JACKSONVILLE, Fla. – Incoming Duval County Public Schools Superintendent Dr. Christopher Bernier made his second appearance Tuesday at a community meeting to hear from the parents about the proposed Master Facility Plan.
The Duval County School Board hosted the third of several meetings to discuss the proposed plan to close nearly 30 schools in Jacksonville to make up for a $1.4 billion gap in the district’s budget.
The meeting came days after Bernier and the school board agreed to a final salary proposal of $320,000 following contract negotiations.
INTERACTIVE MAP: Duval County School Board’s proposal to close & realign schools
Board Chair Darryl Willie talked about the board finalizing Bernier’s contract.
“I can’t speak for any other board members because we can’t talk about it, but we have reached a spot where both sides are like ‘Alright, here’s where we are,’” he said.
Kimberly Wolfson, a parent who attended the meeting, said she wasn’t concerned about Bernier’s asking salary.
“That’s not really my focus. It does seem like a lot of money given we’re all here because of a financial crisis at the district,” Wolfson said.
Although Bernier told New4JAX he wasn’t in attendance in an “official capacity,” he seemed attentive in the crowd, listening to each person’s concerns as he jotted down notes.
Wolfson, along with other parents, hoped Bernier would do what he said he would during his interview process.
“We hope that he follows through on what he said in the finalist interview and puts a halt to this process, really reexamines things, comes up with creative ways to solve some of these challenges that are not shuttering 30 schools that really are pillars of the communities that they serve,” she said.
Willie also shared a message for the community to ensure that DCPS selected the right person for the job, despite community criticism.
“We’ve done a lot of due diligence, whether it’s background checks, hiring law firms to go check backgrounds, talking to former staff, current staff, past supervisors, former supervisors, all those pieces we put into play so you can rest assured that we’ve done our due diligence,” Willie said.
Willie said he thinks the meetings re going well so far.
“We want to be transparent in the process. We want to get as much community input as possible,” Willie said. “There has been great attendance, really great questions, and really great solutions that we’ve been able to take in.”
He encouraged people to attend future meetings to share thoughts and give suggestions.
“I’m jotting down ideas because we want to get it right,” Willie said. “That idea that you have may be the idea that either we’ve thought about that we need some encouragement and sort of a push on or maybe something we haven’t thought through.”
The next meeting is at 6 p.m. Thursday at Ed White High School.
The school board will vote on the superintendent’s contract on Wednesday.