JACKSONVILLE, Fla. – In a sit-down interview Tuesday, new Duval County Public Schools Superintendent Dr. Christopher Bernier answered questions about a wide range of issues including transportation, school closures and student safety.
Bernier took over as superintendent about six weeks ago, as the district has faced several challenges, including investigations into how allegations of abuse are handled at the district and proposals to close and consolidate some schools amid budget shortfalls and declining enrollment. With expanded school choice options, fewer families are sending their kids to DCPS, which means less funding for DCPS.
Anne Maxwell: I want to start out asking you about a topic that is of great concern to our viewers, transportation. So we reported on the first day of school yesterday, more than 60 buses were late, which is better than in years past. But we’ve also heard reports about kids having to cross busy roads, kids being dropped off in the wrong place. What is your plan to improve student transportation and the safety that goes along with it?
Christopher Bernier: “The first step began yesterday when I realized that buses were arriving late to school, and then yesterday afternoon, I started to get word, as I promised I would... that I had busses arriving late in the afternoon, and in some cases, routes had to be collapsed, and different bus drivers had to take double routes, which put us behind. We have been working with our own internal transportation department, our operations division, but I’ve also reached out to those contracted providers in order to get some accountability moving, to ensure that today was going to be a better day. We’ll continue to monitor and make sure we’re looking at on-time percentage both in the morning and an on-time percentage both in the morning and on-time percentage in the afternoon.”
AM: I also want to ask you about school closures and consolidation...what factors are going to be considered as those decisions are made?
CB: “Well, we’ve been working with the community around that particular issue, and they’ve given us great things to consider. One is about school grades, school performance, but really, I think the most important factor is we have to make a decision that’s in the best interest of the school district, financially, and in the best interest of our children educationally. And that’s going to have to strike a balance.”
He said the district is probably looking at a November deadline for the school board to vote on a plan.
CB: “I just think it’s too soon to say these are the schools, or these aren’t the schools. We really promised the community, at least I know the board did, and then I did upon arrival, that we would continue to engage with them until we reached a point where we needed to make a decision.”
News4JAX also asked him about Douglas Anderson School of the Arts, where misconduct has led to multiple teachers being removed from the classroom over the past year. Reporting has also revealed former administrators at the school didn’t properly follow up on complaints.
AM: How is the district making sure allegations of teacher misconduct are heard and taken seriously?
CB: “It’s really a multiple approach to make sure that that occurs. One is the continued professional development and training of our staff to understand if they see or know about something, they have a duty and a responsibility to report it. All educators are required by law to report abuse or allegations of abuse, and I think it’s important that they, number one, understand it, and number two if they don’t do it, they’re held accountable for it. The other aspect is to educate our parents and our students as to what some of this could look like in social media or on a student’s text messages. The teachers should not be reaching out to students via text.”
AM: As you know, Duval County Public Schools have a budget shortfall of more than a billion dollars. There are aging buildings. Enrollment has been dropping. How do you plan to turn that around?
CB: “There are some challenges within the Duval County Public School system. I think first and foremost, the most important thing is to really drive home that we have a really great product, and our students are examples of what go out into the community and go out and populate our colleges and then return to make our community a better place. We have to do a better job of telling our story. I think that’s really one of the most critical components. For instance, it’s not often repeated that 91% of our schools in Duval County are graded A, B or C. That’s a much higher percentage than some of our competitors.”
Dr. Bernier noted there will be no additional budget cuts for the upcoming school year, but the district is now focusing on balancing the budget for 2025-26 and looking for areas where they could reallocate funds, such as with the Master Facilities Plan.
You can view the full interview in the video player below: