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Superintendent Wilcox deserves a vote of confidence

Re: Lesson plan: How Pinellas board is a bad example, Sept. 22.

Wonders never cease. This may be the first time I've agreed (kind of) with a Howard Troxler column.

While I am not as quick to criticize the School Board, I will be quick to praise what I think has been an outstanding job by Dr. Clayton Wilcox. Let's face it, Dr. Wilcox had to spend much of his initial time on mop-up duty of the mess left behind by his predecessors, particularly relative to the busing/choice (chance) plan.

The desegregation settlement, engineered by former superintendent Howard Hinesley and essentially deposed former School Board attorney John Bowen, is arguably the worst functioning desegregation settlement in the nation. The already costly busing scenario has been further underscored by the spike in gasoline prices related to Hurricane Katrina, and others to come. Dr. Wilcox has been hamstrung with millions of dollars of resources required to be spent on busing kids around the county while half-asleep, and causing many of their parents to be unable to be involved with their students' school due to distance (as a result of the choice lottery, magnet program requirements and mandated minority percentage caps).

Dr. Wilcox appears to be the no-nonsense leader that we need now. He appears to me to be doing a stand-up job, and our School Board would be wise to give him a vote of confidence and extend his contract for the suggested one year. The board needs to allow Dr. Wilcox to do his job (as he has had a "big fix" to contend with) and not impede him.

Disrespectful comments

Re: Lesson plan: How Pinellas board is a bad example, by Howard Troxler.

As a recently retired Pinellas County educator, I was offended by the disrespectful comments Howard Troxler leveled at the Pinellas County School Board. During my 33 years with the Pinellas County school system, I was privileged to work with many of the individuals Troxler derides. In particular, his remarks regarding Howard Hinesley, Max Gessner, Tom Todd and Lee Benjamin were rude and undeserved. Pinellas County Schools benefited immensely from the leadership and expertise of these men. Their decisions and accomplishments were clearly based on a deep commitment and caring for students and staff. To insinuate otherwise not only suggests a lack of information, but also demonstrates an example of irresponsible journalism.

Before Troxler uses his column to label others as bad examples, he needs to do some genuine self-reflection.

A better board is needed

Re: Lesson plan: How Pinellas board is a bad example.

A hearty "amen" to Howard Troxler's column. My children have now graduated from the Pinellas County schools, but it is in the interest of all residents who care about the quality of schools that we have a School Board that clearly understands its mission.

Several members of this present School Board do not. Too many members have much to say that reveals their lack of a grasp of the task at hand. Dr. Wilcox has brought a much needed new day to the Pinellas County schools.

I found the column's suggestion of the type of people who ought to be on the School Board quite interesting. It seems that the makeup of the present School Board needs some type of change.

Premature discussions

I cannot believe that Pinellas school superintendent Clayton Wilcox, with only one year into a 31/2-year contract, wants an extension! I think it's a little premature to be talking about that.

Why Nancy Bostock is discussing pay raises and appointing a committee to look into the possibility is beyond my comprehension. If you figure his base salary per student, you will see Wilcox is in the middle of the pack and, certainly, ahead of Broward or Miami-Dade.

Linda Lerner is right: The time for this kind of discussion is when Wilcox's contract comes up for renewal.

Focus on real school issues

The Times' article on the board's review of his work (Wilcox receives praise, but no new contract, Sept. 21 ) is yet another example of the media diverting attention from critical issues and giving the public easy-to-digest "news."

Dr. Wilcox's salary and request for a contract extension are not what thoughtful citizens want to know. What we want to know are the following:

1. What have Dr. Wilcox and the board done to increase the graduation rate, which remains a national embarrassment?

2. What have Dr. Wilcox and the board done to allow our kids to compete in a global economy?

3. What have Dr. Wilcox and the board done to assist our kids in getting into top colleges and professional schools?

The news we want has nothing to do with Dr. Wilcox's salary or whether the buses run better. The news is why failure is so ingrained that merely graduating from high school or gaining a GED is considered a monumental achievement in too many schools in our community.

Protect the horses

Re: Bring an end to horse slaughter.

I just wanted to say thanks for the editorial in the Sept. 13 paper. I would love to see an article on the front page of every major newspaper in the United States. I have to believe that a lot of Americans still do not realize that horses are being slaughtered and some are being shipped to Europe for human consumption. All of us that do know are trying to stop it.

The wild horses in the United States are a part of our heritage and they deserve so much better.

Think about greyhounds, too

Re: Bring an end to horse slaughter.

You are certainly right in your plea to stop the slaughter of horses in the United States. I would hope that you would also consider doing the same for the thousands of greyhounds needlessly killed each year because they are too slow, badly injured or past their prime for the "sport" of greyhound racing.

Active adoption campaigns help place many of the dogs in loving homes, but there are too many being bred for racing each year to save all of them. These beautiful, gentle dogs deserve a better life than what most of them now have. Most of the dog tracks only exist because of the incorporation of other forms of gambling over the years to increase their bottom lines, as interest in dog racing has dwindled.

Abolish dog racing and let the gamblers have their other forms of entertainment.

[Last modified September 26, 2005, 01:18:19]