Partly Cloudy, 77°
Weather sponsored by:

Letter to the Editor 9/2/21

Pace Center for Girls offers thanks to Sen. Jennifer Bradley


Posted

Dear Editor,

Pace Center for Girls (Pace) would like to thank Sen. Jennifer Bradley for her sponsorship of House Bill 723. This bill was passed by both the House and the Senate in April, was signed by Gov. Ron DeSantis and took effect on July 1, 2021.

House Bill 723 will have an immensely positive impact on our operations and will sustain the services we provide girls locally here in Clay County and at all 21 Pace Centers across the State of Florida. An increase of funding from the Florida Education Finance Program (FEFP) will have a lasting impact on the viability of organizations like Pace. The bill also improves technicalities such as the requirements for contracts between district school boards and juvenile justice education program providers and gives flexibility to juvenile justice education programs to provide the hourly equivalent of the statutorily required days.

Overall, this protects organizations like Pace by providing financial stability and allows us to focus on serving our girls in this community.

Improving legislation and providing vital funding for organizations like ours allows us to continue to carry out our mission, of providing girls and young women the opportunity for a better future through education, counseling, training, and advocacy.

Every ounce of support puts us even closer to our vision of creating a world where all girls and young women have power, in a just and equitable society.

Dr. Wendy Norfleet

Clay Board Chair/Pace Center for Girls