Is There a Better Way for Us to Govern?

The Escambia Board of County Commissioners operate and govern via 5 County Commissioners seated in 5 single-member districts.  Only the citizens of each specific district can vote for their commissioner. 

Formerly, like most counties nationwide and throughout Florida, commissioners were all seated in distinct, apportioned geographic districts and voted upon by electors from the entire county--meaning every citizen got to vote for 5 commissioners.

This made sense as decisions county commissioners make affect every citizen in the county--so it only made sense that every voter should be able to vote for every commissioner.

But this, regrettably,  led to a condition locally where minority (black) candidates could not be and were not being elected--even though the minority population of Escambia County was and has been significant at roughly twice the national percentage of the black population overall (24% locally, 12% nationally).

So litigation in the late 1970s that sought to correct this inequity and allow for appropriate minority representation in county government led to the issue going all the way to the U.S. Supreme Court in 1984.  That Supreme Court decision let stand a lower-court ruling mandating single member districts in Escambia County--with one district being a "minority-majority" district by law, in perpetuity.

Fast forward to today, and about 28 counties (Including Escambia County) of 67 in Florida utilize single-member districts for the election of county commissioners, shcool board members, and utility authority board members.  The majority of counties in Florida, and in the rest of the nation, however, utilize the model where individual commissioners are voted upon by ALL constituents and seated (with a concomitant residency requirment) in specific districts.

District wide elections help to prevent the "ward-politics" effect that we witness locally--where obviously clear-cut decisions, rulings, and votes by the board instead get pushed back in a byzantine method of appeasment to small groups of citizens vocally opposed to initiatives or decisions in "their neighborhoods."  Easy decisions get kicked down the road or denied outright. This occurs simply to appease one geographic block of voters--for the benefit

Sign SB 850 into Law!

So-- very few will actually wade through all 140 pages of SB 850 before jumping on a bandwagon, listening to others' talking points, then becoming conscripts in the charge demanding Governor Scott veto this bill.  But there are some important matters addressed in this bill and I hope Governor Scott will sign it into law.

First and foremost, the provisions related to Career and Professional Education are extremely important;  we all know college is not for every student, and proper CAPE implementation is imperative for the students who will be foregoing college and entering the workforce directly.

In addition, this law fosters an increase in cooperation between colleges and school districts, which in turn will hasten increased dual enrollment opportunities for students and families.  This will save HUGE money for these folks when the college years begin and is a big benefit to parents/taxpayers/college families/and students who do not have lavish budgets for school.  All these folks benefit from SB 850!

Also, the fact that Florida Corporations can lower their tax burdens while simultaneously benefiting students that have special needs, this is a GOOD thing!  The fact that more parents will have more options for their students as a result of the expansion of this program is a GOOD thing!  When did helping families and students with disabilities become a bad thing?  Why would anyone want to stand in between a parent and student, stuck in a failing school system, and a better educational choice for such students/parents?
Answer: ---those who would do this are those who's loyalty is for the system, not the student.  I am the opposite.  I am for parents, students, taxpayers and choice!  I'm agnostic as to the educational vehicle--be it public, private, charter, virtual, or home-school. I want public schools to succeed and get better, I'm a product of excellent public schools and my kids go to public schools--- but the world is changing and we need to keep up.   I also understand economics;  oligopolies and monopolies, in most cases, do not benefit consumers and lead to inferior products, higher costs, and inefficiency.  I want our district, and all districts, to compete!!  This will, in time, make us better, more efficient, and more student-focused.

Meanwhile--the disingenuous vitriol coming from the various guardians of the status quo is just about enough to make me violently ill.  I'm sick and tired of people screaming that allowing student and parental