- July 5, 2024
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Dear Editor:
Almost every day, we receive mail from those wanting to be elected. They tell us what they have done and what they will do for Ormond Beach.
There are two people, Chuck and Pat Gleichmann, who are not running for office so you may not know how much they have done to improve the environment of our city. They have organized citizens and local business to clean the polluted water in the Halifax River and restore the fish population. Thank you, Chuck and Pat for your labor and helping assemble and hang our oyster gardens.
Did you know that just one oyster can filter 50 gallons of sea water in one day? We also thank CCA Florida (Coastal Conservation Association) for attending our first organizational meeting and demonstrating how to create our hanging gardens. We appreciate the many volunteers who participated in the worthy cause of cleaning our river and bringing the fish back.
Barbara Sandberg
Ormond Beach
Dear Editor:
While reading last week’s Ormond Beach Observer article regarding the Volusia School District student enrollment numbers of about 58,000, and knowing the School Board’s budget of $1.4 billion, I did some math and came up with about $24,000 cost per student per year. That’s a lot. I did a quick google search for Volusia teacher salary and saw the starting pay is about the same as the cost of two students. Yet, the students to teacher ratio is several times higher than that. This is highly inefficient.
I’ve talked with teachers who do tutoring on the side and parents who homeschool. Teachers have told me they prefer tutoring approach because they actually make more money per hour than their teaching salary broken down per hour. Parents who homeschool their students tell me the schedule flexibility is paramount. They can take family trips during the school session time of year and not worry about their children having to catch up on missed assignments.
Safety was also a concern of many parents I’ve talked with. Unfortunately, there is added costs for school safety officers. Another concern is what material is taught or what books their children may find at the school library, or that certain books aren’t allowed. All those concerns could be alleviated by having an education funding allocation based on money following the student rather than funding the system. Parents and teachers can make agreements with each other for what curriculum and schedules work best for all involved. I’m certain the overall tax burden could be reduced while making these improvements as well.
Joe Hannoush
Ormond Beach
Editor's note: Joe Hannoush is a candidate for Florida House District 28.
