Block schedule may not save budget

I would like to thank the concerned parents who hosted the Gulf Breeze High School block schedule meeting [recently]. All citizens of Gulf Breeze need to be aware of the changes being proposed to the school day by the Santa Rosa School Board. Our property values are affected by the beautiful area that we are blessed to call home and the academic excellence of our schools.

The School Board is on record as stating that the block hour changes that they are attempting to implement in our high school has nothing to do with academic achievement but has all to do with the districts operating budget. They propose to change the current daily class schedule from seven 50-minute periods to four 85-minute blocks. This is all proposed to eliminate teacher head count to move the school budget back into the black. Many school districts have moved away from the block schedule and are reimplementing periods after it was discovered to be not cost effective and did not enhance the academic achievement standards of the schools.

When asked to elaborate on alternative budget plans the school board representatives were very mute, with the exception of eliminating busing from the proper. Budget cuts and head count reduction is not new to American society. American business has been going through this since 9-11. The school board is looking at the low hanging fruit, teachers. From Milton, the Gulf Breeze teaching staff is viewed as just a cost on the budget line and not the asset they are to our community. Much was said about their productivity during the school day and not the time that is put into teaching every night as papers are graded and class preparations are completed. The School Board needs to first complete a thorough top down review of personnel and administrative budgeting. Although much of the school's funding base is ear marked funds from the legislature imposed by the state's constitution, this funding has been increasing year over year for the last 10 years.

A question was asked how we could make up the funding short fall? South Santa Rosa County, all property owners within a mile of the inner coastal, already pay 61 percent of all property tax receipts for the county. This tax base is sent back to Tallahassee and reapportioned to the counties throughout Florida. The legislature decrees that due to our cost of living in the panhandle, we are returned only 94 cents out of every dollar sent to Tallahassee. We subsidize the other counties in the state. We should write our Senators and representatives and demand our fair share of our county tax base.

John Rogers is retiring as the Superintendent of the Santa Rosa County School District. The residents of Gulf Breeze need to look into the candidates stand on the block scheduling of classes in our High School. The school board must be held accountable to the wishes of GBHS parents. This is a critical issue that will impact our children and property values as the academic excellence of our school system is challenged.

The Santa Rosa School Board and administration has a number of difficult choices ahead of them to fund our schools. Putting the shrinking dollar ahead of superior academic achievement is not in the interests of the residents of Gulf Breeze. The board members need to do their job and find a solution that does not experiment with our son's and daughter's education.