Janice Kerekes, Clay School Board District 1
Competitors, Eric Jaffe, Alesia Ford-Burse, Lynn Martin
This is a four-way, non-partisan, at large race. This means all voters will be able to vote on every open seat on the school board, regardless of that voter/s party or what district they live in. The first vote will take place during the August primary, and unless one candidate get 50% of the vote, the top two will be in a run-off in the general election in November. All four of these candidates are very accomplished and well spoken people, it is difficult to choose between them.
I like Kerekes for school board district one because she is the only person in that election who doesn't have that "politician" feel. I was particularly impressed at a recent forum in Middleburg when she said "for me, the school is not a stepping stone to another goal, it is the goal." She has been attending school board meetings for the last 5 years, she said that in a recent meeting she realized that "she was the only person in the room who wasn't being paid to be there."
Forum answers:
Introduction: The schools need to switch from short term to long term planning and lobby Tallahasse for funding. More help for students who are not college bound. Need to preserve art and music programs. Needs to be resource officers in every high school and junior high. Endorse by the Clay Educators Association and current school board member Carol Vallencourt.
How will you deal with reduced funding and balance the budget? Kerekes: prioritize the classroom and maybe go to an 11 month administrative year.
How will you bring old schools up to date? Kerekes: Seek state funding for enhanced classroom, stop building portables.
Would you cut one administrator at each school and at Green Cove Springs? Kerekes: Yes.
How would you enforce the 0 tolerance drug policy, the penalty for which is currently a 10 day suspension? Kerekes: Maintain suspension policy, possibly remove child from school rather than in-school-suspension.
How would you improve the graduation rate? Kerekes: Vocational education.
from www.clayelections.com
I’m Janice Kerekes and I would be grateful to have the privilege of serving as your next District 1, Clay County School Board Member. I believe that I have the passion, experience and qualifications necessary to lead our school system through the challenging future we are facing.
I was born and raised on Long Island, New York. Following graduation from high school in 1980, I attended community college where I studied accounting. In 1982, I was offered a job with Northeastern Airlines where I worked as a supervisor. In 1985, I got married and moved to San Diego, CA with my husband Mike. I continued working in the airline industry with Pacific Southwest Airlines as a crew scheduler until 1986 when we were transferred to Jacksonville.
Mike and I have been married for 25 years. We moved to Northeast Florida 24 years ago when he was serving as a US Navy pilot. We chose to move to Clay County to raise our children because of the quality of the school system. We are proud of our three boys, Michael, Jamel, and David, all graduates of Fleming Island High School. Michael graduated in 2006 and now attends Jacksonville University, Jamel graduated in 2008 and is attending St. John’s River Community College, and David, also a 2008 graduate, attends the University of Florida.
My professional leadership experience comes from the various boards and child advocacy groups I’ve worked with. My direct involvement in the schools began 17 years ago when my oldest son entered kindergarten. I volunteered my time helping with projects in the classroom and served multiple times as an officer in the Parent Faculty Association. I have served on several School Advisory Councils and worked with the Southern Association of Colleges and Schools Accreditation Committee at the high school level. I began attending school board meetings at first as a concerned parent and since 2005 have attended all school board meetings as an interested citizen in an effort to keep informed about the issues that face our schools.
I have continued my professional development through the Reinhold Foundation Team Leadership Development Program through the Rollins College Philanthropy and Nonprofit Leadership Center. At the county level I have served on the School Board Calendar Committee and I am active with the JP Hall Children’s Charities year-round. I also sit on two different Scholarship Selection Committees for Clay County students, one with the Republican Executive Committee and the other with the Federated Republican Women of Clay, where I am currently serving my second term as Vice President. I also sit on the board of the Lighthouse Learning Center. Today, I am proud to serve as a board member and mentor with the Big Brothers, Big Sisters organization at W.E. Cherry Elementary School. I am the founder of Fleming Island High School’s Project Graduation and served as the Director for four years.
I am proud to have the support and backing of our teachers. The Clay County Education Association’s Endorsement is just one testament to my passion and commitment to our children’s education. As a member of the Clay County Chamber of Commerce, I understand the issues facing our business community and I’m looking forward to developing additional community partnerships between local businesses and our schools.
I’m excited to bring my experience working within the school system and various nonprofits to our School Board. I have a proven track record as an advocate for children and have always, and will continue to, put Children First!
I humbly ask for your vote on August 24th. I promise you, no one will work harder than I will.
Sincerely,
Janice Kerekes
from www.janicekerekes.com
*The school budget is my chief concern among the many challenges facing our schools. I will fight for Clay County and work with our state legislators in Tallahassee to make sure that our schools receive the maximum possible funding. At the same time, I will insist on maintaining local control so that we efficiently spend our budget and make correct choices on educating our children.
*Current school safety levels pose a risk to our students. Resource Officers are placed only in the high schools. These officers are then often called from the high school campus to attend to situations at the junior high and elementary schools. This system leaves all of our schools exposed and vulnerable.
*It is imperative that principals be held accountable for student success. When evaluating the performance of a teacher, evaluations must truly reflect the teacher’s ability. School administrators must be ready and willing to weed out teachers who are not performing at expected standards.
*Expanding our Career and Technical Education Programs. Enable our students to graduate with the necessary licenses and certifications required to enter the workforce without the necessity of further education. It is our duty to provide all of our students with the opportunity to succeed.
*Lack of art and music programs at the elementary level is detrimental to a well-rounded education. All Clay County students should be exposed to art and music and physical education
http://janicekerekes.com/
http://www.facebook.com/posted.php?id=367045120997#!/pages/Janice-Kerekes-for-Clay-County-School-Board-District-1/367045120997
Check out the Republican Liberty Caucus of Northeast Florida at www.rlcnef.org. Join the Republican Liberty Caucus of Clay County at http://www.meetup.com/Republican-Liberty-Caucus-of-Clay-County/
Showing posts with label board. Show all posts
Showing posts with label board. Show all posts
Monday, July 12, 2010
Eric Jaffe, Clay School Board District 1
Eric Jaffe, Clay School Board District 1
Competitors, Lynn Martin, Alesia Ford-Burse, Janice Kerekes
ERIC JAFFE SCHOOL BOARD DISTRICT ONE
RUNNING AGAINST ALESIA FORD-BURSE, JANICE KEREKES, AND LYNN MARTIN
NOTE: There is a comment to this post from Mr. Jaffe which explains some of his views from his perspective.
This is a four-way, non-partisan, at large race. This means all voters will be able to vote on every open seat on the school board, regardless of that voter/s party or what district they live in. The first vote will take place during the August primary, and unless one candidate get 50% of the vote, the top two will be in a run-off in the general election in November. All four of these candidates are very accomplished and well spoken people, it is difficult to choose between them.
Jaffe is quite impressive and probably the most accomplished and well-rounded candidate for the district 1 seat. The slogan from his campaign leaflet is "A QUALIFIED LEADER WITH A HEART FOR THE COMMUNITY, THE NEXT GENERATION, AND OUR SCHOOLS." As you can see below he has had a corporate and small business background, a ministerial background, and leadership involvement in a number of social projects.
From clayelections.com
As a businessman with 20 years in an ever changing world of cutting edge technology, Eric Jaffe went from Jacksonville’s largest law firm “Rogers Towers” to owning Integrity Consulting. With a growing company employing leading edge people locally, Jaffe believes technology lies at the heart of our future education system. In addition to the experience Jaffe brings to the School Board, he also possesses a range of leadership abilities that make him uniquely qualified to serve our families and homeowners. As informed parents of 3 children (Matthew, Miranda and Molly) Eric and his wife of 21 years Mary Jo, are passionate supporters of public education. The Family’s devotion to ministry work has been a central part of the success of Journey Church. Jaffe’s education includes a Degree in Business Management from Florida International University (1993) and civic leadership programs such as Leadership Clay (2006 Graduate) and NE Florida Regional Leadership Program (2008 Graduate). In 2009 Jaffe was nominated Business Person of the Year by the Clay County Chamber of Commerce.
In addition, Jaffe's campaign pamphlet says that he was on the board of directors and a founding member of Clay County Victim's Services.
There are two things which make me leery of Jaffe. One is that he reminds me of past candidate for the county commission. This person is the founder of a local political/religious organization, as one of her supporters is Jaffe's treasurer, and her and Jaffe both utilized Reliant Advisors as their political consultants. It seems to be pretty much the same group of highly religious and Republicans; this makes me nervous because I consider such people to be highly anti-liberty and to believe in authoritarian government as long as the policies of such government coincide with their religious values.
The other aspect of Jaffe I question is that he has the endorsements of the realtor and builder associations. These are the lobbying/trade organizations of the local growth industry. They operate for their own profit, and as organizations and individuals they can throw a great deal of money into a campaign. Judging by the last election, in most cases the growth industry candidate is the winner and after the election they govern in a pro-growth manner. In reference to the county commission, this means eliminating transportation impact fees (this makes new construction cheaper), giving preferential treatment to home sellers in the sign ordinance, being favorable to growth in zoning and comprehensive plan changes, and some believe the construction of the First Coast Outer Beltway is also a builder scheme in that it will make areas of Clay more accesible for building.
In regards to the school board, the only reason I think the builders and realtors would support a candidate would be for the removal of education impact fees. This is a fee of several thousand dollars levied on new construction, the fees of course going with the education property taxes to fund the county schools. While eliminating the education impact fee would make it considerably cheaper to build and therefore create jobs and eventually ad valorum tax revenue, growth is a thorny issue that is not openly addressed in Clay County. Simply, the growth industry is very influential. They have great influence in the Chamber of Commerce, to differing extents every member of the county commission is pro-growth, and this industry has great influence in the local Republican Party. You do not get elected to office in Clay County by being anti-growth because you are unlikely to receive much money and you receive no support from the Clay Republicans. I was quite surprised at a recent school board candidate debate that most seemed supportive of new growth because it would create a larger tax base; that is insane. Somehow they were able to skate around the fact that a part of the reason our school budget has been decimated was rapid growth over the last several years has resulted in the costly construction of several new schools. At one point it was even mentioned that no school construction is planned for the next 5 years, giving the budget a break that would allow repairs to existing schools. As far as the growth industry is concerned, the problem is also the solution to all politicians, you just can't identify it as a problem or you will not be elected.
The big problem with growth is that it is taxpayer funded. There are infrastructure costs associated with new construction, some of which used to be funded by transportation impact fees. The cost to the county is still there, but the expense related to new construction is now spread out to existing property owners. The same applies to the education impact fee. The school cost will still be there, it will just be spread out to everyone else.
Here are some of Jaffe's statements and answers from a school board debate.
School funding from the state has been reduced. What are your plans to meet the cuts and balance the budget? Jaffe: Lobby Tallahassee and get creative with collective bargaining.
How will you bring old schools up to date? Jaffe: Partner with churches and businesses
Would you consider cutting one administrator at each school and at Green Cove Springs? Jaffe: Yes, and would cut school board salary.
Would you continue the zero tolerance drug use policy, the current penalty being a 10 day suspension? Jaffe: Try to help the individual.
How would you improve the graduation rate? Jaffe: Staffing
Jaffe webistes
Integrity Consulting http://www.integritycsg.com/
Executive Director of Impact Clay http://www.impactclay.org/
Director God First Business Network http://www.godfirstbusiness.com/
Pastor at Journey Church
facebook page http://www.facebook.com/electjaffe
campaign website http://www.electjaffe.com/
Check out the Republican Liberty Caucus of Northeast Florida at www.rlcnef.org. Join the Republican Liberty Caucus of Clay County at http://www.meetup.com/Republican-Liberty-Caucus-of-Clay-County/
Competitors, Lynn Martin, Alesia Ford-Burse, Janice Kerekes
ERIC JAFFE SCHOOL BOARD DISTRICT ONE
RUNNING AGAINST ALESIA FORD-BURSE, JANICE KEREKES, AND LYNN MARTIN
NOTE: There is a comment to this post from Mr. Jaffe which explains some of his views from his perspective.
This is a four-way, non-partisan, at large race. This means all voters will be able to vote on every open seat on the school board, regardless of that voter/s party or what district they live in. The first vote will take place during the August primary, and unless one candidate get 50% of the vote, the top two will be in a run-off in the general election in November. All four of these candidates are very accomplished and well spoken people, it is difficult to choose between them.
Jaffe is quite impressive and probably the most accomplished and well-rounded candidate for the district 1 seat. The slogan from his campaign leaflet is "A QUALIFIED LEADER WITH A HEART FOR THE COMMUNITY, THE NEXT GENERATION, AND OUR SCHOOLS." As you can see below he has had a corporate and small business background, a ministerial background, and leadership involvement in a number of social projects.
From clayelections.com
As a businessman with 20 years in an ever changing world of cutting edge technology, Eric Jaffe went from Jacksonville’s largest law firm “Rogers Towers” to owning Integrity Consulting. With a growing company employing leading edge people locally, Jaffe believes technology lies at the heart of our future education system. In addition to the experience Jaffe brings to the School Board, he also possesses a range of leadership abilities that make him uniquely qualified to serve our families and homeowners. As informed parents of 3 children (Matthew, Miranda and Molly) Eric and his wife of 21 years Mary Jo, are passionate supporters of public education. The Family’s devotion to ministry work has been a central part of the success of Journey Church. Jaffe’s education includes a Degree in Business Management from Florida International University (1993) and civic leadership programs such as Leadership Clay (2006 Graduate) and NE Florida Regional Leadership Program (2008 Graduate). In 2009 Jaffe was nominated Business Person of the Year by the Clay County Chamber of Commerce.
In addition, Jaffe's campaign pamphlet says that he was on the board of directors and a founding member of Clay County Victim's Services.
There are two things which make me leery of Jaffe. One is that he reminds me of past candidate for the county commission. This person is the founder of a local political/religious organization, as one of her supporters is Jaffe's treasurer, and her and Jaffe both utilized Reliant Advisors as their political consultants. It seems to be pretty much the same group of highly religious and Republicans; this makes me nervous because I consider such people to be highly anti-liberty and to believe in authoritarian government as long as the policies of such government coincide with their religious values.
The other aspect of Jaffe I question is that he has the endorsements of the realtor and builder associations. These are the lobbying/trade organizations of the local growth industry. They operate for their own profit, and as organizations and individuals they can throw a great deal of money into a campaign. Judging by the last election, in most cases the growth industry candidate is the winner and after the election they govern in a pro-growth manner. In reference to the county commission, this means eliminating transportation impact fees (this makes new construction cheaper), giving preferential treatment to home sellers in the sign ordinance, being favorable to growth in zoning and comprehensive plan changes, and some believe the construction of the First Coast Outer Beltway is also a builder scheme in that it will make areas of Clay more accesible for building.
In regards to the school board, the only reason I think the builders and realtors would support a candidate would be for the removal of education impact fees. This is a fee of several thousand dollars levied on new construction, the fees of course going with the education property taxes to fund the county schools. While eliminating the education impact fee would make it considerably cheaper to build and therefore create jobs and eventually ad valorum tax revenue, growth is a thorny issue that is not openly addressed in Clay County. Simply, the growth industry is very influential. They have great influence in the Chamber of Commerce, to differing extents every member of the county commission is pro-growth, and this industry has great influence in the local Republican Party. You do not get elected to office in Clay County by being anti-growth because you are unlikely to receive much money and you receive no support from the Clay Republicans. I was quite surprised at a recent school board candidate debate that most seemed supportive of new growth because it would create a larger tax base; that is insane. Somehow they were able to skate around the fact that a part of the reason our school budget has been decimated was rapid growth over the last several years has resulted in the costly construction of several new schools. At one point it was even mentioned that no school construction is planned for the next 5 years, giving the budget a break that would allow repairs to existing schools. As far as the growth industry is concerned, the problem is also the solution to all politicians, you just can't identify it as a problem or you will not be elected.
The big problem with growth is that it is taxpayer funded. There are infrastructure costs associated with new construction, some of which used to be funded by transportation impact fees. The cost to the county is still there, but the expense related to new construction is now spread out to existing property owners. The same applies to the education impact fee. The school cost will still be there, it will just be spread out to everyone else.
Here are some of Jaffe's statements and answers from a school board debate.
School funding from the state has been reduced. What are your plans to meet the cuts and balance the budget? Jaffe: Lobby Tallahassee and get creative with collective bargaining.
How will you bring old schools up to date? Jaffe: Partner with churches and businesses
Would you consider cutting one administrator at each school and at Green Cove Springs? Jaffe: Yes, and would cut school board salary.
Would you continue the zero tolerance drug use policy, the current penalty being a 10 day suspension? Jaffe: Try to help the individual.
How would you improve the graduation rate? Jaffe: Staffing
Jaffe webistes
Integrity Consulting http://www.integritycsg.com/
Executive Director of Impact Clay http://www.impactclay.org/
Director God First Business Network http://www.godfirstbusiness.com/
Pastor at Journey Church
facebook page http://www.facebook.com/electjaffe
campaign website http://www.electjaffe.com/
Check out the Republican Liberty Caucus of Northeast Florida at www.rlcnef.org. Join the Republican Liberty Caucus of Clay County at http://www.meetup.com/Republican-Liberty-Caucus-of-Clay-County/
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