News

From Beverly Slough, School Board Member

School Board Update - March 7

New Schools

I had the great pleasure of touring all our new facilities last Friday. Each of them is well on the way to completion. Creekside High School is the farthest along and is just beautiful! Landscaping is being installed, and the view from the second story overlooking the courtyard is breathtaking! The gym is nearing completion, with the logo and mascot painted on the floor. Bleachers were being assembled for installation that day.

Ponte Vedra High School is also taking excellent shape. It was great to see both schools, each with its own design individuality, each presenting a beautiful learning environment for our students. The lab areas for the academies at PV High School are uniquely created to allow accessibility to the pristine wetlands, which will provide research applications for our students.

Liberty Pines Academy had just had its last wall erected when I arrived. The classroom and administrative areas are really taking shape, and the cafetorium, with its large stage, gave a preview of the exciting learning opportunities awaiting our students. Both the project manager and construction supervisor were on hand to answer questions, and they explained how the completed areas would be separated from the on-going construction during the second phase. Much care is being taken to isolate our children from the work areas and the people doing the construction.

The expansion of Julington Creek Elementary is taking shape as well. I got a pleasant surprise when a beautiful courtyard area was pointed out - an excellent enhancement for our children. The classroom "houses" and the administrative areas are well-defined now, and the cafetorium is making excellent progress.

All in all, I think we are going to be very well pleased with our new facilities this fall. This will be the last of our major construction projects for awhile. We have finally caught up with the growth in the northern part of the county, and, with the slow down in the housing market, I believe we'll be in good shape, at least for a couple of years.

Budget Update

As I have been saying for some time, we are facing large reductions in our financial picture for next year. The combination of a downturn in Florida's economy and the passage of property tax reductions leads us to anticipate about a $6-8 million dollar difference in our funding for next year. That level of budget cuts will cause us to have to make some very difficult decisions going forward which will affect our personnel and, ultimately, our children.

The Legislature convened on Tuesday with its first task being a second budget cut from this year's budget. In October, after school had started and budget dollars were allocated, our funds were cut $2,804,001. The second round of cuts, which will go into effect before school is out this year and will be taken from this year's budget is estimated to be $2,462,309. As I watch the Senate debate today on the second round of cuts, I was disappointed to hear the senators try to cloak the bad news by saying that they were not really cutting our funding, they were just reducing the amount of increase they had given us over last year's budget. That statement is entirely true. However, we had budgeted and encumbered those dollars, based on the good faith information we were given. We understand the cuts - Florida's sales tax revenue continues to fall and there are not enough dollars to support what was promised. However, it seems disingenuous to me that the truth cannot be spoken plainly.

Dr. Joyner and I both have been appealing to our delegation to give us more flexibility with the dollars remaining. We have asked that school recognition awards be suspended during this budget crisis, the new merit pay for teacher program be postponed, and the full implementation of the class size amendment be delayed for a year. If these measures were enacted, many millions of dollars would be freed up to meet the shortfall being created by the revenue shortfall. I would ask that you help us in talking with our legislature about these common sense measures to blunt the impact of these hard financial times.

Bear Affair

Mark your calendars now for the most important Bartram Trail High School booster event of the year! On Saturday, March 29th, the community comes together at the Ramada Inn in Mandarin for dinner, dancing, a reverse draw and silent/live auctions. This year the dance takes on a new importance as we strive to raise start up money for Creekside High School Knights Booster Club. It is an exciting time and promotes good will when a new school rivalry is being created in a positive environment. The Bartram Boosters will be sending a portion of all money raised to the new school, so community support is critical. Both clubs support the Athletic Departments needs including all 32 sanctioned team sports, lacrosse, cheerleading and dance. Tickets to the dinner and dance may be purchased by contacting KC Padgett (mkcinjax@comcast.net or 599-2588) or any booster member. The dinner and dance are $100 per couple or $75 per single, and include dinner and a reverse draw ticket. The reverse draw is the culmination of the evening when the last person’s name is called out as the winner of the cash prize. Anyone interested in putting together a table of friends can obtain a host package which includes everything you need to host a table of 10. Padgett stresses that many more sponsors are needed in order to meet Booster Club Goals, and encourages businesses and individuals to contact her at mkcinjax@comcast.net or 599-2588.

JCP Cares to Help Homeless Coalition of St. Johns County

JCP Cares, a group of women in Julington Creek Plantation, has been formed to help various charitable organizations in our county. They focus on one group every quarter. This time, the Homeless Coalition of St. Johns County is the target of their goodwill. The Homeless Coalition establishes homeless people in housing for several months, fully furnishing the homes. At the end of the time, they help the residents get established in affordable housing of their own and allow them to take all the furnishings from their temporary homes to get them started. This, of course, means that they need a constant influx of home furnishings to keep the help going. March 8th 9-1pm, please drop off any unneeded gently used household items such as furniture (especially beds and dressers), electronics, pots and pans, dishes, silverware, kitchen plastic storage containers, small appliances, bed linens, comforters, blankets, towels, new pillows, decorative items and area rugs. The Collection will take place at the Julington Creek Plantation Park across from the CDD Office.

A second opportunity to help will occur on March 15th, 9-3pm. A Work Day will be held at the Homeless Coalition. JCP Cares will help them clean up their houses by power washing, painting and cleaning up their gardens. They will then have a cookout onsite with the volunteers and residents.

This is a great opportunity for adults to give back to their community, and students to earn community service hours. If you have any questions or would like to help, please contact Jennifer Graham at jgraham@jcpcares.org.

To learn more about these wonderful women and the projects they have planned to help our community, go to jcpcares.org

Daylight Savings Time

Don't forget to "Spring Forward" this weekend as daylight savings time kicks in again. The new time begins at 2 AM Sunday morning.

Thanks so much for your continued interest in St. Johns County's public schools. Please feel free to share this update. If I may serve you in any way or answer any questions, please contact me at sloughb@stjohns.k12.fl.us or 210-7289.

Beverly Slough
District 1
St. Johns County School Board

"Democracy needs to be reborn in each generation, and education is its midwife."
John Dewey

By COREY DAVIS
MyStJohnsSun contributor 

For years, Mandarin and Forrest High head football coaches J.D. Hall and Dennis Clemmons wanted their kids to get more exposure. The two contacted several local media members to push the idea for a prep media day just like the ACC and SEC.

Finally somebody listened. In February the ball dropped and the idea began to surface.

"J.D. Hall brought it up, originally it was suppose to only be the Gateway Conference teams but we wanted to cover the entire First Coast area," Project Coordinator Chuck Wilson said. "Hall mentioned it to Baker's Sporting Goods owner Josh Baker, who passed it to me, we saw where he wanted to go and it kind of took off from there."

Have a comment about these or other Ed Hall cartoons? Blog about it through his Web page: halltoons.blogspot.com or you can register and blog at MyStJohnsSun.com.

By MARK PETTUS  / mark.pettus@mystjohnssun.com

The shortest distance between two places may be a straight line, but you wouldn’t know that by the answers you sometimes get from online map services.

In recent years northwest St. Johns County residents have seen new roads get built, new towns pop up and have even voted themselves a new name. We thought it would be interesting to find out how well four major online map services had kept up with the changes, so we asked Google Maps, Yahoo! Maps, MSN Maps and AOL’s MapQuest to provide directions from the My St. Johns Sun office on Race Track Road in St. Johns to the World Golf Hall of Fame.

Faye Armitage used to be a soccer mom. But when her son, Jason, became paralyzed as a result of colliding with another player during a soccer game in 1996, the former economics professor quickly went from soccer mom to caregiver to well-known advocate for the victims of spinal cord injuries.

Since 1999 she has been one of the leading activists in the battle over federal funding for embryonic stem cell research. Armitage is one of the founding members of Cure Paralysis Now, an advocacy group that believes paralysis could be cured within a decade.

By TERRY BROWN / terry.brown@mystjohnssun.com

On Tuesday, St. Johns County commissioners will hear a presentation by Rose Austin, mitigation program specialist for the Federal Emergency Management Agency.

The commissioners will consider whether to authorize the completion and execution of the 2008 fiscal year budget in a presentation by Doug Timms, director of Management and Budget for the county.

They’ll also weigh in on numerous public hearings.

Presentations
2008 proposed budget: Commissioners will consider authorizing the completion of the fiscal year 2008 budget. Doug Timms, director of Management and Budget, will present the proposed $501 million budget with approved tentative millage rates and establish Sept. 4 at 5:30 p.m. in the County Auditorium as the first public hearing for the adoption of the budget.

“My girls came screaming, ‘the house is going to burn!’ ”
Nicole Alvarez
homeowner, Whispering Pines neighborhood

By TERRY BROWN / terry.brown@mystjohnssun.com

Nicole Alvarez saw the clouds grow thick over her Julington Creek Plantation home on July 10, but didn’t think twice while sitting at her computer until a pink and white light flashed before her eyes.

The blinding burst of energy, a lightning bolt, hit a tree outside her window facing the front yard, about 20 yards from where Alvarez was sitting. The subsequent and immediate clap of thunder shook the foundation of the house.

Clauss family competes in contest filmed at Camp Blanding.

By CHRISTY WHITEHEAD

Ashlee Clauss of Julington Creek gagged as she watched herself on the big screen at the Murray Hill Theatre recently.

Clauss, her family and three other families from the Jacksonville area were getting a sneak peek at a TV show they took part in that premieres Labor Day weekend. Ultimate Choice: Family Edition will be viewable by about 85 percent of households in the U.S. when it launches on the CW network.

The show, which has an MTV style but with Christian undertones, pits families against each other in an “extreme adventure” in the woods of Clay County to win a three-day, two-night resort vacation at the Ponte Vedra Inn & Club.

baseball
Register for Fall 2007 Julington Creek Baseball online at www.julingtoncreekbaseball.com or on Saturday, Aug. 11, from 9 a.m. to noon at Fruit Cove Middle School located on Race Track Road.

junior golf academy
Registration going on now for the Tee to Green junior golf academy for youth ages 6 to 16. This is a year-round program designed to teach juniors the game of golf in a safe, fun environment.
For more information, contact Tom Long at (904) 982-7689 or tee2green@bellsouth.net.

lacrosse
The Creeks Summer Lacrosse games are played at Turf Field, Plantation Park for kids ages 6 to 14. They play every Tuesday (6 to 7:30 p.m.) and Thursday (7:30 to 9 p.m.) through July. There is no cost to participate in the program. Each child needs to arrive with all equipment and a mouthpiece.
For more information contact Rob Jennis at robjen123@yahoo.com

JCP charity committee
A group of Julington Creek Plantation residents are forming a development-wide charity committee and they are seeking volunteers to get involved with the effort.
The group would like to have one volunteer from each Plantation neighborhood. Please contact Kathy Bravo at fkbravo1@aol.com if you are interested in joining the committee or learning more about the projects.

coa hosts special speaker
Adam Graham visited the Coastal Community Center a July 16 for a presentation on his two-year travels and teaching experiences in Kazakhstan as a volunteer with the Peace Corps. Graham took the audeince on a pictorial tour of the country and fielded questions.
During his 27-month stay, Graham spent much of his time teaching English and improving communication skills of the teachers already in place in Kazakhstan. He lived with a host family and learned about life with no running water and the absence of what many consider to be basic necessities.
For information on other programs at the center call (904) 823-4810.