And the NO VOTE has it!!

Sorry folks, I must have missed something. If you incorporate the unincorporated area south of the bridge you will pay more taxes, on top of the county and school taxes we already pay. I am not as opposed to it as much as I was but I am not sure what we can gain from incorporation. As for the TDC I am not sure that an incorporated south Walton would be able to do anything with it.

I'm totally with the yes people, but man did they do a piss poor job of selling the idea. You would think people so concerned with education would spend more time trying to educate the electorate, patiently I might add. That's not how it happened.

Other than this website, there was really no discussion whatsoever. We live in a rather odd situation where we have no newspaper, no television station, and probably a modicum of interested people who venture onto this website. There were probably twenty participants on this subject on Sowal. The vote certainly reflected that.

soooo happy I made in back in the country just in time for the gnashing of teeth and the pointing of fingers and the hand wringing


Union Tool, the union was once again proved impotent and useless yet you think the answer is more union? That's laughable, just take your dues money and use it just like toilet paper and it will be equally effective, don't paint educators as homogenous drones when what you mean is union sheep.

You are too funny. Obviously when you can hide its easy to say things you are afraid to say face to face...

You are too funny. Obviously when you can hide its easy to say things you are afraid to say face to face...

why are Union stooges always pretending to be so tough?
yet they pay money every paycheck to be protected
because they are afraid to be an individual


save your tough guy act gramps, you're a trivial fool who lost big time

Other than this website, there was really no discussion whatsoever. We live in a rather odd situation where we have no newspaper, no television station, and probably a modicum of interested people who venture onto this website. There were probably twenty participants on this subject on Sowal. The vote certainly reflected that.

The candidates who ran including those who were defeated wouldn't even discuss the issue or why they were for or against it. The only thing I saw in the paper was the editorial from Art Miller who I felt articulated himself well as to why he was against it.

All I've heard people say about him here (likening those of us opposed to it for whatever reason as "Art Miller wannabes") is that we are somehow never-do-wells who think things are just peachy and the school board shouldn't be held accountable or that the NO's are somehow responsible for all that's currently wrong with the school system.

The South end of the county and its residents are just as guilty of complacency and the ills the school district is currently facing as the north ever dreamed of being. Hell, I remember a conversation on Brawlers where people actually said they didn't know they pay a lions share of taxes to the school district. How could they not know? Look at your damn tax statements for cripes sake.

The South also didn't ask for meetings to once again be held in the South end of the County UNTIL all the problems including pay raises for teachers reared its ugly head and you folks were damn sure not attending meetings in the north end which have been very poorly attended for almost 20 YEARS. Then overnight you raise up a referendum with little or no questions asked with the WCTA's help and anyone who dared question your actions or ask legitimate questions who might have been the slightest bit inclined toward voting yes were shot down without reasonable answers. Yes, myself included. Bulldozing your way to a successful referendum wasn't your strong suit. Trying to get it done in less than a few months from the time you went before the BCC until the actual vote didn't help TEACH people what you were trying to do either.

The air of superiority wasn't pleasant nor is the attitude that "we pay the majority of taxes, stop taking our money if we can't be involved". The North end of the county may be piss poor but we helped build your schools, bridges and all the lovely accoutrements that so many of you call "Our Beloved South Walton" and our kids, grand kids and even adults make the trip to work on the beaches and other menial jobs because there are no jobs to speak of here in the North, unless of course you work for the County.

So while we are busy up here in the North end savoring our little victory perhaps you folks in the South end might want to think about how you could have gone about this differently and enlightened people rather than trying to ram this one down our throats.

It was a very small victory I'll grant you that and it's far from over given what we elected this go round. But, you're right jdarg, there is much more to come and if you think it was ugly before just wait...

And the North stops sending drinking water south of the bay. No matter how much you pat yourselves on the backs for being so special, no water, means no property values.

You're not 'sending' anything anywhere, Regional paid 25-30 million to buy the water rights and implement it's delivery, it belongs to them. if you have that kind of cash just pay off whatever they want for it now (a lot more) and you can keep every drop. You need their tax revenue more than they need your particular water

Actually the only candidate we supported won. Big talk for a guy who hides behind a moniker.

i'm totally with the yes people, but man did they do a piss poor job of selling the idea. You would think people so concerned with education would spend more time trying to educate the electorate, patiently i might add. That's not how it happened.

totally agree with this post!! Kudos!!

Actually the only candidate we supported won
Big talk for a guy who hides behind a moniker.

yep the Union won big, keep paying those dues kids they are doing a ton for you

like.......

There was rather vigorous conversation on several FB group pages, there were several candidate forums (some were "pre-loaded" against us), we had a great website with lots of information. Those who actually talked to either us about the issue or took the time to learn about how the majority of other districts hire the superintendent had their questions answered and pre-conceived assumptions debunked. I guess we anticipated more people to be like the 25% who voted YES, many who said "who elects a superintendent?" It seemed like such a no-brainer. Clearly this county was not ready for a change. That's OK. There are 25% of us that aren't ready to keep things the same. That number will continue to grow- ya gotta start somewhere.

A thought occurred to me as I heard one of the candidate's discuss economic development. Good luck with that- who moves a business to a small rural county that can't understand that we need to catch up to 2014 or we are going to be left behind. Yeah, they are just lining up at the borders to move companies here.

I was super disappointed in the media. This referendum had more people voting on it than the next voted-on race (county commissioner), which means there were people who showed up just to vote on the referendum, and didn't mark anything else on the ballot. That's kind of sad, and tells me that those voters were completely disengaged in anything else that affects the county like commissioners and school board members. Anyway, it was the biggest issue that started the biggest debate I have seen in almost 9 years of living here, and deserved way more coverage than it received. I really didn't appreciate being contacted by WJHG the afternoon before election day, wanting an immediate interview, or calling me back at 5:00 on election day wanting an interview- in DeFuniak. They should have done a story over a month ago or at least give us several days advance notice to work around our work schedules. Northwest Florida Daily had a small article several weeks, ago, but nothing in depth, and in depth discussion is what is required on issues that will be not only controversial, but game-changing. My favorite was a FB request from a Walton Sun reporter that I received at 6:30 am this morning wanting my "reaction" to the election results. Really? A FB request for comment on an huge issue that was never covered by the Sun in the first place? Sorry, but it sounded like they were looking for entertainment value, not anything resembling news. Thankfully the DeFuniak Herald/Beach Breeze did print lots of letter, pro and con. I am so naive that I thought the con letters would help us as they kept being about politics and not the point of the referendum.

There was also the weird email request from 30A TV, that looked like porn spam in my email box, as it was from a "Ms. Fancy Hands", who was asking for answers to very biased interview questions (the 30A TV owner is on the board of the Walton County Small Business Association, who formed a PAC to oppose us, and had one $10,000 contribution to do it). Sorry, but I am too busy between my family and job to screw around with half ass or silly media efforts.

A lot of very busy people worked on the Kids Before Politics campaign. People with families (and all the running around and obligations), jobs, and lives outside of playing the Walton County politics game, which was very present in all races on the ballot, and sad and embarrassing for all of us. You might not agree with the YES team's take on the issue, but we worked as hard on it as busy people with real lives could possibly work. I challenge any of you, especially the ones who hide behind screen names, to tell us what it is YOU do to try and make this county a better place to live, as it seems you contribute very little except for criticism on a message board.

Once again, thanks to SoWal.com for a place to have mostly respectful discourse.

Misty,

You are right that there are not good jobs in the north end of the county. It is not the South's fault that there is terrible poverty in the North. The fault lies in the simple fact that we have absolutely no leadership in this county... Anywhere. The biggest reason we have no manufacturing companies who might consider locating here is because they look for cooperative government, an educated, trained workforce and good school systems that are attractive to the executives that would be running the plant. We have none of those things. The even more pitiful comparison is to look at the manufacturing jobs Alabama has gained. Most of the plants are in once distressed areas. State leaders, business leaders, local leaders and educational interests worked together in those areas to make a difference. In Walton County, our "leaders" would probably agree that they all should get bribes, but would let the deal die as they fought over how to split the money.

I challenge any of you, especially the ones who hide behind screen names, to tell us what it is YOU do to try and make this county a better place to live, as it seems you contribute very little except for criticism on a message board.

THERE'S THAT LOVELY AIR OF SUPERIORITY AGAIN!

You're right you have no clue what others have done and you're to busy patting your own self on the back for it to matter.

As much as we disagree on this particular issue we are agreed about the media in this "neck of the woods". Their unwillingness to engage should have been an indication to you as to where they actually stood on the issue. People including the media were not interested in this "sudden change".

Misty,

You are right that there are not good jobs in the north end of the county. It is not the South's fault that there is terrible poverty in the North. The fault lies in the simple fact that we have absolutely no leadership in this county... Anywhere. The biggest reason we have no manufacturing companies who might consider locating here is because they look for cooperative government, an educated, trained workforce and good school systems that are attractive to the executives that would be running the plant. We have none of those things. The even more pitiful comparison is to look at the manufacturing jobs Alabama has gained. Most of the plants are in once distressed areas. State leaders, business leaders, local leaders and educational interests worked together in those areas to make a difference. In Walton County, our "leaders" would probably agree that they all should get bribes, but would let the deal die as they fought over how to split the money.

And had we had this discourse prior to the vote you might have won me over. I agree!!

THERE'S THAT LOVELY AIR OF SUPERIORITY AGAIN!

You're right you have no clue what others have done and you're to busy patting your own self on the back for it to matter.

As much as we disagree on this particular issue we are agreed about the media in this "neck of the woods". Their unwillingness to engage should have been an indication to you as to where they actually stood on the issue. People including the media were not interested in this "sudden change".

Actually they are all so short-staffed that investigative journalism is completely non-existent here. There are several reporters in TV and print with whom i have had some interesting conversations with off record.

I love my lovely air of superiority. It is one of the things that keep me from sinking into the abyss of giving up hope that our kid might be educated in a school system that can compete with the rest of the country, not just northwest Florida. A school system that supports its teachers and values its families, instead of looking at them as problems. A school system that can really academically compete on a national level. A girl can dream.

Shame on you WaltonParent for plagiarizing my campaign speeches. (Just kidding) I just wish I had been better at articulating that message south of the bay.
I am probably the candidate Jdarg is talking about. I also recognize that our refusal to move forward is a hindrance to growth. I just want us to find and implement solutions. But they must be Walton County solutions, not north or south solutions. Somehow we must find a way to end the division that has hindered us for years.
I am also one of the candidates that Misty refers to often who would not publicly state a position on the referendum. It was not a BCC issue and I had much to lose and nothing to gain by stating a position. Truth is I felt that the continuing land use mess at the BCC level, failure to develop/maintain infrastructure including parking, broadband, roads etc. were the issues I should be talking about.

[FONT=&amp]There are many of us who live here and who have either ACTIVELY CHOSEN to make Walton County our homes, and we want to work to make it an even better place. Just because we may live south of the bay and haven't lived here as long does not mean we can't have opinions. Our votes county just like yours do. Accusing us of trying to force on us a 'sudden change' THAT NEARLY EVERY OTHER SCHOOL DISTRICT HAS MADE, is ludicrous.[/FONT]

We need to keep up or get left behind.

You know, Jdarg, you and I may disagree on certain political issues but we certainly agree on the usage of common sense.

You know, Jdarg, you and I may disagree on certain political issues but we certainly agree on the usage of common sense.

Andy, my new friendship with you is one of the best things that came out of this campaign.

I'm looking forward to some vigorous debate this fall regarding the November elections!

The Panama City Beach TDC reports to the Panama City Beach City Council.

J/S

The tone around here sure has changed since brawlers shut down.

I know where you stood Danny. Many of my personal friends endorsed you and yes, I did think it took some pretty big kahunas to come out and publicly oppose it. I didn't vote for Barnhill because he is a has been but I admired the guts it took to come out. We don't totally agree that it would not have been a BCC issue had it passed but at this point it isn't relevant.

Many of my friends and associates raised children in the Walton County School system as it has always been, as did I. For mine...the sky was the limit. Graduated with honors, top 15 in the class, summa cume laude, scholarships (several) and has been very successful. Others went on to work for the County, firefighters, EMT's, Sheriff's dept. IT Techs or those who run the computer systems for the County and their children are receiving the same education mine (ours) did. Still others with the same level of achievement (or higher) moved away, serving in our military or married to those who do or for better jobs.

I always told mine..."It's your education. Its my job to see to it you get the best this area offered and up to you to give 110 percent of yourself. What you do with it afterwards is entirely up to you". I still feel that way even when I see some of the biggest and brightest who graduated with mine that could have done anything they chose to do, strung out on crack, ICE, Meth other drugs & alcohol. I think to myself, I may have been tough on mine and demanded the best but I haven't had to watch mine choose that path.

Yes, I do think there is substantial room for improvement in our school system and yes I think the board and the SUPER (hired or elected, in this case still elected) need to be held accountable. I blame allot of the issues on a very passive board who wouldn't hold Ms. Anderson's feet to the fire but were quick to absolve themselves of any blame when the shi* hit the proverbial fan. I call it the "go along to get along" mentality and without public input and complacency on the part of parents we as a county don't really have anyone to blame but ourselves for people wanting to change things...but I also believe it's how you go about effecting change that endears people to new ideas.

The tone around here sure has changed since brawlers shut down.

Should have been around for the '08 elections.

Hey bob , your selection decided to hide all the big $$$ till last day! Fraud!

Wait till you have explain' to do pal!

Pay $1500 to get $6700 is good business right?

Answer??

John I will gladly answer you. I don't know whether it was an oversight, I don't know whether it was intentional. I have lived in Walton County almost 20 years and I think I know how the game is played in Federal, State and Local elections. It is what it is. In the end don't we all endorse a candidate who is going to best serve us whether the other side agrees with our choice. I know folks from the WCTA and people who voted Yes on the referendum and people from churches and firefighters who voted for Cecilia Jones. She has supported Firefighters issues in the past and we hope we can continue to work with her on our issues in the future. John in closing, I don't have any issue explaining, I have not run from our endorsement, I have not hid our support and I don't attack or jab at folks hiding behind a screen name so if you want to have a beer and discuss the issue I am more than open to it. Politics is a discussion I like to have, we may not agree but I am willing to agree to disagree and keep things on friendly terms.