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Escambia Children’s Trust Names New Executive Director During Emergency Meeting
August 18, 2023
The Escambia Children’s Trust (ECT) named Tammy Abrams as interim executive director during an emergency meeting Thursday.
Abrams was serving as ECT finance director. Before ECT, she was chief financial officer at the Community Action Program Committee, which runs Escambia County Head Start.
The board also voted to accept the resignation of Tammy Greer and relieve her of he duties as executive director effectively immediately. She will be paid through what would have been her final day of October 15. Greer submitted her resignation Tuesday evening, citing how “unbelievably political” the job was.
RELATED: Escambia Children’s Trust Director Tammy Greer Submits Resignation
In November 2020, 61% of participating voters in Escambia County supported the creation of the Children’s Trust to be funded by an increase in ad valorem taxes of up to a maximum of 0.5 mil. The Children’s Trust will provide early childhood education, safety, developmental, preventative, health, and well-being services, including after school and summer enrichment programs.
Comments
11 Responses to “Escambia Children’s Trust Names New Executive Director During Emergency Meeting”
Vote no. Money can be given directly to places that want to help kids and not funding staff. Time to have another Vote! Duplication of services and more added to payroll. I was not one of the 61%.
@ohyouknow The community has not done quite well. Take a drive almost anywhere in Escambia County. It’s a cesspool of rot, neglect and poverty. The city/county is becoming a terrible place to live and raise a family.
For this program to work you have trust it. From the beginning, I have zero trust in this program. This mistrust have been developed over time. Reason: Everything I have read, it appears that this program is a duplication of responsibility of the County Commission and the School Board. The appearance of “Conflict of Interest ” from having elected officials on the board. They now have two ways to get funding for their pet projects. Also, they can vote to increase taxes to pay for them. The board not wanting to accept responsibility for their action or be held accountable.
I am a social worker in the county. Despite your political beliefs about taxes, children should come first. Always. In all situations. I drive around all day in the lowest income neighborhoods in the county. You can know there are poor people in our community and know how high the rate is, but to see it is another thing. Kids are born into families than cannot provide for all their needs and it isn’t their fault. It is unbelievable the level of poverty, poor education often due to truancy or family problems, and barriers these families are facing. Sure there is personal responsibility but again, that’s primarily for the adults. Children shouldn’t suffer. And they suffering in our county far more than others in our state. Do the research or drive around. I have kids living in tents, sheds, campsites and rvs. They sleep on grandmas couch one night and a cousins the next. There is few and far between affordable housing. You’re telling me we shouldn’t try to offer free dental care to those kids, food or clothing? What about an after school activity, somewhere SAFE and consistent that has AC. Their should be an abundance of services and funds for children. Not just “enough”. Or “let their parents figure it out”. They aren’t and it’s a cycle. If we can change the life of a youth it could be one less adult in poverty. One less teen pregnant. One less high school drop out.
Also, this “burdensome” tax for ECT on my home totaled about $15. Yours might be $40 for a large home. I also contribute monthly to churches and local orgs. And national organizations. Parents and churches cannot keep up with the need. That’s the point. ECT helps funnel funds into good organizations that are well established and need funding to do a better job. Stop complaining and let ECT work for a couple years and let’s see the domino effect come out in the data points.
@OhYouKnow
“The woke movement…”
Oh. You’re one of those. Tell me, what exactly does “woke” mean? I keep hearing it thrown around, but no one can ever seem to tell me what it is.
Having a community that is safe from the threat of fire is in everyone’s best interest. That’s why fire departments are a public service.
Having an educated populace is in everyone’s best interest. That’s why schools and libraries are a public service.
Isn’t it also in our community’s best interest to make sure children have access to food, shelter, and medical care?
Completely agree with @OhYouKnow’s second sentence. As far as @Bob, I don’t think anyone is quibbling about paying their fair share for infrastructure, public safety or education, but this activity sounds like it provides services that already exist or should exist in the home, or from any number of churches or other not for profit organizations.
BOB
Comparing this money grab for duplicate existing services to long standing services is unrealistic. This community has done quite well without the Children’s trust, what fund will be created next? The woke movement is dead just as this socialist trust should be.
@bob – The US was founded on freedoms but one of them was not the freedom to put your hand in your neighbors pocket to finance every project you agree with. For some reason, people keep looking to the government for answers to problems when their track record for provided it is dismal at best. The only thing that is for certain is, government will get bigger.
@OhYouKnow
How do you feel about roads, or firefighters, or libraries? Those are all public services we contribute to in order to promote the general welfare in our community, even if we don’t benefit directly. Do you believe someone should be able to “opt out” of paying for those services?
Disband the ECT. It provides nothing a parent shouldn’t already be doing. I already pay for ad valorem taxes on my household to pay for schooling, enough is enough. This should never have been put on the ballot. If you want to support this type of endeavor, there are plenty of programs looking for your money. Make it voluntary to support
Time to have another Vote! Duplication of services and more added to payroll. I was not one of the 61%.