To the School Board, parents' opinions are not important. With a 10 percent to 15 percent participation rate at the end of the 1999-2000 school year, parents said they did not want school uniforms. The School Board, however, has requested its attorney to review ways the system can legally mandate school uniforms for all students. Five years ago, parents loudly protested the year-round school calendar that kept their children in school throughout the summer. So now, the School Board has gradually changed the dates by one-week increments over several years until an early August school commencement date will be in effect next year, which sounds more and more like a summer school calendar.
Parents complain of the loss of actual teaching time because of the multiple standardized testing.
Instead, the School Board has added additional standardized tests in conjunction with the superintendent's pet project, America's Choice schools. Parents agonize over the class size. But, the School Board wants to try to squeeze 35 students in. Parents hope the schools will recognize Jacksonville is a growing community and make appropriate plans. Alas, School Board members stand at one local school and look at 1,000 new apartment units being built within eyesight of the school.