CHARACTER COUNTS: St. Johns County School Superintendent Dr. JOSEPH JOYNER, Ed.D. Has Some Explaining to Do About his Breach of Promise to Grandmothers for Peace on Military Recruiting Opt-Out Forms

"Character counts!" is the motto of the St. Johns County School Board.

Buried at the back ot the St. Johns County Student Conduct Handbook, at page 59, is a vague notice -- either insufficent as a matter of law or the minimum legally possible -- that parents may "opt out" of giving children's personal information to the military (and military recruiters contacting their children). Journalists have documented military recruiters under heavy-handed pressure from the Defense Department, targetting at-risk students, promising them anything to give a life, an arm or a legal for foreign wars in Iraq and Afghanistan. Parents have a legal right to spare their children's personal information being shared with the Defense Department (formerly known as the "War Department").

Thus, in 2005, St. Johns County School Superintendent Dr. JOSPEH JOYNER, Ed.D., promised Grandmothers for Penace some seven years ago to send home opt out forms each year, which is his legal duty. Dr. JOSEPH JOYNER has hidden them well -- Page 59, at the back of the book!

"Character Counts!"

When Peg McIntire, Laura Braly, and Anne Galloway from People for Peace and Justice and Grandmothers for Peace brought this issue to the attention of our School Board in 2005, School Board member Tommy Allen did not want to comply, treating the Grandmothers for Peace ladies disdainfully and disrespectfully. The St. Augustine Record quoted Allen stating, "Without a strong standing mlitary, our nation cannot survive.... We need a strong force to recruit the military. I can't bite my tongue always."

"Character Counts!"

Consistent with Allen's views, our St. Johns County School Board is hiding the military recruiting "opt out" form on page 59 of the Student Handbook and does not explain it articulately, as it does every other policy. That's apparently why recent graduates and parents have told me they have NEVER seen the form and did not know of their rights.

"Character Counts!"

The same St. Johns County School Board that buried the military recruiting "opt out" form in 2005 then ordered 30,000 copies of a biogted "opt out" form in 2009 (six boxes of copy paper and lots of toner) to be sent home to parents.

It's our money.

It happened in America, back in September 2009 when President Barack Obama was scheduled to speak to elementary and secondary school students about staying in school. The School Board also fomented junk robotic phone calls lobbying parents (and anyone with a land line telephone) for "opt out" signatures, misstating facts with flyspecking nitpicking, criticizing the lack of advance materials, doing so in the voice of St. Johns County School principals, one of whom said that the Secretary of Education's name was "Anne Duncan." (It's Arne, and he is the former Chicago School Superindent).

"Character Counts!"

This bigots' "opt-out" scheme was not to protect students' personal information, but to allow bigots -- in what former County Commission Chairman Ben Eich called "one of the last bastions of the Ku Klux Klan" --- to preven their children from hearing our first African-American President speak about the need to study and stay in school. (President George W. Bush gave such a speech without such partisan attacks).

Why did St. Johns County's Republican-dominated School Board commit this hate crime, with 30,000 pages of "opt-out" forms sent home? THey are other-directed rightist knee-jerks. Then-Republican Party of Florida Chair JAMES GREER denounced President Barack Obama's stay-in-school speech before it was delivered, saying it was to "indoctrinate socialism." Again, President Bush spoke to students without trouble. But St. Johns County's robotic School Board dutifully sent out not only "opt out" forms but robotic phone calls!

"Character Counts!"

By the way, the man who was responsible for the "opt out" forms, then-Republican Party of Florida (RPOF) Chair JAMES GREER was sentenced to prison in March 2013 to eighteen (18) months in a Florida prison and one year of probation for stealing some $125,000 from the Republican Party of Florida -- four counts of theft and one of money laundering involving VICTORY STRATEGIES LLC, the shell company GREER established to steal from RPOF. GREER was a former Tallahassee lobbyists for bars and restaurants, who advised businesses on regulatory compliance. In sentencing JAMES GREER to prison, Orlando Circuit Judge Marc Lubet ruled that GREER "egregiously violated a position of trust." http://articles.orlandosentinel.com/2013-03-27/news/os-jim-greer-sentence-20130327_1_victory-strategies-llc-defense-attorney-damon-chase-jim-greer

JAMES GREER,whose family lives in his Oveido mansion while he serves his prison term, was part of the inner circle of former Republican Governor CHARLES CRIST, now running for Governor as a Democrat. CRIST was scheduled to be a witness at trial. At the time of sentencing on September 27, 2012, GREER's lawyer bragged he would be "out by next summer," refusing to disclose to reporters who paid GREER's fine and who was employing GREER's previously stay-at-home wife while he serves his prison sentence for theft and money-laundering. Sounds like "hush money."

"Character Counts!"

So make no mistake -- St. Johns County Schools:
(a) followed the advice of a now-convicted thief -- corrupt Republican Party of Florida Chair JAMES GREER -- in requiring "opt out" forms for President Obama's September 2009 speech; BUT
(b) won't provide documents on the etiology of its burying the military recruiting "opt out" form on page 59 of its Student Conduct Handbook.

"Character Counts!"

Again, "Character Counts" is the motto of St. Johns County Schools. School Superintendent JOSEPH JOYNER, Ph.D. made a solemn personal promise to Grandmothers for Peace and my late friends and mentors Peg McIntire and Robin Nadeau. JOYNER promised to send home military recruiting "opt out" forms.

St. Johns County School Superintendent JOSEPH JOYNER must keep his promise to Grandmothers for Peace, Peg McIntire and Robin Nadeau -- which is NOT kept by his burying a vaguely worded form on page 59 of the Student Conduct Handbook.

I wrote Dr. JOSEPH JOYNER, Ed.D., some 29 days ago about his promise. He passed it off to another Ph.D., Assistant School Superintendent PAUL ABBATINOZZI, who wrote me a snooty E-mail about page 59. Assistant School Superintendent ABBATINOZZI evidently doesn't know enough manners to thank Open Records requesters and respond to their requests, or to use a proper salutation (no "Dear" here).

I also spoke with a School Board member, who promised to look into the matter, but has not yet called back. He is out of the office today.

To be continued.....