A few people might mention his wife stalking a sitting school board member as a reason for being let go as well.
I think it is picture gate that should be the final nail in his coffin.
If you missed it, many of our poorer schools went without school pictures this year, the reason being that the picture taking companies didn’t feel as if they were making enough money doing so. The districts response, sure, that’s okay with us.
That’s right the district shrugged its shoulders and said, its not us making the call so its okay.
from Action News Jax which has been absolutely killing it recently.
While the majority of our schools are able to secure a vendor for school picture day, several experience difficulty attracting interest from a photographer because of the size of the school and/or the low percentage of parents ordering pictures. This unfortunately has been a concern over the years for many public schools throughout the country.
We understand many parents and caregivers look forward to school picture day to capture a historical snapshot of their child. When a school principal experiences difficulty in securing a photography vendor, we certainly encourage community stakeholders to partner and collaborate with school leadership to identify vendor alternatives. Alternative sources to provide picture day services may include yearbook and newspaper sponsors/staff, community and school photography clubs, parent-teacher associations, and local media outlets offering in-kind support
Vitti passes the buck like my Italian grandmother passed the meatballs and that is often. You see its not his fault its the schools faults for being poor. Sucks to be them, there is nothing the district can do, oy vey. Some leadership there right? But its an example how he leads all the time, throw an idea against the wall like paint to see if it sticks and if something goes wrong blame his subordinates, teachers, the state or in this case our poorest children .
I for one am tired of it and believe it is time for a change. Our teachers, children and schools can no longer afford this ineffective leadership.
This is unacceptable. Duval county should use the same contractor and negotiate a fair price for ALL school pictures. This would offset the lack of orders in poverty schools. Schools shouldn't be forced to locate a vendor, one should be provided. It's time we had fair prices for school photos, the ability to purchase one picture instead of having to buy a package, and senior pictures that don't exclude a majority of our population with prices that gouge the consumer. In a city as vast as Jacksonville and a school system as large as Duval, it is surprising we can't do better. This is the district's problem and it was handled very poorly.
As a parent at a title 1 school.
We make picture day happen. We reach out to resources and other schools, we find companies that will support the low picture buying participation but support our interest in putting together a nice yearbook for the elementary kids.
We have some of the lowest participation in our SAC AND PTA but we make it work because the individuals that care and want to make an investment of time in the school (and I work full time) make it happen.
If those 26 schools exhausted every effort and business partnership and got no where… Then I will drag out my cone of shame for the district.
I highly doubt that's the case.
It isn't really about who did what. It is about the unequal treatment of certain groups of children. Good for those who advocate for children, but all children do not have that luxury. so we as educators, Dr Vitti, should be advocating for them even on an issue like getting a school picture. After all it is called a "school" picture for a reason. Every child, at every school… Right???