A damning report yields an urgent response

I can’t say there were a lot of surprises in last night’s unveiling of the GCS School Climate Task Force report. But it brought some urgent issues to the forefront. (full coverage from today’s News and Record here)

1. The report continues to shine light that we have principals and teachers that are afraid to talk. Last week’s CBS-2 report was only the beginning.

Board member Garth Hebert read a litany of e-mails last night from teachers who are threatened by principals for talking openly and candidly. Board members Hebert, Jeff Belton and Darlene Garrett have said previously that this culture of fear must stop and that teachers must feel as though they can talk to a Board member. I was heartened to see Chairman Alan Duncan also say publicly that this has to end…but with respect to Duncan, he’s been on the Board for a while, so he’s had a chance to right the wrongs and create a whistleblowing policy that has teeth…he hasn’t.

I will.

2. The money aspect. Outgoing Board member Anita Sharpe questioned the amount of money that would be spent on such initiatives such as creating a teen mediation center, adding social workers and creating a new cadre of non-sworn security staff at middle and high schools.

Personally, I have some of the same questions, but let’s put it in context…this board is willing to ask us for half-a-billion dollars of our money into another construction debacle black-hole.

3. The ongoing factor of race. Board member Sharpe said she was “offended” at the contents of the report.

I was offended at the report’s reaction, especially from Deena Hayes. And yes, she was fired up again, as usual, playing the victimization card, woe-is-me, it’s everyone-elses fault. I didn’t have high hopes for this report, and this was one reason why. This doesn’t have anything to do with racism or perceived racism; this has everything to do with the utter lack of resources in our schools and the lack of Board oversight.

4. Board member Amos Quick gets in a dig. Quick said last night that in his nearly four years on the Board, nothing has changed. Not to worry, Mr. Quick, others have been on the Board a lot longer, and they too have not gotten the job done. And if we don’t get serious about the problems in our schools, we’re going to keep talking about this issue until something bad happens. The time for GCS to stop playing defense is now!

5. ISS needs fixing. SCALES needs fixing.

Why was the Board surprised last night that many of our in-school suspension programs are in need of an overhaul? I’ve been preaching this since I started campaigning two years ago. This highlights the real fact that some of our Board members are not getting the true tours of our schools and they’re seeing only what they are told to see.

N&R excerpt:

Recommendations included reducing the number of students in elementary, middle and high schools; adding social workers; restructuring in-school suspension programs; and establishing a centralized mediation center to handle student disputes.

Other recommendations included adding security staff to schools; using standard modes of dress districtwide and reducing class sizes in traditional schools to 17 students.

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E.C.

Dot’s retirement and my thoughts on a Huey versus McKinney versus Crawford matchup

Just because you hand-pick someone for your seat does not guarantee victory.

Dot Kearns announced yesterday she will not seek another term as the at-large GCS Board member (see today’s coverage from the High Point Enterprise here). I applaud Ms. Kearns’ decision to retire and I wish her the best. It is time for new leadership for the GCS Board, and as I’ve been saying all along, it is time for younger  better yet, smarter leadership among our elected boards.

But this is not a beauty contest or a prom or homecoming king/queen competition. The best candidate will be victorious and victory is not guaranteed.

That said, here are some thoughts:

Last night’s meeting of the School Climate Task Force proves new leadership is needed on this Board. Thankfully, with the exit of three Board members, the entire dynamic will change.

There will be a May primary for the at-large race. There are two candidates in the race so far.

I would have liked to see more candidates file for the Childs seat and see some competition for the Cooke seat. Of course, it is only Tuesday.

I will be filing before week’s end, and when I do, I will announce a major endorsement. That announcement will come this Friday.

Despite this being a three-person race going into the May primary, and soon to be a two candidate race going into November, some strategies will change.

I’m not as concerned about David Crawford as I am about Michael McKinney. A potential Huey versus McKinney matchup would set up an interesting race. If McKinney is Dot’s so-called hand-picked candidate, he would still have to go before the voters.

It is not a beauty contest, no one is guaranteed victory here.

But the race will be about endorsements, and the issues. Mainly the issues.

We will have to raise money. We will begin doing so after Friday.

We have a lot of advantages going into the election. Timing…I announced my intentions in late November, 2006. This website opened December of 2006. We just passed the 32,000 visitor mark. We have a lot of parents and teachers already on board. We have some student support. A number of you have expressed that you’re ready to hit the ground running to help in whatever way possible.

The race will be exciting.

E.C.