Response to Kinney

To the editor:

Mr. Kinney’s letter to the editor June 17 in this newspaper questioning how I conduct myself as an elected school board member and encouraging people to do their homework before voting in this year’s elections is right on target. His other assertions are poor interpretations of what I do and have accomplished along with what an elected school board member’s job really is.

To start with, his letter makes the claim that attending student expulsion hearings is part of the job of a school board member and many may agree with that. The real job of a school board member is to improve our schools. The last expulsion hearing I attended was in 2003. Expulsion hearings never did anything to improve our schools’ academic performance. We have been doing expulsion hearings the same way for more than 15 years and until we had a replacement of the superintendent, our school district was under-performing in dozens of areas. To that end, I have spent my time improving our schools.

When I got elected in 2002 we had one middle school after-school program. Now, every middle school has an after-school program that has resulted in a drop in teen pregnancies and incidents with the juvenile justice system. The Central Florida Hotel and Lodging Association (CFHLA) had an adopt-a-school program when I was elected in 2002 with only one partnership with an Osceola public school. Now, we have more than 25 partnerships.

To be more specific about the limited time, Mr. Kinney’s letter claims I have given to our children, I have mentored at Osceola High School and Kissimmee Middle School every week for more than 10 years. I have been a volunteer Junior Achievement instructor at Highlands, Boggy Creek, Thacker Avenue and Central Elementary schools over a five-year period. Currently, I am in my 10th year coaching youth basketball at the Kissimmee YMCA and have coached Little League in Celebration. Plus I have worked with many Boy Scouts helping them get their Eagle Scout rank. In 2006, when I had a heart attack, I did not miss one school board meeting as a result of my heart attack.

My opponents are bound to show their hand with an election nearing. They can’t take me on with the real issues of school improvement so they need to come up with their own version of a swift boat attack campaign, something I have come to expect. My focus on academic excellence has never wavered.

If anyone has any questions about this or anything else, feel free to call me on my cell at 407-973-4141 or e-mail me at jaywheeler@embarqmail.com

Jay Wheeler
Osceola County School Board
Member, District 1
Candidate for re-election

Editor’s note: This letter was edited significantly in accordance with this newspaper’s policy on length of submitted letters.