Dear Editor,

I am the president of the PTA for Miami Northwestern Senior High School.  People have a lot of stereotypes of parents from our community: They think our parents are not involved in their kids’ lives, or their school.  I disagree.  While our parents might not be as involved as those in other areas, we do have parents who are very involved.

In addition to serving as the president of the PTA at Northwestern, I am also on the PTA at Brownsville Middle school.  My fellow board member, Bobby Swain, is PTA president at Miami Edison Senior High, and held the same position at his daughter’s former middle school.     

Unfortunately, when we do get involved, our voices are often ignored.  I was invited to join the board of the Magic City Youth Zone.  This was a very rare opportunity to have the voice of parents seriously heard in the education and development of our kids.  We see programs come into our community all the time, but we don’t see them getting the parents involved in any kind of real way. 

I was angered to learn that HB 381 will remove the current board of the Magic City Youth Zone and eliminate the geographic boundaries of the Zone.  We need these programs in our community.  Now, we have no guarantee that these funds and programs will come into our community. 
We need a board that represents the people of this community.  Without a board which represents the people, the Magic City Youth Zone is going to be another failed project that tried to create “change.”  As the president of the Northwestern PTA, I have a right to be on this Board of Directors.  I’m tired of seeing Al Sharpton come to our neighborhood to give lip service to our everyday struggle.  I want to see programs that actually address the issues at the heart of the violence.  Governor Crist, please veto HB381 and support our efforts to build a community initiative from inside our community.

Sincerely,

Regina Davis
Board Member, Magic City Youth Zone