washington D.C. I am a graduate of Stanton College Preparatory School here in Jacksonville!
- Christian Hall, Policy Intern
Just as a railway track system has many components, positive outcomes for children in Duval’s public schools involve the integration of many moving parts. Like a conductor, the Duval County School Board oversees those parts and tries to address any barriers to keeping our children on the right track to success. This is why public participation in school board meetings is so important.
During the most recent School Board meeting June 20, the board discussed the district budget. Due to the recent signing of a controversial piece of legislation, HB 7069, DCPS will be forced to share about $16 million with charter schools over the next five years. As we get closer to the start of the new school year, the board will have to assess how they will proceed with this change.
The Duval County School Board is a collaborative body that was created for the purpose of implementing policies such as those laid out in HB 7069. Before the board can implement its policies, they must convene meetings for purposes of problem solving, planning, decision-making and evaluation.
As part of meeting the goals of accountability, transparency and connecting the community with the district, the Duval County School Board provides live online access to all meeting that are held by the district. The Regular Board Meetings are open to the public, and meetings are aired live at 6:00 p.m. on Comcast channel 212. Regular Board Meetings are normally held at 6:00 p.m. on the first Tuesday of each month. The meetings are held in the 1st Floor Board Room, Cline Auditorium of the School System Administration Building.
For more information about regular monthly Board meetings and the topics discussed, you can refer to the board agenda on the Duval County School Board site.
All scheduled meetings can be found here.
We can, in fact, improve the future of our region by acting together. Jacksonville is coming together to make good things happen!