Community-Requested School Board Item
Powerful Voices in the Black Community, Greetings!
I gained strength from reading the Florida Sentinel article describing the Citizens Committee discussions at Tampa Park Plaza. I applaud the initiative in that it reflects a willingness to come together to perhaps make a difference for others.
The district’s agenda covers a number of items that the board will act on to approve expenditures from its $2.9 billion budget. Most of the recommendations are legitimate. One can certainly find items, however, that will benefit students who have advocates more than those without advocates in the home or the community.
At some point, the Citizens Committee’s efforts may evolve into holding local authorities accountable for the operations of schools. I encourage its members to reflect on this observation. It only takes the votes of four school board members to redirect significant portions of a $2.9 billion budget toward underserved and underrepresented students. Positive and precise comments at school board meetings by individual committee members could lead to black students in urban Zip Codes being among the beneficiaries of Race to the Top and other federal, state, and local education reform initiatives.
In His Service,
Jason
