The fillies run today in the Kentucky Oaks, which can be more fun than Saturday when the boys do the Derby. But here in Jacksonville, outside the one scratch (Luis Solano, reasons unknown,) the remaining five semi-finalists have submitted their qualifying materials in hopes of being asked to the race next week.

You will find the materials posted here on the district’s website. There’s a link for community feedback and I encourage you to use it after reading and viewing the responses. It will take an hour and a half of your time; if you care about the district and the leader it will hire, it is worth it.

Do both. In my review last night, I found that some candidates did not come across well in their written answers, but communicated well in their videos and vice versa. Also, not all candidates were well-versed in the local issues, but there were a few who were and had ideas. I have to admit they would have an edge with me if I was a sitting board member.

I won’t offer individual critiques of the submissions, but rather offer a handicapping guide:

• The candidates who spoke to the issues of teacher misconduct, enrollment decline, and the proposed plan to consolidate schools get a plus. Give an extra plus to the ones who cited the actual statistics. They are paying attention.
• The candidates who offered general palaver in response to the questions that were full of buzzwords, jargon, and more get a minus. Back in the day, we called it slinging the <ahem>.
• Those who wanted to restart the master facilities planning get a minus. We’ve been planning for the last three decades. That’s a Jacksonville hallmark of local governance. We ought to trademark it and make a little cash off licensing fees. We don’t need to reassess and start from scratch. We know the situation. How the <ahem> do we get out of it? At this point, I don’t think the voters will extend the half-penny sales tax when it expires.
• Those whose answers on budgeting followed the Florida timeline get a nod. The candidate who didn’t and said a final budget for board adoption would be done by mid-March gets mocking laughter. The Florida legislature has not passed a new budget by that date unless we’re in an election year.
• Be alert for those who recognize the dynamics of the demographics. The school-age population of the city does not match the profile of the overall population. One spoke to this with suppressed passion in his voice. A longshot, but in the Derby anything can happen. This is especially true when you watch the videos. After the first two, I thought I might title this article “Bald White Guys with Beards + One Woman,” but the next person stopped that thought.
• Those who didn’t squeeze out an ‘all stakeholders,’ but instead recognized the crucial role of involving students in policy decisions get a plus. Two plusses if they were talking about discipline issues.
• Three candidates have a connection to Northern Virginia school districts. In other words, blue country. There’s no way to figure out how this affects our handicapping, but will it factor into the future once Ronny D. has finished making up with Trump and looks in his rearview mirror only to see Glenn Youngkin closing the gap? A superintendent, ostensibly hired by a nonpartisan school board, is nevertheless enmeshed in Florida politics by the very nature of the state educational enviroment.

Everyone will have their own opinion, but for my money (including the half-penny sales tax and extra property tax mil,) I would invite these three for interviews next week: Daniel Smith, Adam Taylor, and Josiah Phillips.

In the meantime, mix yourself a mint julep (bourbon, sugar, and a sprig of mint) and enjoy the race.