Ashley Berner wants taxpayers to fund religious schools. She thinks religious schools that make a religious-liberty case for segregation should get our tax money for vouchers to their schools. A 2020 News4Jax video which featured Ashley Berner as an “expert” was produced by Gary Chartrand (former Rick Scott appointee). Be careful if you watch it as it feels (to me) like a puff piece promoting the privatization of our public schools.
Notice how Ashley Berner (in her article) uses the term heteronormative but then instead of promoting tolerance and understanding, she suggests we go to separate schools. Publicly funded schools should NOT be heteronormative because the term means:
“Heteronormativity is often linked to heterosexism and homophobia. It is the assumption that heterosexuality is the standard for defining normal sexual behavior and that male–female differences and gender roles are the natural and immutable essentials in normal human relations. According to some social theorists, this assumption is fundamentally embedded in, and legitimizes, social and legal institutions that devalue, marginalize, and discriminate against people who deviate from its normative principle (e.g., gay men, lesbians, bisexuals, transgendered persons). See also heterosexism. [coined in 1991 by U.S. social theorist Michael Warner]. .”
Notice how Ashley Berner says “what if” but, of course, going to a homophobic school is harmful just like going to a racist or sexist school is harmful. The solution is to have NO publicly funded schools that are racist, homophobic, or sexist.
Please read the words of Ashley Berner, who is featured in the Gary Chartrand produced video. I hope her words scare you into wanting to improve our neighborhood and magnet schools and not wanting our legislators to divert our tax dollars to charter schools and vouchers.
Excerpts from Ashley Berner’s article:
The Supreme Court did not stop with Brown v. Board of Education (1954), after all. Later rulings reinforced its principles by limiting the practices of private schools, too, even those that had made a religious-liberty case for segregation. … One can imagine a Brown-like moment at the Supreme Court. The consequences for education policy might be to withdraw funding, and possibly even tax-exempt status, from private schools whose hiring, admissions, and retention policies discriminated on the basis of sexual orientation. … What if a robust body of research found that heteronormative schooling inevitably damaged children who were not heterosexual, or children whose parents were not heterosexual?
https://fordhaminstitute.org/national/commentary/psychological-harm-and-school-choice
David Osborne, who was also featured in the video, wrote this op-ed calling for the privatization of public schools:
https://www.washingtonpost.com/outlook/2019/06/19/privatization-doesnt-make-charter-schools-bad-its-what-makes-them-great/
Shame on News4Jax for giving Ashley Berner and David Osborne a platform in this video:
https://youtu.be/NZk4tZJMjxk
The video is calling for the privatization of K-12 education. Yes, there were people talking about magnet schools and improvements in the neighborhood schools (in the video) to give it an air of legitimacy. Yes, it talks about kids with disabilities attending elite schools. It is VERY expensive to teach kids with disabilities so that might be one place where vouchers make sense but only IF philanthropists fill the gap in the costs. Here are a few excerpts from this article:
If you’re poor, your general education voucher (FTC) or ESE voucher (McKay and Gardiner) or ESA is very unlikely to buy a school spot or educational service that is not an open, dangerous scam. … Three reforms to voucher provider eligibility that are needed:
1. Require accreditation
2. Require a meaningful capital/endowment-to-operations threshold
3, Require that voucher schools take the same tests public schools take
I would add that they should also be required to follow the same non-discrimination rules that the district schools must follow.
I worry what will happen if we allow our schools to be privatized. Will the neighborhood schools no longer be able to offer lots of choices within them?
The charter schools are taking our capital outlay funding and paying rent to related parties while the elected school board is building school buildings that are owned by the public and can be used as hurricane shelters.
The legislature keeps passing bills putting more unfunded mandates on district run schools while allowing charter schools to be exempt from the rules. Now DeSantis is proposing a bill that allows a parent to sue the district if the parent feels a teacher is pushing a “woke” agenda. Will the charter and voucher funded private schools also be subject to that litigation? If not, don’t you wonder if DeSantis’s true aim is to harm the district-run schools? And why would he want to do that? Is it part of a privatization scheme?
Tracie Davis just filed a bill requesting taxpayers give a million dollars to a charter school. What does she want Wayman Academy to do that the nearby neighborhood schools can’t do?
The church operates Wayman Academy of the Arts, a charter school. … Griffin said, “We are seeing fewer people on Sunday.”
https://www.jacksonville.com/story/lifestyle/faith/2013/05/23/connection-between-spirit-man-and-education-man/15827890007/
Is he saying that the people no longer support his church so he has to get the taxpayers to subsidize his church?
Is $360,000 FMV for rental on that building?
Lease Commitment – The Wayman Academy currently leases its facilities and transportation equipment from the West Jacksonville Economic Development Corporation. The agreement calls for monthly lease payments of $30,000 for the facilities and $3,000 for transportation equipment. This lease has been renewed through June 30, 2023.The Academy also has entered into an agreement with Wayman Community Development Corporation (“WCDC”) to share certain operating costs such as accounting, human resources, public relations, utilities and copier lease expense. These services are incurred by WCDC and reimbursed by the Academy. The allocation varies depending on the type of expense, but is primarily based on employee count and actual usage. The total incurred by the Academy to WCDC for the year ended June 30, 2020 was $66,000
content/uploads/2021/04/Audit-reports-2020-wayman-academy-of-the-arts.pdf
Admittedly, I don’t understand why people are supporting the privatization of our public school system. Why can’t we improve the neighborhood and magnet schools? Put lots of choices within each neighborhood school. Why not ask for a million dollars for the neighborhood school? This free after school care at the neighborhood school that’s near Wayman Academy could help kids and families in the neighborhood with wrap around services if they got an extra million:
TEAM UP is a quality, free after school program that provides a safe environment where students are encouraged and motivated to succeed in both their academic and enrichment activities. The program takes place at Hyde Park Elementary School and serves third through fifth grade students. It operates Monday through Friday for three hours each day and is closed on all school holidays. The program focuses on six core areas – academic enrichment, sports and recreation, life skills, cultural enrichment, parental involvement and community service.
https://dcps.duvalschools.org/Page/7344
I can’t help but wonder every time the legislature passes a bill that requires an unfunded mandate of the neighborhood and magnet schools but it isn’t required of the charter or voucher funded private school if the real goal is to further the long term goal of the privatization of K-12 education. Once the legislature introduces DeSantis’ stop woke act, please take note if it applies to charter and voucher funded private schools. If they truly think it’s a good idea, then why doesn’t it apply to all publicly funded schools? Why would it only apply to the schools run by the locally elected school board?
