“They control the purse. That’s basic civics.” That was Clay County School Board chairwoman Erin Skipper’s response in May to community calls for the board to advocate to state lawmakers for full public school funding and voucher accountability. While the state does set the budget, local school boards have a vital duty to advocate for the community that elected them.
Clay County has already lost $30 million to private school vouchers. Shockingly, 70-80% of these vouchers go to students who never even attended a public school. These are not “scholarships” for struggling students; they are often subsidies for families already enrolled in private education, while our neighborhood schools face the consequences of underfunding.
Superintendent David Broskie has been bold in addressing the unfairness of these vouchers, yet Skipper’s solution to the funding gap is for teachers to “keep their own money” by running summer camps on school facilities or relying on booster club fundraising.
Our educators are already overworked and underpaid. Expecting them to take on extra summer labor just to make ends meet isn’t a solution; it’s a side-hustle.
The board’s own strategic plan explicitly includes lobbying the Florida Legislature for funding. If advocating for the resources our classrooms need is outside their role, then why did Skipper feel the need to travel to Tallahassee to speak out against collective bargaining?
We need a board that stands with our teachers and students, not one that tells them to fundraise their way out of a systemic budget crisis. It is time for the Clay County School Board to use its collective voice to demand accountability for voucher spending and prioritize our neighborhood schools.
Aaryn Frick, Orange Park
Why water safety must start early
Amaya White stood outside the pond where her 2-year-old daughter Melani Mixson drowned, demanding that apartment complexes be held accountable for dangerous water hazards on their properties. She is right ― ponds, pools and other bodies of water should be fenced, maintained and treated as serious safety risks.
Fences and warning signs are not enough on their own, however. We are missing an easy, low-cost way to protect young children: teaching them simple water safety rules before they are ever alone near the water.
As a teen ambassador for the National Drowning Prevention Alliance and founder of Own Your Float, a student-led water safety initiative, I bring water safety lessons into preschools and community centers. I have watched 2-year-olds learn to say: “I won’t go near water without a grown-up.” We explain why without scaring them, so they remember it and repeat it.
Water safety needs to be taught early in schools, daycare centers and pre-K classrooms, even to children 2 to 4 years old. Drowning is the leading cause of accidental death for children under 4, but we are not treating it that way.
It should not depend on whether a family can afford swim lessons and needs to reach every child, including children who learn differently. Teaching it early could save lives.
Melani deserved that protection, and so do the children who come after her.
Kate Casciato, 16, is the author of a new children’s book water safety book, “Captain Goggles Saves the Day,”which will soon be distributed in at least eight Florida library systems. She lives in New York.
Who helped Medicare fraudster?
Thanks to Steve Patterson for his article on the guilty plea entered by Madhukar Sharma in the $30 million Medicare fraud scheme. Missing from this article are the names of the companies, doctors’ offices, care centers, hospitals or other institutions in possession of personal Medicare account information who contributed to the scheme by providing those details.
As a victim of this fraud and other false claims on my Medicare account, I would certainly like to know who disclosed my information. I cannot be alone on wanting to know this. After all, who can be trusted?
Everyone should know that it is important to closely examine your Medicare claim summaries when they arrive and be sure they are all legitimate. That is how I found all the illegitimate claims on my summaries and was able to immediately report them to Medicare.
After this happened to me several times over a two-year-period, I was amazed to learn how many people do not review their summaries.
Victims must be diligent to help stop this fraud from continuing. I hope we will soon learn the names of all who got kickbacks in this scheme to help Sharma successfully defraud Medicare of millions. Should they go to jail also and repay the kickbacks? Yes.
Pat Teems, Jacksonville
Jacksonville renters feel taxes most
Our local government budgets are growing much faster than people and businesses can afford to pay. The city of Jacksonville’s general fund surged by almost $700 million between fiscal years 2019-2020 and 2024-2025. That’s a 50% increase while the population increased by only 6.3%.
This year the city budget is $2 billion, an increase of 14% which far exceeds the rate of inflation and population growth.
To fund this ever-increasing budget, Jacksonville and the local school board have raised taxes on residential and commercial renters. The School Board has few limits on its taxing authority and outpaced the city in yearly increases, even while steadily losing around 3,000 students per year.
The result is that the working class is getting squeezed with increased housing costs while their employers are getting hurt with ever higher operating costs, which adversely affect wages and benefits.
If we do not reverse this trend, Jacksonville will no longer be the business-friendly city it markets itself to be. We must not squander the advantage that our consolidated government should bring us in significantly lower property taxes.
Bill Spinner, builder-developer, Jacksonville
Trump still following Cohn’s rules
It was refreshing to read Fran and Pete Sheridan’s May 31 letter to the editor. They questioned why Republicans aren’t stepping up and speaking out against Donald Trump. They listed several examples of the president’s behavior that illustrate his narcissism.
I would like to go a step further and state that Trump is not only a malignant narcissist, but also a bully. As was demonstrated in “The Apprentice,” he adopted lawyer Roy Cohn’s rules for managing and dominating situations, as well as people.
These rules can be summed up this way:
Cohn’s rules served Trump well in his role on “The Apprentice.” However, his carrying of these rules over to his presidency do not serve “We the People” well at all.
Maggie Barker, Jacksonville Beach
Congrats to Carlucci and Howland
Congratulations to Joe Carlucci, who in a close vote, has been elected to be the next vice president of the Jacksonville City Council.
What an amazing feat for a young man. He is following in the footsteps of his dad and granddad, while at the same time making his own mark on the great city of Jacksonville. I enjoy seeing all the great things Joe Carlucci is accomplishing in his district. Keep up the good work.
Also, congratulations to Nick Howland on getting the position of City Council president.
Melinda Jarman, Jacksonville
This article originally appeared on Florida Times-Union: State may control funding, but advocacy is Clay schools’ job | Letters
Reporting by Jacksonville Florida Times-Union / Florida Times-Union
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