Lamar Thames

School districts across the state of Florida are wrestling mightily with the tasks of making draconian cuts in their budgets. School Board members are losing sleep, superintendents are visibly depressed and teachers are all on edge, wondering if they will have jobs in the coming months.

But what are the parents saying? In one county, at least, we don’t know publicly what the parents are saying, except for those who have called their school board members. While Clay County school officials have urged teachers and parents to send them their ideas on how to cut the school budget and to contact their legislators to appeal for more funding for education, there hasn’t been that uproariously loud voice from the community protesting the cuts. At least not yet.

And there may not be. The School Board will hold a workshop at 4 p.m. Monday, Read the rest of this entry »

Well, THAT was disappointing, wasn’t it?

I am talking, of course, about Jacksonville’s debut on “American Idol.” Not what I was hoping for. I have heard a few local singers and I know there are some out there who can do better than what we saw Tuesday night. 

The best part of the night was at the end with Ann Marie Boskovich’s amazing voice, and she isn’t even from Jacksonville. I didn’t catch where she is from but I think somewhere in Tennessee.

I didn’t hear anyone who said they were from Jacksonville who was any good. Several Read the rest of this entry »