PESPA Pride: April 22, 2008

VOLUME XXVII, Number 10                  PCTA-PESPA.ORG                             April 22, 2008

DR. WILCOX TO RESIGN JUNE 1 

Dr. Clayton Wilcox has announced plans to leave Pinellas County and join Scholastic Corporation. Subject to School Board approval, his last day will be June 1. The School Board will meet this Friday to determine what course of action to take. Possibilities range from a full national search to promotion from within and any variation. “The Association does not have an official position yet,” said PESPA President Randy Dodds. “What we’re interested in is getting the best person to lead us through some very difficult times.”

Wilcox’s departure comes as the district faces a wide series of challenges. Probably the most important is the budget crisis which has the real possibility of a budget cut for the first time in 37 years. Add to that the new student assignment plan and possible redesign of middle schools and the magnitude of issues becomes clear. “We need someone who remembers that the strength of the District remains in the employees,” Dodds added.

Wilcox was hired just four years ago following a nation-wide search. He presided over the transition from court ordered busing to “close to home” schools. With the help of a voter-approved referendum, salaries eclipsed neighboring districts. “Confronted with a deeply divided School Board, there was a little too much compromising as seen by the ‘grandfathering’ of students in the choice plan,” Dodds said. “We cannot afford to spend money on luxuries when we can’t afford the basics.”

Pinellas County has three individuals who have expressed interest in the job: Dr. Julie Janssen, Deputy Superintendent; Dr. Harry Brown, Deputy Superintendent and Dr. Leon Hobbs, Associate Superintendent. Both Drs. Brown and Janssen have worked their way through the ranks of Pinellas schools. Dr. Hobbs has Superintendent experience having worked in both Alabama and Florida.

“It is important to remember that no one person ‘runs’ the school system,” Dodds concluded. “But only one person can lead it. We are ready to work with whomever the Board selects to continue our efforts to restore Pinellas to the kind of place that’s great for students and employees. Most importantly, we need stability in a time of tremendous change.”

 LEGISLATURE ROLLS INTO FINAL WEEKS 

The Florida legislature will adjourn May 2. Between now and then, decisions will be made that could have a profound impact on you and your job. Presently, the ‘worst case’ scenario is the Senate budget which cuts per pupil funding over $100 below the holdback rate (roughly $125 per student). This would mean funding for next year would be about $25 million below this year’s. “Faced with increases in insurance of over $10 million dollars, you can see why Wilcox left!” said PESPA Executive Director Jade Moore.

However, there are rays of hope. The House budget cuts are closer to $80 per student and flexibility is provided to allow us to use two mil money (normally reserved for capital projects) to provide for casualty insurance (about a $7 million issue.) In addition, the state could tap into the ‘rainy day’ fund and cover the entire shortfall. This is the message that FEA is promoting this week. “In the final analysis, there’s lots the legislature can do,” said Moore. “Our job is to convince them to do it being mindful of the fact that you can’t keep spending reserves. Fundamentally, the state has a deeply flawed tax policy which must be fixed.”