Florida Politics - Campaigns & Elections. Lobbying & Government.

A.G. GancarskiNovember 29, 2016

The Duval County School Board, when fully staffed, is a seven-person body. However, just one resignation or absence can turn the DCSB into a six-person panel. And, in the event of a controversial or closely contested issue, a 3-3 tie is quite likely. The board wasn’t at full strength earlier this year, after Rep. Jason Fischer […]

A.G. GancarskiNovember 28, 2016

The inaugural First Coast Legislative Delegation meeting, to be held Thursday at Jacksonville University’s Public Policy Institute, is going to be different from the Duval Delegation meeting held the day before. For one thing, it will be regional in nature, including 16 representatives and senators total. And for another thing, Jacksonville Mayor Lenny Curry will keynote […]

A.G. GancarskiSeptember 23, 2016

For the Duval County School Board, the slogan might be “wake me when September ends.” Earlier in the month, the board evaluated Superintendent Nikolai Vitti, deeming him “effective,” even though below the surface questions loomed about widening achievement gaps inside demographic categories of the student population. From there, board chair Ashley Smith-Juarez, according to Vitti, scheduled a meeting […]

A.G. GancarskiSeptember 21, 2016

Earlier this week, the narrative was that Duval County School Board chair Ashley Smith-Juarez had called a meeting Friday of the board to discuss the termination of Superintendent Nikolai Vitti. Since that news came out, some developments have happened. Community leaders pressed Smith-Juarez to reconsider her intransigence; by Wednesday afternoon, she had backpedaled, contravening what she […]

A.G. GancarskiSeptember 21, 2016

Despite the maelstrom regarding the future of Duval County School Superintendent Nikolai Vitti, Jacksonville City Council President Lori Boyer vowed that the Wednesday meeting between the school board and the council would steer clear of Vitti’s employment controversy, addressing more ordinary topics like school concurrency, hazardous walking conditions, and charter school development. The meeting did avoid the Vitti […]

A.G. GancarskiSeptember 19, 2016

The Duval County School Board has a special meeting slated for Friday morning; the topic, broadly, is “governance and administration.” What does that mean? School Board member Scott Shine believes this could mean the end of the tenure of Superintendent Nikolai Vitti. The board member who called the meeting, Ashley Smith-Juarez, has been a critic of Vitti’s communication […]

A.G. GancarskiJuly 14, 2016

With two seats up for grabs on the Duval County School Board, JAXBIZ (the nonpartisan political arm of the Jax Chamber) announced its endorsements Thursday. In Group 5, seven-term Jacksonville City Councilman Warren Jones got the nod. In Group 7, Greg Tison, general manager for Beaver Street Fisheries and property manager for Jacksonville Farmers Market, scored the endorsement. […]

A.G. GancarskiJuly 11, 2016

Mayor Lenny Curry has said he is willing to invest all of his “political capital” into getting a “Yes” vote on the pension tax referendum. And he might have to do just that. A University of North Florida Public Opinion Research Lab poll reveals support for Jacksonville’s pension tax referendum is not as strong as it […]

Melissa RossJune 20, 2016

In a large, urban school district like Duval County — where fully half the kids in the public schools are on free or reduced lunch — poverty is real, and widespread. The achievement gap remains stubborn and formidable. And one of the many obstacles kids in poor districts have to learning is the infamous “digital […]

A.G. GancarskiMay 25, 2016

Republican State Attorney candidate Wes White made news earlier this month, representing a mother challenging the commitment of the Duval County School District to providing bathroom options for transgender students. The suit was filed in the wake of the Obama administration issuing a letter linking failure to provide such public accommodations with the potential loss of […]

Tag: Nikolai Vitti

Bill would divest tiebreaking power from Duval School Board chair

Lenny Curry to keynote First Coast Legislative Delegation meeting Thursday

‘Broken’ Duval County School Board castigates media, each other in contentious conclave

In meeting with school board chair, Lenny Curry advocates for Nikolai Vitti

With Nikolai Vitti’s future in question, Jacksonville City Council and school board meet

Are Nikolai Vitti’s days numbered as Duval County school superintendent?

JAXBIZ backs Warren Jones, Greg Tison for School Board seats

Poll: Lenny Curry’s pension tax still headed for a win, although support has fallen off some

Duval County Public Schools selling laptops for $50 to narrow ‘digital divide’

Wes White seeks ‘sunshine’ discussion of Duval schools’ transgender bathroom policy