Special 2014 Announcement

…our work is not done!

Approximately four years ago I began on a journey to run for this office and serve the students and schools of the Citrus County public school district.  I believe we have accomplished much but there is still more work to do, and therefore I today January 17^th, 2014, I filed papers with the Citrus County Election Office to again serve as a Citrus County School Board Member for District 1.

The support, encouragement and prayers that I have received over the last four years have helped me serve our schools and community.  I have valued the growing number of readers of my newsletters and blog which has over 80,000 hits a month. I am humbled by the vast numbers of you that have reached out to me, shared concerns with me, and/or asked for assistance. I am honored to be a representative and advocate for our students, parents, teachers, staff, schools, district, and community.

We have faced great challenges since I was sworn into office three years ago.  During my tenure our school district has experienced a funding reduction that has forced cuts of over $10 million dollars a year out of the budget.  Despite these challenges we have worked to bring engaging and relevant technology devices to individual students to better prepare them for their future college and career paths.  We have continued to be a state leader by increasing our high school graduation rate while at the same time reducing our dropout rate, even with the revised state mandates, directives, and rigorous graduation requirements. We have worked with our local legislators to build relationships to help them better understand our district’s and students’ needs.  In the wake of these challenges I have provided a voice for parents, advocated for ESE and at-risk students, and been readily accessible to those expressing concerns about the issues public education is facing today.

But with all that we have accomplished, our work is not done.  Our students and our public schools are an investment in our future. We must continue to focus on making our curriculum and standards relevant to the world in which our students will live and work. We must continue to maintain positive working relationships with our legislators to empower them to better represent our students and schools. We must continue to support our teachers and bring us back to a time when teachers were revered for the positive work they do.  And we must continue to challenge and inspire our students to be more and go further.

I ask for your continuous support.

Thomas Kennedy

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Governor Rick Scott Appoints Les Cook as Property Appraiser of Citrus County

Governor Rick Scott today appointed an interim successor to Citrus’s late Property Appraiser Geoffrey Greene.  I greatly appreciate Governor Scott promptly making this appointment for the Citizens’ of Citrus County.

Governor Scott’s Official Release

Today, Governor Rick Scott announced the appointment of Leslie K. “Les” Cook as Property Appraiser of Citrus County.

Cook, 56, of Homosassa, is the assistant property appraiser for Citrus County and has been with the Property Appraiser’s office since 1980. He fills the vacancy created by the passing of Geoffrey Greene and is appointed for a term beginning January 6, 2014, and ending November 11, 2014.

Governor Scott said, “My sincerest condolences are with Geoffrey Greene’s entire family as they grieve his passing. I am confident that Les Cook will continue to provide excellent service to the taxpayers of Citrus County.”

Source: http://www.flgov.com/2014/01/07/governor-rick-scott-appoints-leslie-cook-as-property-appraiser-of-citrus-county/

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Happy New Year 2014!

New Life To Our Schools, Students and Teachers

Each New Year brings new goals, new desires, and new hopes. This year great change is needed in Florida’s public school laws and governances.  It is my hope and my prayer that the when the Florida State Legislator meets for the 2014 session that common sense, rational thinking and positive non-partisan solutions are agreed on and passed.  This includes changes that would not only give clear direction on Florida’s education standards and state assessments, but also includes Legislative intervention into the Duke Energy lawsuits and its damaging reduction of funding to our Citrus schools and classrooms.

This past 2013 year, the school board and district often had to make decisions, choosing the lesser of two bad options.  This past year also saw the state’s implementation of a widely criticized and flawed school grading system, which begins with a controversial single day “high-stakes” assessment test (FCAT 2.0 or EOC) and finishes with 50% of a teacher’s evaluations being based on these controversial assessments as well as students’ lives being determined by these “high-stakes” assessment tests.  In 2013 we saw at the beginning of the year a “non-negotiable” expectation and mandates by the Florida Department of Education (FL-DOE), State Legislator and Florida Governor that all curriculums must be aligned to the Common Core State Standards and with what then the Governor and FL-DOE described as an improved “high-stakes” assessment test the Partnership for Assessment of Readiness for College and Careers (PARCC) would be the answer to all the negative issues of FCAT and FCAT 2.0. Then at the end of 2013, the Governor and Department of Education abandoned PARCC, and are now rethinking the whole Common Core standards and looking to now develop new Florida standards which may look similar to Common Core.  In the meantime due to the mandates to Common Core and the use of Common Core assessments for teacher evaluations millions of dollars locally and perhaps billion statewide have been spent preparing and transitioning for these requirements. Now with the changes being suggested by political groups and the Governor districts have had to find a way to fund these mandates by often cutting in others areas. Will that money now be in vain? I hope not.  This legislative session will be another important one as several education changes are likely to take place and I will do my best to help keep you informed and how you can help.

This coming year no doubt will have its sure of challenges and successes. I encourage each of us in our many different roles as parents, teachers, educators, staff and community to work hard to recognize the problems that we must fix but remember as hard as it can be to stay optimistic and to focus on the positive parts of public education.

May we, through our schools and students continue to be blessed in our great county.

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