Behind Closed Doors: The Julie Lawson Investigation
Content Notice: Our team received the investigation report concerning Mrs. Julie Lawson, former principal of Kate Sullivan Elementary School. This post discusses reported physical contact involving a student, failures in parental notification, alleged sexual assault, and alleged retaliation against school employees. Readers should use discretion. A History of Retaliation, Harassment, and Questions About What District […]
James Billingsley, Leon County Schools District 1
You can find out more about James Billingsley through his Facebook page. Why are you running for school board and what do you plan to accomplish? I’m running because I have two kids in the school system. The School Board is in need of fresh members with new ideas. Many neighbors in our community […]
James Reilly, Leon County School Board District 5
You can visit James Reilly’s Facebook page to learn more about him. His page highlights everyday people getting involved in the decision making process. You can also find his email and phone number listed publicly on his page. Why are you running for school board and what do you plan to accomplish? I actually considered […]
MOI: Mechanism of Increase, A Predictor of Patterned Corruption
Property taxes are increasing and the state has proposed a solution (to reduce or eliminate the property tax, an item appearing on local ballots this November) without first identifying the true cause of the increase. In the medical field, we learn from day one to identify the mechanism of injury. Our local and state governments […]
A Small Investment, A Big Difference: Why to Say Yes at Ballot Box In November
By Sierra Bush Rester As a lifelong Tallahasseean, parent to several children (who attend Leon CountySchools), and a Leon County school teacher, I have always hoped for an opportunity in which Icould put my money where my mouth is and use my tax dollars to support our community publicschools. Luckily for me and people like […]
Teacher Pay Shouldn’t Be a Cover for a Tax Grab
By Dr. Inika Williams When you read the actual ballot language line by line, you realize the proposal is not just about teacher pay. It is a long list of other priorities bundled into one tax request. Let’s look at the words. “In order to increase teacher pay…” This is the strongest part of the […]
The Truth About Public Education That Many Don’t Want to Discuss
Daniel Zeruto, May 29, 2026 What is happening in the Leon County School District reflects a deeper issue that many parents have experienced firsthand, but too few leaders are willing to openly discuss, much less address. This week, during a public school board meeting, a board member openly stated she was asking questions publicly because […]
ABC, 123, Baby $2.5 Million
We’ve all seen the headlines for the new state-of-the-art VPK facility. However, state-of-the-art comes at a hefty price tag: $2,538,993 to be exact. This new facility is being touted as bringing all of Leon County Schools VPK under one roof. Early learning is important and this is why our elected officials should work to get […]
The Tea the Data Spills: School District Flavor
Data alone can “spill some tea” about the state of our district when we allow it to, especially when we examine it with the correct context and alongside other data points. Our inquisitive community continues to ask why our district executives are paid so well while support staff and our educators scrape up what is […]
IDEA Funding, A Serious Matter Met with Unserious Answers
We have serious questions for Leon County School District (LCS), but they continue to deflect, ignore, or simply provide answers that land like a bad joke. Conversations about IDEA funding continue to circulate as many of our parents feel their students’ IEPs are not being followed and are being told noncompliance is due to resources. […]
Utility Bill Forgiveness For Me But Not For Thee
On August 4th 2025, we placed a request for the current bills at Department of Transportation at Hayden Burns Building, the Federal Correctional Institute, and Leon County Schools. At the end of September, we received the utility bills. Everything looked fairly accurate except for one thing; we placed our request in August, and these bills […]
Buses and Confusion and Students, Oh My!
This school year hasn’t even begun yet and parents are buzzing on social media about the new Leon County bus system. And like an angry hornets nest their conversations are vibrating throughout many of our social media groups. We have also recently heard from many concerned parents about the new bus routes. The most prominent […]
Neighbor Voices: Financial Uncertainty and School Community
During this time of financial uncertainty, with our schools facing a projected $12.5 million shortfall, Mr. Hanna’s job should be one of giving families a sense of calm and ensuring us that despite cuts, our children will continue to get a great education because we have great teachers.. However, after addressing the media, the community is so unnerved and […]
A Public Records Adventure: Leon County Schools
“Getting the dates off of the platform is not easy due to the way the platform is set up.” The custodian of records responded to us after we requested the dates of completion for the school executives annual trainings. A couple weeks prior we requested and received a list of required annual training for all […]
A Public School Parent’s Perspective
Submitted Anonymously “A Public School Parent” 5/21/2025 As we close another school year, I find myself reflecting on the events that unfolded—both through personal experience and conversations with other parents and teachers. Across social media and within our communities, one theme continues to emerge: leadership’s consistent failure to acknowledge and address the real issues affecting […]
The School Board And The Superintendent Pay
Rocky Hanna continues to be generous with raises. He gave himself 26.5% ($42,336) increase. Last year the superintendent pay was $159,988. This year, a whopping $202,324. That’s almost a full salary for a new teacher or a couple of paraprofessionals. Interestingly, raises in excess of the Florida Statute are to be voted on by a […]
Outrunning The Public Opinion: LCS Track and Field
A cold January morning just a few days prior to a rare Florida snow storm, Marc Weeks climbed over a closed fence and took to the track at Godby High School. In honor of Martin Luther King Jr, Mr. Weeks felt that an expression of civil disobedience is appropriate. For Mr. Weeks, the track and […]
When Testing Matters, The Taken Test Matters More
Social media groups buzzed on Tuesday January 14th about the district’s decision to offer the Classical Learning Test (CLT). Many parents expressed concern over the districts choice of test citing the test is not widely accepted like the ACT and SAT. Other parents are concerned with the material used in the test. Classical Learning Test […]
Striving For A Successful District Is More Than Statements
We recently wrote a piece on how the State grades our district. Here we plan to dive into our district’s strategic plan. The districts strategic plan is a commitment to the community to achieve various goals in different areas. All areas of the strategic plan are important. We found that while the District states they […]
Trust In Information: But What Information Can We Trust?
Superintendent Rocky Hanna went before the state to present his plan for Apalachee Elementary School. The state relies on the superintendent to bring and present data and information needed for the betterment of the district. The state, like our neighbors, trust that the information will be accurate and transparent. Hanna reported to the Tallahassee Democrat […]
