Lift Every Voice and Shout

On Tuesday, April 17, 2012, the School Board will be presenting their final choices for superintendent in a public forum at East High School at 6:00 PM.

If we, as a community, allow this farce to continue, we are simply saying that we don’t mind being lied to, cheated, and robbed.

It is evident that Dr. Vargas was the Board’s choice for superintendent all along. That being the case, we were continually lied to by President Evans who said that Vargas would not be considered for the position. We were cheated out of $40,000 in educational dollars when they hired a search firm to find a person they already had. And we, as a community, were robbed of our time, energy, effort, and hope when we were asked to attend public forums and join focus groups in an effort to produce a list of criteria that would determine the attributes this community wanted our superintendent to possess.

As a community we were able to band together and rid ourselves of Jean Claude Brizard. As a community we were able to join forces and fight back against the removal of the Arts, Librarians, and Physical Education in our schools. As a community we must unite and raise our collective voices in opposition to this sham being forced upon us.

If we allow this Board to continue ignoring the voice of the public and carry on, business as usual, then we are committing our children to certain failure.

If we do not shout out against our current system of education by refusing to allow the Board to shove their choices down our throats then we are stating, loud and clear, that our children are not worth our time, energy, and effort to save their educational lives.

If we do not stand up now against the political machine that is running our district then we are committing our children to lives of failure and hopelessness.

If we do not show ourselves to be strong enough to beat back the machine then we must admit that we are also its slaves.

Join the Movement to Save Our Children!

To Lie, To Cheat, Perchance To Scheme

Integrity: Adherence to moral and ethical principles; soundness of moral character; honesty.

In an interview with Rachel Barnhart on April 2, 2012, School Board President Malik Evans said, “The process isn’t rigged for any candidate. The process is open for anyone who’s interested to apply. Everyone who applies will have a fair shot.”

There was a time in our history when the truth was expected and respected. It seems, however, that those days are long gone. Where silence was once golden it has now become an omission of truth so one will not incriminate oneself. Honesty, in days gone by, was the best policy, whereas today the best policy is that which makes the most money for the fewest people.

Charles F. Aked is quoted as saying, “The only thing necessary for the triumph of evil is that good men do nothing.” Good men have been doing nothing for too long, something must be done now.

Failure is an evil that has been running rampant in our system of education for decades. It has destroyed the hearts and minds of countless numbers of our children while we sit back passively and bemoan its consequences.

The statement made by President Evans is an outright lie. It is time the good people of this community come together and expose the rampant evil that pervades our system of education causing the failure of our children. Our educational leaders have shown, countless times, that their main concern is the business of education not the children education is supposed to serve.

The members of this community have a moral obligation to enter the temple and drive out the money changers who would sell the futures of our children for their political gain.

There was no integrity in the superintendent search process or in the selection process. There is no integrity in our process of education. Until members of this community come together and protest the lack of integrity that operates within our district we have no one to blame for the enslaved masses of the mis-educated but ourselves.

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It’s The Politics Babies

As we approach the superintendent interview process it is important to remember that it is not about who is applying for the position but who is hiring for the position.

Board President Malik Evans has said, “Anyone can apply” and in that he is absolutely correct. However, when the Board has already made up their mind as to whom they will hire that statement is as moot as the call for community input into the process.

Currently, the common belief is that the Board will hire Interim Superintendent Vargas as the permanent superintendent. Though President Evans stated publicly, throughout his campaign for re-election, that Dr. Vargas will not be eligible for the position because of contractual agreements, it seems that his contract has become automagically void and he is now eligible.

As interim superintendent, Dr. Vargas has put forth one proposed solution to the problem of failing students who are overage and under credited. That one proposal, All City High, was met with community angst and did not meet the approval of the Excellence in Student Achievement committee. The proposal was tabled in one business meeting, and removed from the agenda at another pending serious revision. It was only after considerable input from the community and revision by ESA commissioners White and Adams that the Board passed the amended proposal.

There is one thing we do know and understand about Dr. Vargas, he is supported by David Gantt. And, seeing as how several of the Board members are Gantt supporters, it is understood how he came to be interim superintendent and possibly our new permanent superintendent.

It is unfortunate that politics plays such an important role in education in our community. Because of the reigning political structure, our children have been at the failing end of an educational system that considers them nothing more than the end product of business concerns. We have yet to see the Board hire a superintendent that has offered this district anything more than post failure solutions with no idea how to prevent the educational failure of our children.

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The Times They Are A Changing

Transparent: Free from pretense or deceit.

The School Board will meet tonight at 6PM in Room 3A to discuss and vote on the amended All City High proposal. This proposal was tabled at the February business meeting and taken off the agenda at the March meeting.

A public meeting was held on March 5, for which comments, suggestions, ideas, and alternatives were to be collected, disseminated, and used to amend the proposed plan to better suit the needs of the students to be enrolled in the program. However, there was no follow-up community meeting to review the amended proposal.

Jean-Claude Brizard touted the necessity of the district to be transparent. Interim Superintendent Vargas has expressed the same sentiment. Board President Malik Evans said that this district is committed to being transparent.

Actions speak louder than words! It is very clear that our educational leaders do not fully understand the meaning of the word transparent.

The RCSD is not a transparent entity. They have not had to be. In the past they have operated without care or concern for public opinion because very few citizens have bothered to object to their dealings.

The Board must realize that things are changing. The community is becoming involved, and it is time to move out of the comfort zone of community complacency and realize that the only way to provide for the excellent education of our children is to be truly transparent in the process of educating our children.

We cannot afford to “race” after Federal and State educational dollars by failing to properly educate our children.

We cannot afford to shut out the very people we are supposed to engage in the process of educating their children.

We cannot afford to create the illusion of transparency but must begin to scape the opaque sludge of deceit off the process of decision making to clearly see that it will take all of us, the entire community, working together, to produce an efficient, effective, and excellent system of education for our children.

Join the Movement to Save Our Children!