By Kyle Russell
Recently, there has been a series of town hall meetings in Flagler County focused on one topic: a referendum on a 25-cent-per-$1,000 property tax that has been in place for some time now. The reason the tax is being put on the ballot now is that the Florida Legislature has decided to require school districts to get voter approval for such funding, rather than let school boards vote on the levy, as they have for years. This has given some groups (such as the tea partiers) yet another chance to argue for lower taxes and spending, only this time they get to aim at public schools too.
Click On:
- The Other Tax Referendum: School District Battles Misperceptions to Preserve Levy
- In School Board Race, a Clash of Clarity And Fact Between Fischer and Sword
- Superintendent Janet Valentine: Why You Should Vote For the .25 Mill School Tax Levy
- School Board Members Talking to Empty Benches at Town Halls on Tax Levy
- Scoring 7, FPC’s Rowan Littlefield Didn’t Just Conquer the World. He Conquered Pigdom.
- FPC & Matanzas Students Collect the Most Awards in World Competition’s 36 Years
As a senior at Flagler Palm Coast High School, let me give my two cents on why the tax is needed. As many probably know, a bachelor’s degree earned today is roughly the equivalent of a high school diploma earned several decades ago, as far as qualifications required and income go.
In that same time span, the financial aid and loans needed for many to attend college has become far easier to access. For that reason, the competition to get into the better colleges has skyrocketed. To stand out from the crowd, we must be qualified in terms of both academics and extracurriculars.
The tax brings in roughly $2 million dollars a year for the school system, in a budget of around $100 million. That’s money that helps keep the programs vital to setting Flagler County students above the rest running. Without the funding necessary to maintain programs such as the International Baccalaureate (IB), Advanced Placement (AP), National Honor Society, Mu Alpha Theta, Future Problem Solvers, and Model UN, students from Flagler County would stand little chance in the competition for acceptance to the best colleges within or outside Florida.
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Personally, I am the top-ranked student in the senior class, vice president of the math club, and a member of various other clubs. Even with all of these going for me, I know that I am going against literally thousands of similarly qualified students when I apply to the top schools. Like many students at my level, I go online to discuss college applications with peers on websites such as College Confidential (a great resource for students, by the way). On this and similar sites, students and parents post our “brag sheets,” or our grades and extracurricular activities, and try to predict our chances of getting into schools.
The sad reality that most come to realize is that even those of us who consider ourselves exceptional in our schools are relatively common among those applying to Tier 1 schools. Nearly everyone has an A average, a 1400+ SAT score, and is a member of the National Honor Society and a community service club.
What sets those of us in Flagler County apart is the quality of the programs available to us. Students with a penchant for math can join Mu Alpha Theta, a competitive math honor society that has won trophies at state-level competitions. For those with an inclination for community service, the Community Problem Solvers program has won on a regular basis at the annual International Conference. For seniors such as Ryan McDermott (who you may recognize as one of the student school board members this year) and myself applying to universities as prestigious as the Massachusetts Institute of Technology and Princeton, having won first and second place in an international competition is among the best things we could do to set ourselves apart. The funding brought in by the tax appearing on the ballot in November helps in allowing our school to provide us with these activities. For this reason, a vote of ‘yes’ for the referendum is a vote well spent.
Now, say what you will about “I’ve already sent my students though school” or “public education is horrible,” but please consider the mutual benefits to society brought by more students having access to higher levels of education. Students who may have gone on to be the engineers behind the technology that would have eliminated the need for foreign fossil fuels could instead be forced into less productive career paths. Those who would have gone on to be the doctors so vitally needed in our country could be limited in their post-secondary education options. Remember that the intelligent student held back by limited funding is also the doctor, engineer, programmer, or even teacher that could have been.
Jim Guines says
Thanks Kyle for joining Mrs. Valentine, the School Superintendent, and your school board members
in supporting the school tax referendum. It is very important to have the student’s point of view.
Kip Durocher says
Excellent logic and reasoning. A great representative of the Flagler County Schools. Having had two children in school in Flagler County from PreK thru 12th grade I always felt we had a 1st Class system. This young man proves my point for me. Lets keep it that way ~ leave the ¼ mill intact.
Orion says
There is no doubt, that The School Board should have the money to provide a Class “A “education.and I have no problems with the 1/4 mil. .I was one of the few who went to the hearings held by the Board during the past 2 weeks. According to the numbers provided, there are approximately 13,000 students in the Flagler system. If we apply the 20-23 students /class guideline, we should have approximately 650 teachers, plus, absentee teachers to handle the classrooms. But what jumped out at me, is that we have 1700 employees, in the Board,, of which only 1/3 of the total are first line teachers. Just why should it take double of the front line educators to support ythe teachers? I’d rather have the organization weighted heavier on the teacher level, not the support. Regretfully, fewer residents get involved in the teaching budget, even though it is the greatest portion of our Ad Valorum tax. The biggest problem now seems to be that education teaches special skills, and no generalization, which would give the student a better chance of getting work, if another downturn occurs.. And it will…
Pierre Tristam says
Orion, there Are some misconceptions about that 1700. I’ve asked school officials to provide some clarification–more precise numbers on how the 1700 breaks down.
Kyle Russell says
“The biggest problem now seems to be that education teaches special skills, and no generalization, which would give the student a better chance of getting work, if another downturn occurs.. And it will…”
This doesn’t quite make sense. If a job only requires general skills, which is the case for most minimum wage jobs, then even a high school education is more than enough. If the job requires specialized skills, then the fact that education is specialized is an advantage.
Truth Traveler says
Most of the FCSB employees are NOT teachers with students in a classroom. That is how it breaks down.
S Robinson says
I too support the tax referendum and no longer have any children in the school system. My children received an excellent education here. I just wish they didn’t have to leave Palm Coast to find employment.
Andy Dance says
Orion,
Thank you for attending the town hall meetings and getting the information firsthand.
Allow me an opportunity to clarify your school ditrict employee numbers. The most recent tally for number of school district employees is 1,740.
Of the 1,740 employees, 1,113 work directly in the schools. Teachers/Instructional staff comprise 812 positions, support staff comprise 268 positions and there are 32 administrators spread among the 11 traditional schools and iFlagler.
The remaining 627 employees are spread throughout the district, with the largest numbers located in the following departments: Custodial, Transportation, Adult/Community Ed & Food Service.
Kyle, thank you for an excellent summary.
Jim Guines says
Thank you, Andy. You are always helpful on the net, I appreciate your responsiveness.