The Pulaski County Special School District continues its war against Jacksonville. The latest outrage is a refusal by PCSSD officials to approve two grant applications for Jacksonville schools, which were seeking federal grants for enrichment programs that the district refused to submit for approval.
The children were denied access to $150,000 in-tended for Kareer Kids Child Development Center in partnership with Warren Dupree Elementary School and money for an after-school summer program at Jacksonville Boys Middle School.
Since the city wants to break away from PCSSD, why channel money to local kids? The district is telling Jacksonville patrons: Drop dead.
Through its actions, the Pulaski County Special School District has confirmed once again what Jack-sonville patrons have suspected for years: The district doesn’t give a hoot about the students in the area and never will. PCSSD is punishing the children for the sins of their parents, who believe that in a smaller district, they would improve education standards and have better facilities than the decrepit buildings their children attend now.
Jacksonville has felt cut off from the district for a long time and has gone to court to win approval for a Jacksonville-area school district. It’s an uphill battle, but what can they lose? There’s little chance the Pulaski County Special School District will ever treat them fairly or care about their community. (District officials almost never return our phone calls.)
Patrons can save their schools by working harder to win court approval for their independent district.
