Escambia County Public Schools performed admirably during the 2023-24 school year based on the Florida Department of Education accountability reports. However, after decades of ranking in the bottom half of the state, the public still understandably voices concerns about education as a new battle has been waged over how to help the county’s children best.
The Escambia Children’s Trust has lobbied to keep the portion of its annual revenue that should have been given to the Community Redevelopment Agencies (CRAs) in the City of Pensacola and Escambia County, according to Florida law. The Trust argued that it should keep the funds, but neither local government had an appetite to do so without some restrictions.
The Escambia County Commission and Mayor D.C. Reeves have taken different approaches in dealing with the CRA dollars.
Mayor Reeves:
Tired of responding, “That’s not our job,” Reeves sees an opportunity for a collaboration among the City, Escambia County School District and Escambia Children’s Trust to invest resources in Title I schools. His plan includes the City letting the Trust keep $1.8 million owed in CRA dollars and about $500,000 annually, but only if the funds are spent as established in a yet-to-be-drafted Memorandum of Understanding.
Board of County Commissioners:
The Escambia County Board of County Commissioners unanimously approved a motion earlier this month for the Trust to refund over $1.1 million in tax increment revenues intended for the county’s CRA fund that accrued over the past three years.
The commissioners approved the CRA motion after a long discussion about public safety. Commissioner Lumon May justified investing in public safety by saying children are being traumatized by violence in their neighborhoods. May cited multiple incidents, including the drive-by shooting that killed two men in their early 20s and injured five others outside of Wedgewood Community Center.
Escambia Children’s Trust:
The Trust identified two Title I schools, Global Learning Academy and O.J. Semmes, for its Healthy Schools Escambia Initiative, which aims to “enhance the health and well-being of students across Escambia County by creating environments that support healthy lifestyles and educational success.” The contract will be awarded next month.
The Healthy Schools initiative is based on the Whole School, Whole Community, Whole Child model, a CDC framework established to address school health in 2014. The model includes 10 components ranging from physical activity to family engagement and shares some common characteristics with the Children’s Home Society’s Community Partnership School program used at three Escambia County schools.
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