#VeteransDay2015 in the "Land of the Free, and the home of the Brave"#Mizzou

#Mizzou is this enough proof ? pic.twitter.com/wPJRXZzFf5

— blackHAZE (@Zaaaym_SheBLACK) November 11, 2015

Black University of Missouri (Mizzou) are evacuating campus after a night of death threats and white terror.

I damn sure ain't going to class' Black students terrified by racist black lash on Missouri campus

University of Missouri students report threats of violence, police quell"rumors"

Online threats heighten tensions at University of Missouri

Police arrest "suspect" over death threats that spread fear on racially roiled (?) campus

Before protest, U. of Missouri's main campus saw decades of racial tensions

A Real Missouri "Concerned Student 1950", speaks at age 89

Justice Department Cites "Insuffient Evidence" in case of unarmed mentally ill man shot 14 times by  Cop

Alabama boy, 8, charged with murder of in death of baby as child's mother went clubbing 

Mizzou protesters are talking to the press again

The corporate media is never your friend.

No one should fear for their lives because they chose to speak up about injustice. https://t.co/2wg8qzbQTu

— ColorOfChange.org (@ColorOfChange) November 11, 2015

EYE owe Rep. Terri Sewell, the NAACP, the Congressional Black Caucus and others, an apology

U.S. Rep. Terri Sewell

Never,  EYE repeat, Never, let it be said EYE won't admit when EYE make a mistake, or,  that EYE refuse to correct factually incorrect information . That said,  EYE owe Congresswoman Terri Sewell, the NAACP, and the Congressional Black Caucus , a mega apology for accusing them wasting time/resources requesting a DOJ investigation into the DMV closings in Alabama. Without an investigation, we the taxpayers, would have never known  Alabama faces a lawsuit from the Department of Justice because it is not in compliance with the National Voter Registration Act – and never has been.

What is the National Voter Registration Act Alabama is not in compliance with you ask?

According to the National Voter Registration Act, also known as the “motor voter” law, citizens must be given the opportunity to register to vote when they renew their drivers license, apply for Medicaid or have other interactions with the state government. States across the old Confederacy have run afoul of this law in recent years, withNorth Carolina and Texas failing to process voter registrations in their DMVs and leading many eligible voters to be denied ballot access.
According to the Star, Alabama hasn’t completely ignored the law for 22 years. Rather, they had been implementing the law incorrectly, and in a way that has almost certainly led to fewer Alabamans registering to vote. Rather than allowing citizens to fill out one form, which served as both their drivers license application and voter registration, the state had been giving citizens a separate card that they were supposed to fill out and mail in, rather than submitting it to the DMV on site.

EYE guess EYE should also thank the Red, Republican, controlled state Legislature for making photo ID mandatory for voting then close  then DMV offices in the Black Belt, your plan almost worked.

Via Charles Thomas at Demos "Actually, this helps clarify why Alabama closed Driver's License offices in 31 counties. If getting your driver's license automatically triggers voter registration (provided that you are of age to vote), then Alabama doesn't want it to be easy to get a driver's license in counties with large African-American populations -- which is the case in the 31 counties where the offices were closed. That would enable more Black folks to vote. Shenanigans like this and many others are what prompted adoption of the Voting Rights Act in the first place. Will this cause the Supreme Court to revise its finding that the prior review provision of the VRA is no longer necessary? We shall see. If not, that will make it even clearer the the Court is now willing to connive in racist policies." #RestoreTheVRA

Please accept my humble and sincere apologies.  Thank you for requesting an investigation, and a mega thank you to the Department of Justice for granting the request.

The National Voter Registration Act is more than 20 years old and allows voter registration at the same office people can receive or renew their drive licenses or other public assistance. But, according to AL.com, Alabama has never been compliant with the Motor Voter Act.

You done good, but you might want to check on this while you're at it.

RedEye

Light Bulb Moment! It's not about saving money, It's about the Motor Voter Law! #VoterSuppression #RestoreTheVRA #SweetHomeAlabama

Even with its strict voter-ID law, more than 30 offices in the state are set to close.

EYE had one of those lightbulb moments while perusing Facebook today.  All of sudden the fog lifted and EYE could see clearly.  You see,  EYE kept wondering why the Justice Department was threatening to sue Alabama in September for failing it's obligation to voters.  What obligation?, EYE asked.  Then it hit me... Alabama did not comply with the Motor Voter law, which explains why the red, republican controlled legislature closed DMV offices in 31 counties, that just so happen to be predominately black, under the guise of saving money. Nod Nod Wink Wink

This comment via Demos Facebook page spells it out loud and clear with links inserted for clarity: 

Actually, this helps clarify why Alabama closed Driver's License offices in 31 counties. If getting your driver's license automatically triggers voter registration (provided that you are of age to vote), then Alabama doesn't want it to be easy to get a driver's license in counties with large African-American populations -- which is the case in the 31 counties where the offices were closed. That would enable more Black folks to vote. Shenanigans like this and many others are what prompted adoption of the Voting Rights Act in the first place. Will this cause the Supreme Court to revise its finding that the prior review provision of the VRA is no longer necessary? We shall see. If not, that will make it even clearer the the Court is now willing to connive in racist policies.

In other news, Judge Myron Thompson has ordered the State of Alabama to resume funding of Planned Parenthood. Now let's see if Governor Bentley is going to comply or defy...

Bentley not backing down in court battle to strip Planned Parenthood’s Alabama funding http://t.co/Zwh3mFlmdD pic.twitter.com/xfQ0spd4Rh

— Yellowhammer (@yhn) September 23, 2015

The United States of #Ferguson

#Ferguson is everywhere #Ferguson is America. pic.twitter.com/vYNsi2JErh
— Black Autonomy (@BlackAutonomy) March 13, 2015

Now that the made for TeeVee  #Selma50 celebration is history (pun intended),  let's get back to the reality of  life in the land of the free and the home of the brave.

 The world saw a magnificent celebration last weekend in Selma, Ala., of the 50th anniversary of the Selma-to-Montgomery marches. The racially mixed crowds were huge, exciting and orderly. More than 120,000 attended the two days of commemorative events.

Foot soldiers mingled with dignitaries from the public and private sectors. President Barack Obama gave one of the most brilliant speeches I have ever heard. More than 100 members of Congress joined him in Selma. Alabama Gov. Robert Bentley attended the ceremonies, along with scores of state and local officials. A host of corporate sponsors toasted this splendid occasion under VIP tents that were erected for the privacy and convenience of privileged guests.

The theatrics and photo opportunities knew no bounds. The cinematography was simply breathtaking. It was a made-for-TV event.

 The Department of Justice (sic) released a scathing report   detailing racism in the Ferguson Police Department and all the apologist saw was vindication of #DarrenWilson.  Huh?

For years, the Ferguson Police Department has humiliated, harassed, profiled, abused and oppressed black people. When Ferguson Officer Darren Wilson shot and killed unarmed black teen Michael Brown, the police left Mike's body laying in the street for hours as if his life had no value. Instead of the prosecutor actually prosecuting the case, he essentially served as counsel for the killer. When the prosecutor announced the grand jury's decision not to indict Darren Wilson, that arrogant prosecutor practically gloated and talked down to the people of Ferguson.

Meanwhile, scores attend the funeral of #TonyRobinson, the latest unarmed, black male, shot, and killed by law enforcement.

The teen was shot by Madison Police Department Officer Matt Kenny on March 6 after a confrontation, police say. NBC News reports that an autopsy report released by the Dane County Medical Examiner's Office Friday said Robinson was shot in the head, torso and upper body.

RedEye tiptoeing away from the computer humming God Bless the United States of Ferguson....

It turns out that nearly everyone in the city is wanted for something. Even internal police department communications found the number of arrest warrants to be "staggering". By December of 2014, "over 16,000 people had outstanding arrest warrants that had beenissued by the court." The report makes clear that this refers to individual people, rather than cases (i.e. people with many cases are not being counted multiple times). However, if we do look at the number of cases, the portrait is even starker. In 2013, 32,975 offenses had associated warrants, so that there were 1.5 offenses for every city resident.
That means that the city of Ferguson quite literally has more crimes than people.

I hate to rain on this lovely parade (Honest I do!) but it seems perfectly clear to me that what went down a half a century ago in Selma, Alabama was merely a sweet little overture for what is coming. Not only has Jim Crow been raised from the dead, he's on a nationwide comeback tour. This is a show that won't be closing any time soon. ~ Tom Degan

#HCSvsDOJ Desegregation Hearing: "Much Ado about Nothing" #hscboe

Huntsville City Schools March 11, 1963 -March 11, 2015  (Huntsville Times file)

Let's recap:
Eight months ago Federal Judge Madeline Haikala dropped her hammer on the Huntsville City Schools rezoning plan.

U.S. District Judge Madeline Hughes Haikala didn't approve the city's plan to redraw school zones.
And she didn't approve the Justice Department's plan.
Instead, she appointed Chief Magistrate Judge John Ott to oversee months of mediation between the two as they examine all aspects of racial disparities across Huntsville City Schools.
She also called for appointment of a Special Master to oversee the court's ongoing fact-finding in the case.

She also dropped her hammer on the Justice Department, but only to say they were being far too lax.

 "From the record, it appears that years of relative calm and inactivity have lulled the government into a habit of checking in only when the district proposes actions that require the government's review. The government should be more proactive. Based on the current record, the Court does not know when inequities in educational programs arose in the district; however, standardized test scores from 10 years ago demonstrate disparate results among racially identifiable schools. Had the government been keeping an eye on that sort of information, it could have brought it to the Court's attention more quickly and enabled the Court and the district to address the issue in a timely fashion. "

In short, Haikala held: "On the record before it, the Court cannot find conclusively that the Board does not operate a dual system."

Fast forward to March 11, 2015 exactly,  52 years to the day after black families first sued to end segregated schooling in Huntsville,  and a hearing about  granting Huntsville City Schools the rare opportunity to have court approved segregation disguised as a "pathway to unitary status", enabled by the Department of Justice.

City Councilman Richard Showers has written a federal judge to complain that the plan to improve racial equity in Huntsville does little to end the racially isolated classrooms on opposite ends of the city.
"It seems the District was successful in pleading their case that it was in the best interest of the schools in North Huntsville to remain as they are and continue the same 'feeder' pattern," wrote Showers. "Failing schools feeding into failing schools."

After months of  secret mediation The United States Department of Justice basically approved Wardynski’s rezoning plan that he developed and implemented entirely without public input.

Huntsville City Schools will agree to anything as long as they can legally operate a dual school system.  In an effort to stop expelling black students the district agreed to rewrite the Student Code of Conduct, implement a Restorative Justice Strategies, develop a Positive School Climate Program, and appoint a Desegregation Advisory Committee.  All of this by a superintendent and school board who who view African American students as natural born gang members, and adopts polices that treat them that way.

All of the above slogans, I mean programs, sound nice but here's the real deal.  African American students will be forced to attend failing schools, illegally renamed after two black astronauts located less than half a mile from an active rock quarry.  Majority to Minority Transfers,  and access to Magnet Schools will be granted to the fortunate few.  The Alternative School is still privatized.

Even If We Win We Lose

So after months and possibly years of litigation over the rezoning plan, what have we won?
The district will still be under the control of the DoJ except now the plan that the DoJ believed would best bring us unification has been rejected.
The DoJ still controls our destiny. Does fighting their plan (even assuming we’ve seen their plan) bring us closer to unification?
Nope. It doesn’t.
The Wardynski Plan is a fool’s errand. We did not have to file it. And the public has had zero input into the plan.
So, after potentially years of litigation and expense, we will have accomplished absolutely nothing, even if we win.
Nothing except the following:

1. Wardynski has shored up support for himself in this town because he’s willing to fight the “evil” federal government.
2. Wardynski has improved his name recognition on a national level.
3. Wardynski has spent a ton of the district’s money that he should be spending on improving education at all of our schools. And of course,
4. We’re still a segregated system.

This is, in the Bard’s wise words, much ado about nothing.

In short, the proposed Consent Order equals Segregation then. Segregation now.  Segregation forever?

For 50 years the legacy of discrimination has been allowed to  exist under the watchful eyes of those who didn't want integration then, and who don't want integration now.  Let's face it, it's all about money, and whose children will have equal access to the public dollars that fund public education.  I challenge these people to start being part of the solution. Everything we do as is first and foremost for our children, not what is best for a political agenda.

Update~ Huntsville school board unanimously approves segregation today, segregation tomorrow, segregation forever

J.R. Brooks, attorney for Huntsville City Schools (file) The Gate Keeper

Huntsville City Schools superintendent, and his media enablers claim the historic moment brings city wide equity.  I guess it depends on what their definition of citywide equity IS.

With no discussion following four hours of questions to its counsel, the Huntsville Board of Education unanimously approved the proposed consent order that plans out citywide rezoning.

 Superintendent Casey Wardynski, aided by the school's legal counsel and the U.S. Justice Department. The adopted plan will be presented to U.S. District Court on March 11 for judge approval. If approved, the school district can move forward with plans, including construction of new schools.
"It's an historic moment," Wardynski said excitedly after the board voted.

From the files of they must think U.S. District Judge Madeline Hughes Haikala   has amnesia.

Judge Haikala took particular exception to much of Wardynski's testimony, from finding his comments on federal grants untrue to finding insubstantial his objections to the federal rezoning proposals.

"The Court strongly suspects that the district has chosen not to share many of the reasons for the choices that it made as it shaped its student assignment plan. The Court got a glimpse into the superintendent's thinking when the United States's cross-examined him about his objections to the government's rezoning proposals. When asked whether Hereford (Elementary) students would not benefit from attending Huntsville High, the superintendent, in an unguarded moment, replied '[t]hey [would] be going into schools that are not accustomed to dealing with students who are below grade level.'

She also admonished the Justice Department, but only to say they were being far too lax.

"From the record, it appears that years of relative calm and inactivity have lulled the government into a habit of checking in only when the district proposes actions that require the government's review. The government should be more proactive. Based on the current record, the Court does not know when inequities in educational programs arose in the district; however, standardized test scores from 10 years ago demonstrate disparate results among racially identifiable schools. Had the government been keeping an eye on that sort of information, it could have brought it to the Court's attention more quickly and enabled the Court and the district to address the issue in a timely fashion. "

It's Deja Voodoo all over again

"If there is unfairness, it is because life itself is unfair. The unfairness is not manmade," said Hugh McInnish, at-large member of the county's Republican Executive Committee.

It's like putting Lipstick on a Pit Bull

It seems the District was successful in pleading their case that it was in the best interest of the schools in North Huntsville to remain as they are and continue the same 'feeder' pattern," wrote Showers. "Failing schools feeding into failing schools."

Garbage in garbage out.  

The history in today's quick and quiet vote may not be apparent for years to come.
It's now up to Judge Madeline Hughes Haikala to set Huntsville on this uncharted road to unitary status.

Time will tell the truth.

The actions they are taking are pure segregation. You are merging every minority failing school onto one piece of land with schools with all black names,"

As usual the #hsvboe does what it does best, Covers Their Asses ,  the taxpayers be damned.

Thanks, Board, for doing such an excellent job of listening to and representing the public. No wonder you need your own personal public relations firm working for you at our expense.
Judge Haikala should send the parties back to the drawing board on this one and tell them that the public needs to be represented at the table because clearly our Board of Education is more concerned with explaining why they can’t address public concerns than they are actually, you know, representing the public that elected them.
You cannot unify the community without involving them in the process. Attempting to do so is like destroying the village to save it. Only a Colonel would think it an “historic moment.”

Prehistoric moment is more like it.         

I guess it depends on what the defintion of a success "IS" #HSVBOE

University of Alabama students demonstrate in 1956 against the enrollment of a black student. (Associated Press)

After months of behind closed doors court ordered mediation, the Huntsville School Board and the Department of Justice emerged to claim success.

The Huntsville school board and the U.S. Department of Justice on Monday made public a proposed joint consent order that, if approved by the court, would bring to a close their dispute on the desegregation of the city's schools. 
In the order, they tell U.S. District Judge Madeline Haikala that the mediation was a success. The two sides have been in court-ordered mediation since last summer to determine the best way to rezone school zone boundary lines.

Actually this paragraph should read The Huntsville school board made public a proposed joint consent order after a 4 hour Executive Session on Friday disguised as a special call meeting.  I guess it depends on what the definition of success IS because from what I've read, nothing has changed.

Let's recap, U.S. District Judge Madeline Haikala ruled the courts could find no evidence the school district was not operating a dual school system.  For those who don't know what a dual school system IS, it's a nice way of saying the school district is segregated.  For those who don't what segregated means, it means the the district is operating one system for black students, and one system for white students, separate and unequal.  Nothing, I repeat nothing, indicates the school district will cease to be segregated.

Judge Haikala slammed the Huntsville School board for their lack of transparency and community input. 

And she didn't accept the hurried "community conversations" as adequate community participation in the city's rezoning efforts. She wrote the meetings were held days before the plan was submitted and Wardynski himself acknowledged no changes were made as a result of meeting with the public.
"Thus, the Board provided little opportunity for meaningful community feedback after it announced its school assignment plan."

She accused the school board of trying to undermine the process  and dropped the hammer on HCS board member Laurie McCaulley's  little "community conversations" masquerading as "a citizens workshop on unitary status" .

Did this school board learn a lesson and change  the way they do business?  Heck no.  They continue to give the judge, and the public they are supposed to serve, the middle finger.

Parents will not have questions answered at three public meetings about Huntsville City Schools new plan to get out of the decades-old desegregation order.
The meetings are scheduled to start this Saturday.
These public meetings were originally called forums but they don't sound anything like a forum.
Parents can share their comments or concerns about the plan with an independent moderator at the meeting.
They can also do it online.
However, the only thing that moderator will do is record the message and give it to both the Justice Department and Huntsville City Schools legal teams.
Both sides will review the statements and decide whether the current agreement should be modified based on parent input.

Sound familiar? 

I must give credit where credit is due,  I was outfoxed (pun intended) by the Huntsville School Board of mis-education last Thursday.  Expecting a large crowd, I arrived at the meeting early in order to get a seat with the intention of signing up to speak.  I falsely assumed since the sign up sheet was not in its usual place it was not part of the required protocol.  Regular readers are familiar with the boards new policy requiring citizens comments be written on 3x5 index cards (which were available) and censored/read by the Director of Community Engagement.  Little did I know, there was a sign up sheet before there wasn't a sign up sheet, which I'm sure was just a coincidence. :)

For the record, nothing has changed, there is no community input, there was no community input, and there will never be any community input if this board can help it.   So here's the plan, if they can get their cronies to submit a bunch of statements saying that they like their plan it will look as though a majority of the citizens are in favor of the things that they want. Of course no one else will be able to check out what they submit to verify it's accurate and if is it above board.  Nod, nod, wink, wink.

Who says you can't do the same thing over and over and not expect a different result?  That's certainly the sentiment of this board, here we go again with a  proposed Desegregation Advisory Committee, a 12 member panel, chosen by the Superintendent, and a pair of students, chosen by the Superintendent, to advise the Superintendent and the court of progress.  Yeah right.   This sounds like the J.O.Johnson naming committee on steroids, and another Coup d'etat to me.  it's Deja Voodoo all over again.

Some of us tried to tell some of y'all mediation outside of the public eye was going to turn into a backroom deal that benefited the status quo.  Our only HOPE Huntsville City School Schools will cease operating a dual school system lies in the hands of Judge Haikala, where it should have been in the first place,  because this board ,  and this Superintendent ,are determined to ignore the United States Supreme Court. 

See picture above.

THIS is the Media we have, said in my best James Earl Jones voice

Fist Dap Give Em Hell

As they have repeatedly demonstrated, the mainstream media continues to push media-driven racial stereotypes. Or as I like to say, Faking the Funk when the narrative doesn't fit the facts.  Sigh

The case of the 14-year-old rape bait victim at Sparkman Middle School has garnered national media attention.  Finally!

CNN and Fox News both reported the story over the weekend, as did several other news outlets. CNN anchor John Berman did a segment about the case this morning on @THISHOUR, where he was joined by Wendy Murphy, a former prosecutor and adjunct professor at the New England School of Law. The law school cites Murphy as a nationally-recognized expert on child abuse and interpersonal violence. 

So naturally, the first thing the nationally-recognized expert on child abuse and interpersonal violence does is liken this case to Ray Lewis and the NFL Scandal.  I kid you not.

Murphy likened the situation to the NFL's handling of the Ray Rice domestic abuse case, in which the league took little action against Rice until video footage of him punching his fiance unconscious in a hotel elevator surfaced months later. 

Call me crazy, but I don't see a likeness.   In this case, the school district still hasn't taken action. 

"A school board cannot avoid summary judgment as a matter of law when a school administrator willfully ignores a plan to use a 14-year-old special needs student as bait to catch a student with a known history of sexual and violent misconduct, and as a result, the student is sodomized," reads the federal brief filed in the 11^th Circuit Court of Appeals late today.
The U.S. Department of Justice argues administrators at Sparkman Middle School near Huntsville knew the boy was dangerous and showed "deliberate indifference."

 As a matter of fact, parts of this case were thrown out by a federal judge last year,  and the powers that be still aren't convinced they have done anything wrong. 

Eric Artrip, a lawyer for the girl and her father, said a criminal investigation was conducted after the incident, but that prosecutors declined to file charges against the boy or the teacher involved. "With rape cases, sometimes there are problems associated with the evidence," Artrip said. "And there are issues involving her ability to articulate what happened to her."

Once the tapes were released to the media, by the media, for the media,  punishment for Ray Rice, and repercussions for the NFL, were swift and sure.   The #SparkmanMiddle School rape bait sting gone bad occurred in January 2010, the lawsuit was filed in September 2010, U.S. Magistrate Judge T. Michael Putnam dismissed the lawsuit in July 2013, and the Justice Department sided with the girl, in September of 2014.  So where is the "likeness", Ms. Murphy?

Why is the public just now finding out about this case 4 years after the fact?  As noted in a previous post, The Principal involved in the case was almost elected superintendent of Madison County Schools.

Al.com Education reporter Crystal Bonvillian offers this...excuse (for lack of a better word).

 I was aware of the lawsuit during the election, but when I checked on the status and saw that it had been dismissed, I believed the entire thing had been dismissed. I did not realize that it was just the federal claims that had been thrown out. If I had known the case was still pending, it would most definitely have been covered then. 
And believe me when I say that I kicked myself harshly when I learned it was still active. 

Uh, even it was dismissed, don't you think it was relevant information voters needed to know in order to make an informed decision about the candidates vying to be the instructional leader for the Madison County School System Ms. Bonvillian?

Madison County superintendent candidates Ronnie Blair and Matt Massey sat down with AL.com on Monday to discuss the race leading up to the June 3 primary. The two men face incumbent Superintendent David Copeland, who, despite being given several choices of times and dates for the sit-down, declined to participate in the conversation. Copeland cited the end of the school year, including graduations and other events, as his reasons.

This is a classic example of the media telling us what they want us to know.... instead of what we need to know.

#hsvboe Standing in the front door by going around to the back door.

Former Alabama Governor George C. Wallace standing in the front door of the University of Alabama June 11, 1963

There is an old saying  "If you can't get in through the front door then go around to the back door", which is exactly what Huntsville City Schools is doing, under the capable control and command of retired Colonel, turned superintendent,    Dr. Casey WARdynski in his continued quest to stand in the front door of the Huntsville City Schools.

After his presentation, the Board of Education authorized Wardynski to file the Motion for Approval of his plan. The City of Huntsville is therefore fighting the Department of Justice in court over which plan should be adopted. This motion will be decided by the US District Court for the Northern District of Alabama, Northeastern Division. You may download the motion here.
There was no discussion of how much this litigation might cost during the board meeting. And they answered no questions from the members of the public attending Thursday’s meeting.  Our litigation happy superintendent and board are taking us into more legal action.

Remember back in June when  U.S. District Judge Madeline Hughes Haikala dropped the hammer on Huntsville City Schools, saying she could find no evidence they weren't operating a dual school system?

The judge ruled late today in Huntsville's months-long desegregation dispute, clearing the way for federal attorneys to roll up their sleeves, dig deeper and and stay longer.
U.S. District Judge Madeline Hughes Haikala didn't approve the city's plan to redraw school zones.
And she didn't approve the Justice Department's plan.
Instead, she appointed Chief Magistrate Judge John Ott to oversee months of mediation between the two as they examine all aspects of racial disparities across Huntsville City Schools.
She also called for appointment of a Special Master to oversee the court's ongoing fact-finding in the case.

Key words:
U.S. District Judge Madeline Hughes Haikala didn't approve the city's plan to redraw school zones.
And she didn't approve the Justice Department's plan.

So how does HCS go around to the back door?  They rename existing schools after schools that haven't been built yet, and Viola!  Back door open.

The go-to phrases at Ronald E. McNair Junior High's first open house Thursday night was "Team McNair" and "Go Wildcats."

More than 200 parents, students, faculty and staff attended the event for the newly formed school, which combines students from Davis Hills and Ed White middle schools. The school will be located on the Davis Hills campus until the new facility on Pulaski Pike opens in 2016.

All vestiges of Davis Hills are gone, from its name to its color scheme to its mascot. In its place is the McNair Wildcat, prominently displayed throughout the school, and the new school colors of royal blue, black and white.

My sources tell me the facility on Pulaski Pike, you know, the site located less than half a mile from an active rock quarry,  has some ahem issues and it's become the Jemison/McNair Mud project.

THE LAND on Pulaski is>> A MARSH LAND DEVELOPMENT. The dirt is in piles as a future barrier, but the graded soil will not dry! It's going to cost an additional $4 Million Dollars to correct the foundational process of that development. It would have been better to buy a few homes near JOJ and expand the property requirement (acreage wise) and build a whole new school on the existing property then to spend undue dollars on the base of this project.

In the meantime the media keeps praising failure and calling it a success.

As they have repeatedly demonstrated, the Editorial Board of The Huntsville Times knows who they need to suck up to in this town, truth be damned.
On Thursday, September 11, 2014, the editorial board published an opinion entitled, “Transition from Textbooks to Digital Tools, as Led by Huntsville Schools, is Proper Path,” which joined in the chorus started by Dr. Wardynski, supported by Education Secretary Arne Duncan (in town on Tuesday on the public dime for meetings that excluded the public), that the only way forward in education is to continue down the failed pathway of the district’s 1:1 Digital Initiative.

 Some of us tried to tell some of y'all this superintendent would turn this process into a fraud and a farce.

In light of the blatant disregard Dr. Wardynski has for parents, students and citizens concerning transparency as evident in the comments made by Federal Judge Haikala: "The Court strongly suspects that the district has chosen not to share many of the reasons for the choices that it made as it shaped its student assignment plan."
In light of the hostile working environment that Dr. Wardynski has created which has resulted in at least 735 people choosing to leave employment with the district since August 2011;
In light of the declining standards of education that we are seeing in our finest schools as the district transitions to teaching nearly exclusively mathematics and English Language Arts;
We the undersigned respectfully request that the Huntsville City Schools Board of Education request the resignation of Dr. Casey Wardynski as superintendent effective immediately.

Can you hear us now?

#hsvboe

"Rape Bait", handling rape charges, and the man who was not chosen to become the superintendent of Huntsville City Schools redux #hsvboe

Dr. Eric King answers questions as the Hunstville city school board begins superintendent candidate interviews this morning. (The Huntsville Times/Glenn Baeske)

So, yesterday residents of Madison County, Alabama and the world learned the Justice Department sided with a 14 year old girl raped by serving as "bait" in a middle school sting  that occurred at Sparkman Middle School  in 2010, after the girl's father filed a lawsuit accusing the school system of negligence.

The brief contends  "...a jury could easily conclude that the school acted with deliberate indifference when, despite two sexual misconduct complaints against (the boy) days before he sodomized (the girl), it provided him unsupervised access to students and failed to protect (the girl)."
"In fact, Sparkman's practice of recording unrevealing and misleading descriptions of past incidents, coupled with its failure to maintain any record of unsubstantiated complaints and documentation for proven infractions beyond the current academic year, amounts to intentionally closing its eyes to (the boy's) dangerousness."

We also learned the boy accused in the rape "bait" incident had a history of sexual assault, and continued sexual misconduct at school after the assault.

 The boy accused in the rape case has a history of sexual infractions at school, both before and after the rape. The girl never attended Sparkman again, but the boy was sent to the district's alternative school for 20 days before being returned to the middle school. 
Court records show that it was at the alternative school in February 2010 where a teacher caught the boy watching pornography on a school computer. He was cited with a violation of the district's policy on profanity and vulgarity and given out-of-school suspension. 
The boy kept piling up infractions for fighting, disobedience and other issues until October of that year, when he was reprimanded for using his cell phone to show other students photos involving nudity. That incident, labeled as a sexual offense, resulted in another out-of-school suspension.

But here's the kicker....despite Madison County Officials outrageous response to the on campus rape of a 14 year old girl,  Sparkman Middle School  administrators kept jobs or were promoted after the fact, with the exception of the teachers aid who first notified administrators of the problem, who was placed on leave and  later resigned.   

Despite the boy's history of violence and sexual harassment, Simpson told the 14-year-old victim, also a special needs student, to go into the bathroom with him so she could catch him harassing the girl. When she failed to follow the teens into the restroom, the boy sodomized the girl.
Blair and the two assistant principals were named in the lawsuit because Simpson had told Dunaway about her plan beforehand. 
"Simpson and (the girl) then went to Vice-Principal (Jeanne) Dunaway's office, where Simpson told Dunaway about her plan to use (the girl) as bait to catch (the boy)," the Justice Department brief states. "Dunaway did not respond with any advice or directive.
"(The girl) left Dunaway's office, found (the boy) in the hallway, and agreed to meet him for sex. (The boy) told (the girl) to go to the sixth grade boys' bathroom and she complied. No teachers were in the bathroom to intervene, and (the boy) sodomized (the girl)."
The brief also states that Blair, when Simpson first reported to administrators the boy's behavior toward female students, rejected the aide's recommendation that the boy be under constant supervision, telling Simpson "that (the boy) could not be punished because he had not been 'caught in the act,' short-hand for the school's policy that students could not be disciplined without substantiation of student-on-student misconduct."

To make matters worse, one of the administrators was almost the superintendent of Madison County Schools.

Sparkman Middle principal Ronnie Blair admitted that there was an incident in January, but would not go into details, citing the pending lawsuit. The principal defended his staff.
"It's a sad situation," Blair said. "At the same time, I feel very comfortable with the way the situation was handled. That's about all I can say."
The lawsuit alleges that on Jan. 22, the girl approached the teacher and told her that a fellow student had asked her to meet him in a restroom for sex. The complaint states that the boy had been harassing several girls in a similar manner over previous weeks, and that school staff, including Blair, knew about the situation.
The lawsuit states that the teacher "coerced" the girl into going into the bathroom with the boy, telling the teen that she would then come in and catch him harassing her.

Now, let's go back to the year 2011,  the list of potential candidates,  and the man who was not chosen to become the superintendent of the Huntsville City Schools,  after the removal of Dr. Ann Roy Moore.....
Dr. Eric King of Indiana.

King has served as superintendent of the Muncie system for about three years. His time overall as a superintendent has equaled 11 years, but his experience in education goes back much longer. He has also served as a director of pupil services, principal, dean of students, athletic director, teacher and director of parks and recreation.
His education includes bachelor's and master's degrees from Southern Illinois University at Carbondale, an administrative certification from Concordia University in River Forest, Ill., and a PhD from Loyola University of Chicago.
King is the highest-paid of the candidates, earning $206,000 as head of a system of 7,000 students, according to his application. He oversees 30 employees.
When discussing his hiring practices, King said he has extensive experience hiring at all levels. He said the key is to make it a collaborative process involving many members of the school system, from superintendent to principals. By borrowing from different interview methods and processes, he said, a good procedure has been established.
"Through the process, my hope has been that the best candidate would rise to the top," King said. "We've had pretty good success in eliminating the need to terminate."
Board Vice President Laurie McCaulley asked about his experience transforming under performing schools. By using a systemic process of change that promotes continuous school improvement, King said, his system has seen one of its lowest performing schools recognized last year for making the most improvement in the state.

King sounds like the perfect candidate doesn't he?  He's a certified, experienced educator, with a track record of proven results.  There is just one little problem....the color of his skin.  So what did the powers that be do to make sure the most experienced candidate with a proven track record wasn't selected for the job over a less qualified white candidate?  The media reported on criticism of King for not immediately reporting an alleged rape to police that occurred at a high school in Muncie, Indiana. 

When asked what his most challenging task had been, King told the board about a "situation" that occurred at a high school in Muncie. He did not give further details about what happened, but said it was challenging because of the sensitive nature of the situation.
King may have been referring to a November 2010 rape allegation made by a 16-year-old girl at Central High School. According to reports from local media and the Delaware County prosecutor, the girl approached her principal and reported being raped in a bathroom at the school.
King and the school's administration were later criticized for not immediately reporting the alleged rape to police.
"The determination was made that it could probably have been handled a lot better," King told the board about the situation.
He said the school system has enhanced guidelines and procedures in response to emergency situations, including having a retired sheriff's office captain heading security.
"That's the best I could do with it," King said.

Although the board seemed not to hold it against him,  King was not chosen as one of three finalist, the criticism of his handling of the incidents forced him to withdraw from another position in South Bend, Indiana, and Dr. Casey Wardynski was selected superintendent of Huntsville City Schools.

I say there is more than a whiff of hypocrisy and faux outrage going on.  What say you?

#hsvboe

Update! #ThrowbackThursday Threatening Parents #hsvboe style

Breaking News!  Mr. Matthews has changed the settings on his Uplifting HCS from being an open group that anyone could view to a closed group that only members can view. I guess he realized it wasn't wise to threaten parents about posting on Facebook on Facebook.  Snicker

The last thing Huntsville City Schools wants the Department of Justice to know is the truth.

Let's recap: 

In a letter sent to parents with students enrolled in grades 3-12 HCS claims they have invited the Department Justice to meet with students in order to gain information related to the long standing desegregation order, which they are bound and determined to be released from, by hook or by crook.

This whole process is a fraud and a farce. H/T Russell Winn

 Mr. Matthews is correct when he says that the agreement that parents signed requires that they not even acknowledge that they participated in these discussions, but the attitude that he demonstrates here, and in particular the attitude that Mr. Giles, HCS's Chief of Staff, demonstrate here is troubling.

Any discussion to bring unity to a community that requires implied and even direct threats from the school system, the DOJ, and especially employees from the school system, which is true of Mr. Giles and has been true of Mr. Matthews, is going to fail.

You cannot achieve unity by being secret about how you do so.

Yep, can't have the Feds finding out what is really going on in the Huntsville City Schools. Parents who were lucky enough to be selected need to STFU.

 It was painful to watch democracy, fairness, and justice, die last night. I went to bed last night  and woke up this morning with that same sick feeling I had after the not guilty verdict in the  George Zimmerman trial.

First, they stacked the agenda with long presentations, and seats were saved for teachers/employees prior to the public being allowed to enter the board room.  Second, citizens were told to write down their questions on cards to be given to the board members and they would decide which ones were to be read or answered.  Citizens were not allowed to ask questions of the BOE.  A handpicked Pastor was "asked" and allowed to speak, however Reverend Mark Johnson, nephew of J.O. Johnson left because the BOE kept changing the rules and he thought he wasn't going to be allowed to speak.

Oh what a tangled web we weave when we practice to deceive.  I'm beginning to think neither side wants a solution, which plays right into the segregationist strategy of  segregation today, segregation tomorrow, segregation forever?

Uplifting Huntsville City Schools my Donkey  

Mending fences with the black community is the last thing on the mind of this superintendent. Wardynski, assisted by the district 1 BOE representative , and the president of the Huntsville Council of PTSA's, attended the J.O.Johnson PTSA election the day after the prayer vigil.  According to my sources, with Wardynski, McCaulley, and Elisa Ferrall in attendence,  members of the J.O. Johnson Alumni Association were told their individual memberships were not valid because there were no copies of their membership applications.  They were also informed the application fees they paid were a donation, and refused to refund them.  So they had a record of the donations but not the membership.  Only two members of the JOJ Alumni Association were allowed to vote, but here's the kicker, ballots were not secret, they had to be printed and signed or they weren't counted. Reynard Jones was elected President, and Carlos Matthews was elected Vice President of the J.O.Johnson PTSA by a vote of 21-2.  Neither of these persons have children who attend J.O. Johnson,  nor are either J.O.Johnson Alums.  Both were members of the hand picked members of the so called naming committee.

Those who control the message...., control the outcome.  Nod Nod Wink Wink

#TBT Blocking the School House Door Today, Blocking the School House Door Tomorrow, Blocking the School House Door Forever? #hsvboe

57 Years Ago Today - Arkansas Governor calls National Guard to block 9 Black students from attending Little Rock H.S. pic.twitter.com/7kb3BEVsQU
— Khaled Bey (@KhaledBeydoun) September 4, 2014

"Whose side are they on?"  On this day in 1957, the Governor of Arkansas used tax dollars to block African American taxpayers from entering Central High School in Little Rock. Fast forward 57 years later, Huntsville City Schools is still using tax dollars to prevent African American Students from having access to a quality public education, enabled by the United States Department Justice.

In a letter sent to parents with students enrolled in grades 3-12 HCS claims they have invited the Department Justice to meet with students in order to gain information related to the long standing desegregation order, which they are bound and determined to be released from, by hook or by crook.


A couple of points of interest:

1. If you do not return the form by September 4, 2014, your child will be entered into a potential pool of students to be interviewed by the Department of Justice SEEMINGLY WITHOUT PARENTS PRESENT FOR THE INTERVIEW. The interviews will take place after school at Boys and Girls Club locations across the city. Not every child will be chosen. This is an “opt-out” procedure. If you don’t opt-out, and your child is at a Boys and Girls Club location during the week of September 8th through the 12th, your child will be interviewed without a parent being present.

2. If parents wish to participate in similar Parents Meetings being held on Saturday, September 14, and Sunday, September 15, there is a separate form to sign and return to Barbara Cobbs of Huntsville City Schools. They will then chose which parents they wish to interview with the stipulation that parents agree to the following: "I understand that participation in the parent focus groups is confidential. I shall not disclose the fact of my participation or any information or discussion from the focus group meeting."

There is just one thing wrong with their little plan, it is unconstitutional for HCS to conduct an investigation or interview a child on private property without the parent present.  I can understand HCS ignoring the constitution because they've been doing it for years, but you would think the United States Department of Justice would know better by now.

The U.S. Department of Justice, a party to the case, objected to the assignment plan and in February the dispute landed before Haikala, who'd been appointed to the bench by President Obama in 2012.
In the judge's 107-page ruling, she blasted school officials for failing to provide required reports on the district's integration progress for two decades. She also criticized the Justice Department for failing to be "proactive" and to "keep an eye on" the marked disparities in schools serving mostly white children and those serving mostly black ones.

Opt in or to Opt Out? That is the question.  At the June 17, 2014 BOE meeting HCS approved policy 6.28- Family Educational Rights and Privacy Act (FERPA)

EXCERPT:

Schools may disclose, without consent, "directory" information such as a student's name, address, telephone number, date and place of birth, honors and awards, and dates of attendance. However, schools must tell parents and eligible students about directory information and allow parents and eligible students a reasonable amount of time to request that the school not disclose directory information about them. Schools must notify parents and eligible students annually of their rights under FERPA. The actual means of notification (special letter, inclusion in a PTA bulletin, student handbook, or newspaper article) is left to the discretion of each school.

Translation: if parents don't notify the school district they don't want their students information printed in the hand book, or  their image/ names to be used,  and they don't Opt OUT, their child is automatically IN. This change requires parents to take action when they otherwise would not have been required to. Under the old policy, they had to give written consent for their student to be INCLUDED in the directory. The difference is not subtle.  It's the old silence gives consent Idiom. 

Oh what a tangled web we weave when we practice to deceive.  I'm beginning to think neither side wants a solution, which plays right into the segregationist strategy of segregation today, segregation tomorrow, segregation forever?

Time will tell the truth.  Sigh