I prefer to use my voice instead of taking moment of silence

On this memorial day, before the day of shopping, trips to the beach, or barbeques begin I want to take time to honor those who serve and have served our country. A moment to think about the significance of American men and women, especially those who gave the ultimate sacrifice of their lives for this country.

My father was a Marine and served in Vietnam...semper fi. My husband was a soldier a in the US Army and served during the first Persian Gulf war (he almost missed the birth of our first born because he was in a war zone). Needless to say after my marriage to my husband holidays were always interesting. The two were always bantering with each other over the rivalry that exists between the different branches of military. It was always in good humor and fun to watch.

Fortunately for our family we never received the visit from the military delivering the horrible news that we had lost a loved one. My heart goes out to all of the families who have had and will get that dreadful visit. I can’t even imagine how horrendous that would be.

I also want to pay tribute to the families who sacrifice precious time with their loved ones who serve. I do know full well how much time together families of soldiers are deprived of. How many births, first steps, weddings, graduations, and all the other significant days for families that are missed because of sense of duty.

It seems like obligation to one’s country is something that is sorely lacking by a majority of private citizens in America. Today we fly our flags and take a moment of silence, but I wonder how else we can honor these brave men and women and their families who have sacrificed so much.

Let’s take a moment and consider these numbers, remembering they are approximate and vary from one election cycle to another and one state to another.

Hillsborough County has about 50 percent of it’s over 1 million residents registered to vote. That’s approximately 650 thousand people registered. In a Presidential cycle approximately 40 percent of those 50 percent registered actually cast a vote. That is approximately 260 thousand people. Remember that in presidential elections more people vote. Only 25 to 30 percent vote in a gubernatorial election cycle. That is 162,500 people. Those numbers dwindle dramatically when you get into special elections or local elections that don’t fall during a presidential or gubernatorial election.

Taking those numbers into account, don’t you think we owe it to all of those people who give so much of themselves to this country to vote in EVERY election? The irony of the numbers stated is that America was founded on democracy. We have implemented it better than any other nation in the world. Why does every citizen not feel an obligation to honor these people every election cycle?

I hope being a part of the powers that be in Hillsborough County Public Schools I can work to change that. We can and must do better. I feel that exercising our right to vote is the most fitting way to show respect for all those who have sacrificed everything.

Hillsborough County needs to learn that college is not for everybody

One of the main reasons I ran for office was to be a voice for the 'mid-kids'. Those who choose, or are not able to go to college. At least they may not choose to go to college the traditional route, right after graduating high school. Many enter the work force and continue their education in the university system years later and are very successful individuals.

Striving to prepare all students for college is a noble, yet unrealistic goal. And I believe we are doing a disservice to our students, the university system, and our community by pretending that every student is college material. By making students think that they are prepared for college when they are not is only setting them up for disappointment and defeat when they learn the cold hard facts of how difficult, demanding, and expensive college is.

My concern with the direction we are currently moving in is that we are losing programs that can give students options for success beyond high school. Programs that are sometimes the only reason some kids get up and go to school in the morning.

Call it a plan B if you will. What if they don’t want to go to college? What if they can’t go to college? For whatever reason, college is not an option…what is their plan B that will set them up to be productive, tax paying citizens?

I am driven in this post this article because of a story in the Sacremento Bee pointing out the importance of career and technical programs.

Are the results any different than we thought they would be?

The results from the survey about the schedule change are out. Did we think the results would be any different?

I do not think the results are biased. I believe they are honest. I'm glad teachers were honest about the affects of the change

Read the St. Pete Times story here.

We have to be willing to listen to our employees understanding that people on the front lines can help us understand how to improve our school district.

The 2008 legislative session is over...finally

Here are some recaps of the bills the passed and the bills that didn't pass and a summary of the session in regard to education. And possible lawsuits in the future..remember the phrase "we will hold education harmless"? Looks like legislators forgot that one. Hillsborough County Public School's budget for the coming fiscal year is $43-million less that what we had this time last year.

Recently we announced plans to cut $15-million from our budget, with the cuts coming at the district level. We are doing everything in our power to not lay off our employees or have to cut pay like other school districts are proposing. We have been planning for this for the past two years and have a lot of work to do, but not as much as many other school districts.

We will do everything we can to avoid the drastic kinds of measures other districts are having to resort to.