No, probably not. But that's how many the school district would need to lay off to account for the 15 percent budget cut state officials have told Florida schools to expect next year. It comes to $95 million. The Polk district would need to cut 1,700 of its 7,000 teachers to come up with $95 million. It's more likely that every employee will receive a significant pay cut.
On Tuesday night, Senator Paula Dockery wrote Governor Charlie Crist. The letter was in anticipation of the Govenor's planned announcement concerning the CSX ILC/Orlando Commuter Rail Project. Lakeland Local presents the full letter inside...
Commentary I got busy last week, so this is a little dated now. But I want to take a moment to revisit Politics-in-the-Park-gate. You may remember, that's when the crack triumvirate of Tom Palmer, Bob Gernert, and shadowy counterterroism forces within the city of Lakeland's security apparatus conjured, denounced, and successfully intervened with their imaginations to halt the mortal threat to Charlie Crist's comfort posed by a blog post I spent 15 minutes writing the night before. A bunch of Jack Bauers, they are. Background here. There clearly was no plan - other than my meek exhortation - to confront the governor with CSX questions or chanting. (Though I'm told Crist's FDLE security detail was made aware of the threat and presumably briefed the governor on it. So thanks for that, Tom, Bob, and whoever else. The more the People's governor associates CSX with controversy and political intensity, the happier I'll be. The People's governor is not known for his political bravery. Ask Orlando.) But what if there was a plan? What if some portion of P in P goers had chanted CSX so that Charlie could hear them or shouted questions since he wasn't taking them in person, from what I understand. (I wasn't there when he spoke.) Over on his Winter Haven Chamber blog, Bob Gernert said such a thing would amount to an "ambush" of the governor. And that would be bad form, I guess. But wait just a second. Who pays the People's Governor's salary? I thought he worked for us. This was an explicitly political rally, wasn't it? Crist was there, explicitly, to ask us to vote for John McCain. Does this transaction only flow in one direction? We can't ask him something in return? That's an ambush? It might hurt his feelings, and that might.....? Whaaaaaa?
Bio: Billy Townsend was a longtime government, political and general assignment reporter in Polk County and the wider I-4 corridor. He wrote extensively about Polk's unique regional identity and the issues shaping it, including USF Polytechnic, the Heartland Parkway and the CSX rail deal. Billy recently left professional reporting to take a corporate writing job, but he keeps close tabs on news of all stripes (especially political news) and the changes in modern journalism. Billy's wife is Julie Townsend, executive director of the Downtown Lakeland Partnership.They live with their three children in the Lake Morton area. His work at Lakeland Local is his first as an amateur hyperlocal writer.
