School Superintendent

It will be interesting to see how this plays out.  With Mayor Peyton whining about needing fees to offset tax reductions that severance pay would be made a thing of the past.  John Q Public doesn't get a severance package when he's fired from a job. That severance package, and all of them collectively could be better used elsewhere. 

Yes I have been reading about this. I was pretty sure they had made a mistake when they hired him. Then I heard about what went on at his last job and it did nothing but re-enforce my opinion.

Now, do I think he is correct about the member he says should resign? Oh yes! I'd bet $5 to an empty hole in a doughnut that he is spot on with his accusations.

I also think they have a lot more problems than a dysfunctional school board and a mediocre superintendent.

When only 23% of your students can read at grade level and only 80% can write at grade level, you need to clean house and get rid of everyone that has anything to do with the school system for at least the past 10 years.

Of course, I'm not sure how that math works. Only 23% can read but 80% can write at grade level. I guess they must be using the 77% that can't read to check the writing, and they think it's just fine.

Am I glad that we elect, rather than appoint our superintendent? Yes I am.

There may some problems and issues in our schools here in Clay County, but at least the students are getting a decent education. Sometimes in spite of themselves, but an education none-the-less.

Finder

...I have to more than agree with your comments about Superimtendent Wise. (Now there is an extreme example of not living up to one's name.) I, also, could see the crayon writing on the walls when this clown came down from Wilmington, DE. In a state that continually re-elects Joe Biden, anyone should have been on alert when he was put on a candidate list.

And David Owens is not any better. This guy is metaphorically wetting his pants waiting for just the right moment to tie his tax increase to the proper kite and float it up in an elctrical storm hoping to strike the right bolt of lightening and get it passed. There will be no mention of this tax either in the next election. Personally, I think almost any one of the fine teachers in Clay County could do a better job. Had  I not lost all belief in any elected figure decades ago, I might be distressed with the current crop of Rejects From Dick Tracy's Rogues Gallery we now contend with. Alas, that, along with my innocence is long gone hand in hand with the five cent Coke.

Lily's Lore "I don't ever want to be rescued And I don't ever want to be saved I got a feelin' that I'm gonna be alive forever Dancin' on the edge of a grave..." Jim Steinman

finder,

Comparatively, yes. Students in Clay County are faring better than in Duval yet even at the best achieving high school (FIH), only 54% of students are reading on grade level. At Keystone, it's about 51% this year. But take a look at Middelburg (34% reading on grade level) and that's as atrocious as Duval County.

The thing that bothered my about the way Sup. Wise handled the alleged residence fraud, is that he took matters into his own hands. If he had really been worried about the legality of what a board member was doing, wouldn't he have turned the information over to the Supervisor of Elections, discreetly, who in turn would have forwarded evidence to the State's Attorney's office to investigate? Heaven knows, there are enough ethics violations to go around in Jax these days. If proven, this is just another example of the mentality that needs to be purged.

The way Wise handled it reaked of a personality conflict instead of resolving the question professionally and with due courtesy. The Board Member is, after all, elected by her constituents and therefore earned her place on the Board.

Talking about something that reaked why go to the failed State Attorney's Office. What would Shorstein do? The same thing he always does. After the Judge Moran issues because she was not being truthful when she called the police, but after she changed her position she was then telling the truth.

The only thing Shorstein has left is the ethics violations before he leaves office and they are all cleared and he bats 100.

All of it reaks.

Well it will not be too much longer that we have to hear Harry make excuses.  He should have been out after completing the first term in office.  I guess we have only two candidates to pick from now and they are both products of his office.  I am sure it will business as normal, poor investigations. cases dropped, weak plea deals, and select prosecution of individuals. What a waste of taxpayers money.

 Callahan

I thought I was the only cynic with a very low opinion of that crew from Duval County. I don't agree with most of the things Wise does, but I thought the letter was one of the best things he's done.

You want to get things out in the open, that's the way to do it. Go to Shorstein? This guy is the best grave digger I've ever seen. He could bury a semi so deep no one would ever find it.

The Board Member is, after all, elected by her constituents and therefore earned her place on the Board.

If she doesn't live there, then she was NOT elected by her constituents and did NOT earn her place on the board. What she did was lie, and steal a place on the board. Of course, in my opinion, that's what most politicians do most of the time anyway.

Finder

Key2life;

I guess I haven't been paying enough attention to the school stats. As you said, comparatively those scores are better than Duval, but still pretty dismal.

In my humble opinion, we need to put a lot more emphasis on teaching our students to read. This to me is the key to the kingdom. If it means we have to do away with some of the touchy-feely, it's easy to get an 'A' in this class, and underwater basket weaving type courses, then so be it. Don't teach the FCAT, just teach. If they can read and comprehend, all else will fall into place.

If the students graduate and are functionally illiterate, i.e. they can't read write at the 5th grade level. The best they will ever be is unskilled labor.

Finder

finder,

What's the difference between living in an inherited home and moving into the county to take a gubernatorial appointment? That happened right here in River City.

School Board member Charlie Van Zant Sr. moved out of his Bradford County home into a Clay County rental he owned with another partner, changed his driver's license to the Clay County address, dropped his homestead exemption on his Bradford County  home and accepted a gubernatorial appointment to replace his son on the School Board. The Supervisor of Elections did nothing. No one in the press wrote anything about it. Swish...under the rug it went.

Now that Charlie Jr. is back and ready to takeover his "rightful" spot, I bet it's not six weeks before Charlie Sr. moves back to Bradford County. Can they get away with it? Have they gotten away with it? Absolutely.

They operate with an air of entitlement. It's their way of saying, "We (the public) owe it to them."

Where is Angela? Lilyslore? I can't wait to hear what they have to say.

finder, maybe the moral of the story is: There is no right and wrong way to disclose deceit as long as it is publicly disclosed.

Up front let me say I don't know Charlie Sr or Jr.  What is so wrong with what Sr did?  Did he just not comply with the law by moving?  Does it say anything anywhere about someone having to "own" property in the area where they serve, or that they can only own one property? 

I am being neither snide nor sarcastic, it's an honest question.  If the critieria to serve is that you live where you serve it seems to me that the man simply complied with the rules even if on a temporary basis. 

You are correct about getting deceit into the light of public scrutiny. I just like to see a guy that is not afraid to charge the windmill. Sure did get some peoples attention didn't he? Maybe it will get some folks on board that can get the problem fixed.

As for Van Zant, you haven't covered the half of it. As for Sr. I wouldn't take that bet on when he moves. My guess is that he is already back in Bradford County.

This whole fiasco was a product of smoke and mirrors. Those that wanted him in there made a big stink about how people were picking on the poor reservist that was serving his country being denied the opportunity to serve the county just because he had been called to active duty. This was enough to get people to focus on the stuff and fluff of local politics and to hide the truth of what was really going on.

The rest of the story is that Van Zant Jr. should not even be in that position. He broke so many military rules about not running for political office while he was on active duty that he probably should have been Court Marshaled and put out of the military. He knew he broke the rules and did nothing to fix the problem. His superiors also knew it and did nothing but sweep it under the rug. Different spanks for different ranks.

Even the county did nothing about it when they were informed that they had not followed their own rules in the past when they let Jr serve while he was deployed, paid him to do it and were getting ready to do it again until that was really brought into public scrutiny. I'd venture a guess that this is another one that didn't pay back the money he wasn't supposed to get, nor has he been asked to.

Find Folio Weekly back issues. They had about a 4 pager on the saga of Van Zant serving as he is. Is Folio Weekly a bit off center some times? Sure are, but over all they have more of the nitty gritty of a story than you'll find in main stream reporting.

Finder

In the Van Zandt case it might not be illegal but seems un-ethical to me. Ethics or lack of ethics in government and politics has been gone quite awhile now.  We are to blame because we just don't have time any more to follow what's going on . And if we do know there is not much can be done. Even the ballot box doesn't offer us any relief. A crook or and idiot,, some choice

Marsha,

It is illegal to be a registered voter in one county and live in a different county. A register voter signs a voter register card attesting to the validity of his/her address. Sr. voted in Clay County in the last election (when Jr. had a challenger). His public record shows he's been a registered voter in Clay County since 1983 or 4. I forget which. It's a third degree felony or a $5k fine for voter fraud. The Supervisor of Elections chose not to act upon the information for whatever reason.

finder,

I love your comment, "Different spanks for different ranks." How true is that. Some don't get spanked at all.

Keep those cards and letters coming.

Thanks for pointing that out, as a registered voter who has lived over half a life in the military where I've dealt with only a "home of record" I was unaware of that law.

No doubt there is some legal loophole when it gets down to the nitty gritty that of SofE would use to justify the lack of action such as jurisdiction.  Both Clay and Bradford could ping pong that one back and forth for years. 

Incriments, always a game of incriments. 

l.  What law prevents a person from doing what he did?

2.  What did you expect the Supervisor of Elections to do?

The 4th district under Mr. Shorstein has been an embrassment to the citizens. You talk about the Van Zant issues. That's just one in a long list that is full of names in the 4th district. I hope the citizens WAKE UP out here and do somthing. If nothing else vote all these rogue renegades out of office.

What about the Bowles issues and his place of residence. Where did that go right in the trash can with the rest of the investigations concerning public officials who always seem to be flaunting their superiority that they are above the law. Look what it took to even get the Van Zant matter investigated.

I once thought the grand jury was a very important part of our system. I think it is a spoon fed group of people that only gets what the prosecutor wants them to have nothing more or nothing less. All of this is done behind closed doors and the individuals involved are not allowed to talk. If they want them convicted of a crime they get convicted.  If not, they don't. How can you have any faith in that system of justice.

I was a big supporter of the death penalty until I have watched many years of the Florida Justice System. I could not in good conscience ever vote to send someone to their death in the State of Florida unless I saw them with my own eyes commit that crime.

We have maintained the Dept of Corruption in Florida that is suppose to be the Dept of Corrections. I think we had more criminals running the place than we had serving time in the place. What an incentive for those being held to get out and go the right way. 

I guess it didn't take long for Mr. Wise to see that if he took this through the proper channels where it would end up. So he took it to the people.

Just look at Clay County we have a bunch of Commissioners running around deemed ignorant and negligent but drawing that retirement we are paying for folks. In more ways than one.

alabayea,

1. On the Florida Voter Registration Application, in box 16 of the Clay County App, there is an Oath: I do solemnly swear (and affirm) that I will protect and defend the Constitution of the United States and the Constitution of the State of Florida, that I am qualified to register as an elector under the Constitution and laws of the State of Florida, and that all information provided in this application is true.

Note:
If the information on the application is not true, the applicant can be convicted of a felony of the third degree and fined up to $5,000 and /or imprisoned for up to five years.

2. The right thing...her job. If the information Sr. provided was incorrect, it should have been prosecuted. Based on the paper trail, he lived in Bradford County, was homesteaded in Bradford County, driver's license reflected the Bradford address and was registered to vote in Clay County. Then he changed his driver's license to his rental property, dropped his homestead exemption and moved into Clay County weeks after his name had been submitted to the Governor by his son.

So, the bases of your allegation is not whether he could move into Clay County to meet the requiremnts, but where he had been registered to vote.  Do you have proof and did you report it to anyone?  If so, who? 

It is true a person cannot live in one precinct and vote in another even if it is in the same county much less another county.  A person must vote where they live and live where they vote.

Isn't it a bit late to be raking the lying Charlie Van Zant over the coals now that the issue is no longer pertinent? I remember being upset about this flim flam scam he perpetrated on Clay County when it happened. I even went so far as to look up the requirements to apply for the job myself. But as usual, nepotism in this state won out.

But what really has me completely discombobulated is with all this outrage over a long past issue, where is the outrage over an incompetent judge turning loose a three time child killer without so much as a stern talking to? And I still can't grasp the complete indifference of the local paper, never mind the My Clay Sun (even though a similar killing took place of one of their own staffers). It still is incomprehensible to me how all of you (excepting Marsha) can go on and on over this mundane nonsense and not give a damn about these killings. Get a grip people. I keep hoping a number of you will begin to care and generate letters to the editor so we can get to the bottom of  all this once and for all. So far all the letters I have written haven't generated a single caring drop of ink. (I am beginning to think that someone involved must be pretty tightly connected either to the judge or to the killer, I just don't know who or how.)

Lily's Lore "I don't ever want to be rescued And I don't ever want to be saved I got a feelin' that I'm gonna be alive forever Dancin' on the edge of a grave..." Jim Steinman

lilyslore,

The question has been raised before. Raising it now was using the situation as an example of exposed deceit which received little or no attention by authorities or the press (save the Folio in the case of VZ, Jr.).

This certainly isn't more important than the deaths which you refer. Nothing makes up for that!

I did not know about the Van Zant case or the details.  It is my right to ask questions if I so choose. 

The Van Zant horse is still kickin', so there's still time to beat it.

Since it involves one of the six, counting the superintendent, people hired to conduct the business of educating our children, and spend several hundred million dollars a year doing it with decreasing efficiency, the legitimacy of Van Zant (pick one, it doesn't matter) being on the Board should be officially determined.

If Van Zant the Elder committed voter fraud, then he should be ineligible to hold elected or appointed office.  If Van Zant the Younger was ineligible to run for office because of his active duty military status at the time of the last election, then he should not be re-appointed to office if The Elder steps aside or is force aside.

And if it's determined that neither Van Zant is actually eligible for office, it should be done quickly enough to include that School Board seat in next year's elections.  Wait another year and it'll get dumped back into the lap of the governor.

Besides, a wrong doesn't become a right just because people aren't complaining about it.

By Federal law, if you are in the military serving outside your electoral district,

you have the choice of remaining a citizen and voter in your home district, or

switching your legal residence (and voting franchise) to where you currently live.

Like all of you, I am pretty disgusted with all our elected officials and can't wait to vote against them. Sometimes, however, I feel we are all in one small boat echoing our sentiments only to each other and don't appear to be reaching a wider audience. We are committed to change over all, maybe we differ on specifics, but for the most part we are a very small minority with barely a voice, albeit a well written voice.

My suggestion, I would like to start a fund to raise enough money to buy a full page ad in My Clay Sun which would enumerate all the questionable activities of the school board members and the BCC. I would especially like to work very hard to defeat Harold Rutledge once and for all, hopefully banishing him out of our community for all eterniity. Actually, that would go for Thrasher too except he isn't running for anything but the next bag o' cash. What I propose would be several selections from the regular bloggers who are deeply committed to this idea and have them printed just before election day in hopes of reaching those casual voters who are uninformed and don't have any real feelings one way or another. Too often these voters merely vote for a name they recognize. If we could associate say Rutledge with his huge garbage tax, it may be enough to catch a casual observer's attention to the point of rebellion. Of course, this is by no means a final blueprint. Any and all suggestions are welcome.

Lily's Lore "I don't ever want to be rescued And I don't ever want to be saved I got a feelin' that I'm gonna be alive forever Dancin' on the edge of a grave..." Jim Steinman

Lilyslore your right on the money. The success of a sorry politician is the poor memory of the voter.  Enough time may pass that the voter forgets the past sins of a politician and they need to be reminded just before Election Day.  It is a continuance of telling us what we want to hear and doing what they want to do.

Callahan

OneMann,

The six, to which you are referring, spends over $400 million per year (nearly twice the budget of the BCC).

The rub in determining the legitimacy of either Van Zant on the board lies with the military. The Secretary of State ruled Junior had broken no state election laws and was a qualified candidate when he filed for re-election.

Junior volunteered for deployment to Kuwait, talked to Gov. Bush ahead of announcing his deployment and filed for candidacy. He was a federalized officer. Period. My understanding is it doesn't matter when he files, he cannot do both. And it makes sense if you think about it.

Let's say Junior is a Lt. Col. in the Army and also an elected Congressman. He's deployed to Kuwait but Congress is debating about whether or not to fund the war. It's a clear case of a conflict of interest in that he's voting on an issue which personally affects him and professionally, he's in a position to send men and women into a war that may not be supported by Congress. I don't think we want to place our military men and women in that position.

The only agency that can initiate any action and legitimize or condemn his Board membership is the military. I guess the spotlight has not been glaring enough to reel in one of their renegades. He takes over his father's appointment this Thursday.

The Supervisor of Elections was made fully aware of Senior's transgressions including supporting evidence. There was no public statement of receipt of this complaint nor was there an outcome. Nada.

Lily,

though not related to this blog, please pass on more info re the child killer you spoke of.  Unfortunately, that type of story is all too common.  I know the story about the poor woman killed in OP by an out-of-jail felon, but not the other story.  Thanks.

I would be more than happy to contribute to your fund to remind the citizens of all the questionable activities of the school board members and the BCC.

Commissioner "My Way" has been dissed. Just check out those contributions. As they say, When in doubt, check it out. 

I would encourage all citizens to check the campaign contributions of those seeking office in the upcoming elections.

Our county lobbyist has contirbuted now to several campaigns. One who voted for the expansion of the poker rooms and is now seeking a seat at the BCC. Contributor was a lobbyist for the OPKC. Hey that's okay it all started in lower Florida, I am told. Besides they looked at all the important information before casting that vote. I bet they did.

This is yet another reference to the tragic case of an old man with a bad driving record causing a multi-car pile up at the foot of the Shands bridge this past February. Three children were killed. They were (if I recall correctly) 8, 5 and 3 years in age. Nothing was ever written about it again until this past August when the judge (identified as Tim Collins for me by Mr. Thames) handed down a sentence of fifteen hundred dollars in fines and told the killer to attend driver improvement class. (I am guessing here that maybe he missed a fourth child?) Marsha did some digging and found he has two prior drunk driving convictions. I have been mentioning this ever since I first read that 3 line blurb in the MCS. The Time Union did not think this as worthy a story to persue so much as what nightly fiasco involving Britney Spears might be. I am pretty disgusted with their editorial staff.

I also want to know if this is the same judge who let the killer of the MCS staffer skate because his son is an NFL player. I am really stunned that Mr. Thames doesn't care about all this either. This is why I continually bring up Elmer Polite. I am hoping one day enough people will write in demanding an in depth story.

Lily's Lore "I don't ever want to be rescued And I don't ever want to be saved I got a feelin' that I'm gonna be alive forever Dancin' on the edge of a grave..." Jim Steinman

Lily I don't believe I said he had any charges related to drunk driving, what I believe I said was that he has a history of traffic violations for speeding. 

Public Records has Mr Polite living at 2911 EastNet in St Augustine.  I could not find that street name or any variation of it in County Records, nor is there anyone with that last name who owns property in St Johns County. 

He was to have paid his fine by 10/15 but it hadn't been entered into Public Records if he did.  My guess is that with what appears to be a ficticious address odds are even the fine won't be paid. 

It is horrible horrible horrible to look at those public records and see that all he's been charged with is not staying in his lane and a fine for a passenger not wearing a seat belt.  It looks so benign, yet three kids are dead. 

Accidents happen but this guy has a history of speeding.  Its mind boggling that he got nothing more then a fine and traffic school.

Marsha, I'm sorry if I misremembered exactly what you told me. I was not trying to put you on the spot. With each advancing year I find myself doing that more and more often to the point one day I will simply have to stop writing for fear that all my posts will have to be categorized in the fiction department. If it was a record of poor driving that's bad enough.

However, once again I extend kudos to you and your investigative abilities. You do a far better job than the Times Union staffers. It's no wonder most of the stories are reruns from the Associated Press.

Lily's Lore "I don't ever want to be rescued And I don't ever want to be saved I got a feelin' that I'm gonna be alive forever Dancin' on the edge of a grave..." Jim Steinman

The board has asked the general council to prepare documents for Mr. Wise's termination. They will re-convene the hearing tomorrow at 4:00 to consider the matter before the board.

If they are elected you can either recall which is a long process or wait until it time to vote them out of office.

Election versus appointment....hum

Did anyone think this wasn't going to happen? If the board thinks they are going to get away with paying him a 90 package to go away I think they have lost their focus. My guess is his lawyers will negotiate between $300,000 - $500,000. That's too bad. He isn't worth it. Of course I didn't think he was worth $275,000 a year. But some other idiots will hire him for more money.

One other bad thing about this whole mess is that the allegations he made against a board member just disappeared in the smoke and mirrors of the boards desire to keep someone from ratting them out to the public.

Finder

If he is terminated for cause does that give him leverage to ask for money? They did not talk about buying him out of his contract.

 "There have been certain actions and escalating events that give me concern about the superintendent's management of the district as well as his compliance with statutory and contract duties," Drake said. "Other concerns are the proper management of the district's duty and affairs and Dr. Wise failing to appropriately recognize the role of the board according to requirements of law."

The general counsel's office was asked to define "cause," which includes "Willful failure to perform duties." The board was then asked to give the city's lawyers at least 24 hours to prepare the documents.

News4Jax

Lily I think your suggestion is a good idea too, and I would also be happy to contribute providing what it costs is reasonably attainable.  I have no clue what a full page ad would cost, but I think it would be considerable.

The prices can be located in the header of the MCS under Marketplace. I guess you could call that an advertisment. It sure looks doable.

Angela,

You pose the question, "To appoint or not to appoint?"

As we've seen in our own county, government evolves and morphs based on the needs of its constituents at that particular time. Whether it's term limits, citizen initiatives or elected versus appointed constitutional officers - people determine how government functions...which is pretty cool.

What worked 30 years ago (as in a starter charter) isn't sophisticated enough for today's population. It can be changed.

The questions begs for discussion...Are we at a point where we as a community want better defined job descriptions and qualifications for our Constitutionals? Are we more attracted to our right to elect and un-elect our representatives? Which side is weighted heavier in the pluses?

lilysolore,

It sounds like a great idea. A word of caution, you may want to check with the Supervisor of Elections office to make sure your idea is legal.

It may be that you have to place an ad under a PAC to show that it is a paid political advertisement. The newspaper may not allow you to purchase an ad unless you do.

It's worth checking into...

"Government is a laboratory experiment" I would agree and I think our elected lab rats could use a dose or two of Viva Viagra. I also heard it curbs jet lag when used in lab rats.