George Rhynes tied together parents, jobs, Title VI of the
Civil Rights Act, and local education at the
VBOE 25 October 2011 open forum.
His question:
If we are concerned about our children really getting an education,
better be concerned about equal employment
and getting federal funds,
so these parents get their equal share of the jobs,
in the community….
I’m talking about the qualified parents
that apply for jobs in this area and some of you know they don’t get them.
[applause]
I see nothing in consolidation that would improve education,
so I see no need for it ever.
I got to the VBOE meeting really early, so I was the first to sign up to speak.
My main topic was to praise the Valdosta Board of Education for
putting
their agendas online in web-readable form (rather than entombed in PDF
as so many other organizations do).
Consolidation won’t improve education so I see no need for it ever —John S. Quarterman @ VBOE 29 August 2011
education, referendum, consolidation, statement,
Work Session, Valdosta Board of Education (VBOE),
Valdosta, Lowndes County, Georgia, 29 August 2011.
Videos by George Boston Rhynes for
K.V.C.I.
Later I also complimented the chair for having
one of those rare objects,
a clock on the wall where everyone can see it so they can know how long
they’ve spoken already.
Thanks, George, for the compliments in the information on your YouTube video.
You were blogging long before LAKE.
Everyone please look at George’s blog,
K.V.C.I. Keeping Valdosta Citizens Informed.
The only real public dialog about unification or education that
I’ve heard of
was at the May 2011 Lowndes County Democratic Party (LCDP) meeting,
organized by LCDP Chair Gretchen Quarterman.
You can see it either of two ways:
Through the YouTube video
playlist.
Each video has a link to the relevant blog post.
School unification dialog at Lowndes County Democratic Party (LCDP)
Videos by John S. Quarterman, Jim Parker, Gretchen Quarterman, 2 May 2011.
At that LCDP meeting I pointed out
that the CUEE education committee was not scheduled to report back
until after the proposed referendum vote, and nobody had any rebuttal.
I completely agree with Alex Rowell. What is the purpose of
consolidation/’unification’? Is the purpose to desegregate the two school
districts? If so, how will the new school district deal with the issues
that Leigh Touchton brings up with regard to education not serving black
male students. How will a larger school district better meet the needs of
a much more diverse student body? Furthermore, What do the parents in the
county think about desegregation of their distict? (Because if they don’t
want it, there is no doubt that ‘unification’ will be a disaster for ALL)
OR is the purpose to reduce cost by reducing administrators in the head
office? If that is the purpose where are the students in this decision.
“If you believe in the end that running one system is cheaper than
running two school systems. If in the end you are going to cast a vote
for a single system because you think it would save money, I wouldn’t
cast my vote. I do not think it will save money.”
And, indeed, where are the students in this decision?
What NAACP has advocated for is cultural competency from our teachers,
this is not necessarily a black or white issue. Often it’s more a matter
of class than race; for example, far too many middle class teachers
expect middle class behavior from children who are living in poverty
and this is an unfair expectation. There are also deep-seated issues
regarding black males that cultural competency won’t address: namely,
that many black teenaged males don’t see any benefit to a high school
education because so many of their family members cannot find work here
in Valdosta. What’s the point to an education if one is still shut out
of most successful careers?
Consolidation won’t be the magic bullet that solves these problems,
there aren’t even any CUEE representatives speaking to these issues. To
most of our members, we think these issues will get worse rather than
better if the two systems were to merge.
I didn’t intend to say anything Monday, but since
Rev. Bennett named me in his introduction
I thought it necessary to stand up and make it clear that
I do not support CUEE’s plan for school system unification.
After some examples of things on which I agreed or disagreed with
Ashley Paulk, the VDT, the Chamber of Commerce, and VLCIA,
I mentioned that after an SCLC meeting Rusty Griffin told
me that nobody who was not for unification would be accepted
on the CUEE board.
I praised
the upcoming Thursday meeting about education,
but pointed out that commitee would not report back before
the proposed unification vote,
and the CUEE board still had only one member from the county
outside Valdosta, so:
This is not diversification,
this is not representative of the people,
this a small pressure group,
and nothing personal against you,
a small pressure group that is trying to decide
for the rest of us.
Once again, why I’m opposed to CUEE’s unification scheme:
Continue reading →
So he was surprised when he discovered a group proposing to
finance such a plant.
And he later learned that there were many health problems
with biomass plants, and he now thinks it would be wrong to build it.
So as my mother would say, Rev. George Bennett is a big man!
Rev. George Bennett is a big man @ LCDP 2 May 2011
Debate between proponents of school system unification (CUEE) and opponents,
at Lowndes County Democratic Party (LCDP), Gretchen Quarterman chair,
Videos by George Rhynes, Jim Parker, John S. Quarterman, and Gretchen Quarterman
for LAKE, the Lowndes Area Knowledge Exchange, Valdosta, Lowndes County, Georgia, 2 May 2011.
We need to eliminate apartheid.
There’s no guarantee we’re going to have love and justice and peace forever,
but whenever apartheid raises its ugly head
we’ve got to knock it down.
He went on to say
Race is something that exists in somebody’s mind.
He said he’s glad he’s brown.
He also seemed to think he’d won some sort of admission when
Dr. Mark George agreed he was a racist.
Seems to me one point of
what Dr. George had just said
is that everyone is, in practice, a racist,
whether they think so, or not.
Dr. Mark George talked about present-day inequalities
at the Lowndes County Democratic Party meeting.
I can’t go to my job and pretend
I don’t notice that all the custodial staff are black women,
but the vast majority of the professors are white folks.
He added that he’s all for sitting down and coming
up with a plan for something to do about education.
I’m all for equality, but that means equal power.
King did not want integration; King wanted desegregation.
That meant equal power equal resources
and both at the table as equals in negotiating.
…worked for and reflected everybody.
In response to the person exclaiming about the situation in the sixties:
What many of our members recall vividly from that period of time is how
black teachers and black principals were fired or demoted, some even went
to work as custodians. Our members and their families all experienced
this to some degree. Right now, Valdosta City Schools probably has fewer
black administrators that at any time since integration. We have taken
complaints whereby black professionals were passed over for promotion
or demoted or denied a position which was given to white candidates
with less experience, fewer credentials, and even in one instance, an
incomplete employment application. These stories are profound and leave
lasting impressions which cannot be ignored. It is very impolite for
the majority to tell the minority how to feel about this. Integration,
as Dr. George has clearly explained, did not solve all problems.
Our members have valid reasons for feeling the way we do, we feel
that the rights of all children to achieve are also interwoven with
the rights of all education professionals to be treated with equality
and fairness. Since we are having to fight so hard for equality and
representation in Valdosta City Schools, where we have several Board
members who represent minority districts, and a black Chairman, it is
impossible for us to believe that becoming even more of a minority in a
consolidated system will be beneficial. The struggles have been lengthy,
expensive, and emotional, and they continue today.
George Rhynes tied together parents, jobs, Title VI of the
Civil Rights Act, and local education at the
VBOE 25 October 2011 open forum.
His question:
