Duval school district has new campaign videos, but will it recruit more students?
Layoffs, consolidation and search for superintendent among list of needs
News4Jax | By Jenese Harris |
JACKSONVILLE, Fla. – Some teachers are concerned after the Duval County Public Schools district confirmed approximately 700 positions could be cut.
A Duval County Public Schools video campaign comes as we’re learning more about the district’s process around potentially closing and consolidating more than two dozen schools, in the coming years.
Four well produced videos advertise the benefits of attending Duval schools.
One shows an elementary school aged student holding a sheet of paper that reads, ”Reason 8.”
Reason 8 is among the many reasons that students should attend a Duval School, followed by a teen girl proudly shouting, ”I’m going to the University of Florida, Go Gators.”
From college bound goals to advanced courses and a nurturing environment, it all highlights the district.
It’s obvious the advertisements are telling the viewers that students benefit from attending a Duval school in many ways, but is the ad campaign working?
News4JAX reached out to talk with Duval Schools about the advertisements but have not heard back.
These advertisements are airing at a time when the district confirmed there could be 700 positions cut for the next school year and student enrollment has been dropping.
One veteran teacher told us by phone, she didn’t want her name used in fear of retaliation, but wanted to share how she felt about the potential teacher cuts.
“My initial reaction was a little bit of shock. I had already heard about the possible closures of certain schools to accommodate the changes in the budget since COVID. And so then to add the personnel cuts on top of that, was a little shocking,” she said.
This teacher also said she hopes parents will consider keeping their children in Duval schools because she says charter and public schools are not exactly the same.
“I think that many charter schools, open and I think you certainly have good intentions to begin with. But that the dollar becomes very important, and that uh when we look at some of the charter schools, uh the certification of their staff is very different than public schools, ”said the veteran teacher.
The school district just posted this article to update the community on a proposal that could involve closing more schools.
It states in part:
“The Duval County School Board recently heard a consultant’s proposal to re-draw school boundaries, align feeder patterns, and consolidate many small or under enrolled schools.”
It goes on to explain “The district requested the proposal for three major reasons…”
Reason One: Operational Revenue and Falling Enrollment: In 15 years charter school attendance went up from 2 thousand to 25 thousand
Reason Two: A $1.4 Billion Gap in Master Facility Plan projections
Reason Three: Enhancing Boundary Zones
Meanwhile for layoffs the district might move people from eliminated jobs to vacancies, but teachers are still worried.
“I’m concerned for my students and my families — looking at things where the class sizes are going to be increased. Certainly coming into the testing season, we start testing tomorrow. I’m always concerned about that. I think that, decisions need to be made rather quickly. And I don’t take that lightly. I know that they’re serious decisions. So that people have the opportunity to adjust and to accommodate,” said the veteran teacher.
