A little thought for Huntsvillians this St. Patrick's Day

Not that I have to explain, or justify my involvement/actions regarding this issue, let me say right here and right now, it's not about a name change.  It's about a culture and a climate of disrespect for the black community in Huntsville, Alabama.

What's in a name?  Ask the powers that be at  Huntsville City Schools.  In their haste to kill democracy and fairness the Huntsville City School Board of Education, under the ruthless command of Superintendent Casey WARdynski   declared

"From now on, this land will be ruled by the Tigers. We are, after all, the strongest, fastest and wisest of all animals. Therefore, we are the only fit rulers." they claimed.
A little mouse spoke up from the crowd, " But we have a council where we make our decisions together, we don't need or want any ruler." One of the tigers let out a roar so loud and fierce that the poor mouse started running and didn't stop until he was in the land of the humans. To this day, he lives in the houses of humans.

Despite petitions, marches, and protest the Huntsville City School BOE decided they are the rulers and the people be damned.  If the BOE spent half as much time trying to scheme their way out from under the federal desegregation order and furthering their political careers ensuring that ALL children  had equal access to a quality public school,  Huntsville would be One City One Vision  and companies would be begging to locate here.

Slapping a new name on the outside of the school building won't change what's happening on the inside of the building.  The taxpayers have the right to self determination, instead they are being punished for it.

For those who say it's not about race, I say J.O.Johnson is predominately black school and the only school being forced to change it's name and lose it's legacy and it's heritage.

For those who say I don't live in the district therefore I have no right to complain, I say I pay state, local, and federal taxes which grants me the right and the privilege to complain about what I want to when I want to.

For those who say I don't spend time volunteering in the schools, reading to children, etc. I say been there done that, but at the end of the day Huntsville City School's is still trying to locate a new $65 million dollar school renamed after a former black astronaut  less than half a mile from an active rock quarry.

For those who say there are already two schools, a recreational park and homes  located even closer to an active rock quarry, I say two wrongs don't make a right, we didn't know then what we know now,  and a lot of people didn't know their homes were located near the rock quarry until they heard the first sonic dynamite boom, and those who could, moved away from the area, to the detriment of those who couldn't move.

Purposely withholding vital info from the people/community that will be affected is a nice nasty way of saying......"You are not valued as a person".......We know what is best for you, even though we need your tax dollars........We will do what we want in your community because we don't live in your community.

Happy St. Patrick's Day!

A little thought for Huntsvillians this St. Patrick's Day~ Redux

Not that I have to explain, or justify my involvement/actions regarding this issue, let me say right here and right now, it's not about a name change.  It's about a culture and a climate of disrespect for the black community in Huntsville, Alabama.

What's in a name?  Ask the powers that be at  Huntsville City Schools.  In their haste to kill democracy and fairness the Huntsville City School Board of Education, under the ruthless command of Superintendent Casey WARdynski   declared

"From now on, this land will be ruled by the Tigers. We are, after all, the strongest, fastest and wisest of all animals. Therefore, we are the only fit rulers." they claimed.
A little mouse spoke up from the crowd, " But we have a council where we make our decisions together, we don't need or want any ruler." One of the tigers let out a roar so loud and fierce that the poor mouse started running and didn't stop until he was in the land of the humans. To this day, he lives in the houses of humans.

Despite petitions, marches, and protest the Huntsville City School BOE decided they are the rulers and the people be damned.  If the BOE spent half as much time trying to scheme their way out from under the federal desegregation order and furthering their political careers ensuring that ALL children  had equal access to a quality public school,  Huntsville would be One City One Vision  and companies would be begging to locate here.

Slapping a new name on the outside of the school building won't change what's happening on the inside of the building.  The taxpayers have the right to self determination, instead they are being punished for it.

For those who say it's not about race, I say J.O.Johnson is predominately black school and the only school being forced to change it's name and lose it's legacy and it's heritage.

For those who say I don't live in the district therefore I have no right to complain, I say I pay state, local, and federal taxes which grants me the right and the privilege to complain about what I want to when I want to.

For those who say I don't spend time volunteering in the schools, reading to children, etc. I say been there done that, but at the end of the day Huntsville City School's is still trying to locate a new $65 million dollar school renamed after a former black astronaut  less than half a mile from an active rock quarry.

For those who say there are already two schools, a recreational park and homes  located even closer to an active rock quarry, I say two wrongs don't make a right, we didn't know then what we know now,  and a lot of people didn't know their homes were located near the rock quarry until they heard the first sonic dynamite boom, and those who could, moved away from the area, to the detriment of those who couldn't move.

Purposely withholding vital info from the people/community that will be affected is a nice nasty way of saying......"You are not valued as a person".......We know what is best for you, even though we need your tax dollars........We will do what we want in your community because we don't live in your community.

Happy St. Patrick's Day!

Huntsville City Schools refuses to fulfill their legal obligation to eliminate segregation "root and branch" Sigh

May the farce be with you...

Huntsville City Schools and the Department of Justice held their final hearing of the public on the proposed the proposed consent order aimed at ending Huntsville City Schools' longtime federal desegregation order in the auditorium of Huntsville High School.  The first two hearings at Lee and Colombia were sparsely attended, but this one was well attended after someone started the rumor if the consent order were to be approved by Judge Haikala it would require students in south Huntsville to be bussed to scary, crime infested, north Huntsville schools where students are required to wear uniforms so administrators can differentiate them from gang members.

Complete with an online petition, which I hope they don't ignore like they did the J.O.Johnson students petition to keep their name, and lots of supporters,  including the Garrison Commander of Redstone Arsenal, students and parents pleaded with the Justice Department to just leave them the heck alone. They heaped praise on school district officials.  Hall Bryant Jr, who has grandchildren enrolled in Huntsville City Schools said Superintendent Casey Wardynski was not hired to "win a popularity contest."  

You got that right.  Casey Wardynski is doing the job he was hired to do.

Casey you have to break the mold and prove you're not afraid of minorities, democrats, liberals, aclu (sic) types and the entire entitlement crowd! Do that, and you'll be doing the job you were hired to do! Oh yeah, not to mention striking down all racial transfers. And that includes allowing not allowing whites to racially transfer either. If you don't like where your child goes to school, move to where they can be zoned into a school of your preference, that's what I had to do!

That was the tone and tenor of most of speakers, if they weren't whining about being zoned from one great school to another great school, they were bragging about their ability to purchase a home in a "good school district" thereby confirming a defacto separate and unequal school district.

But, but, "unfairness of life"...

To be fair, I  can't blame south Huntsville parents for their activism. It would not be fair if the government forced them to enroll their children to failing public schools, but that's exactly what north Huntsville parents are forced to do. They are at the mercy of Majority to Minority Transfers, Magnet Schools (all on the north side of town), and other gimmicks designed to enhance desegregation.

It is obvious this school district is determined to maintain a dual school system.

Although the Supreme Court’s decision in Brown was ultimately unanimous, it occurred only after a hard-fought, multi-year campaign to persuade all nine justices to overturn the “separate but equal” doctrine that their predecessors had endorsed in the Court’s infamous 1896 Plessy v. Ferguson decision. 

Time will tell the truth...

The consent order has not yet been approved by the school board. It also must be approved by the court before it can be implemented. 
U.S. District Judge Madeline Hughes Haikala has scheduled a March 11 hearing on the consent order at the federal courthouse in Huntsville.

Stay Tuned.

"When the Slave-Catcher Came to Town"

From Daniel J Sharfstein's The Invisible Line, which chronicles the sometimes brutal history of three families as they journey, over the course of generations, across American color lines.

Following in the footsteps of Blogger Field Negro , who awards Field Negro and House Negro status to those whose behavior merits the special designation, Eye (pun intended) am going to start calling out Slave Catcher behavior for those who merit the distinction.

What is a Slave Catcher you ask?  I turn the floor over to Field Negro:

You see a house Negro simply stayed in the house with massa, and he liked the house and everything in it. He would do everything to stay in the house, and would protect the house at all cost because he had a stake in it. It was where he lived, and it was where he found comfort. He would never speak against massa like the field Negroes, because he didn't want to risk losing all of that. But, even worse than the house Negro, was the slave catcher. This was the Negro who searched hardest to find us when we ran away. It was the slave catcher who the master would give the whip to tear into us when we stepped out of line. It was the slave catcher who ran right behind the blood hounds and in front of the master, when he thought one of us was hiding in the woods. It was the slave catcher who always did the master's most barbarous and sadistic deeds that even the master would not do. The slave catcher hated us even more than the master did. Who knows why? Maybe some sick demented sh#t in his past, maybe some psychological sickness that prevented him from wanting to be a part of something he has no control over. Or, a sick desire to be accepted by only those who didn't look like he does. Only the slave catcher and his shrink knows for sure.

So, here are my picks for Local, State, and National  Slave Catcher(s) of the Week:



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 has children attending J.O. Johnson,  nor are either J.O.Johnson Alums. Jones and Matthews are the Local Slave Catchers of the Week for enabling the  Coup d'etat of  the J.O.Johnson PTA.

Goldy(Trey) Brown III  earned the title of State Slave Catcher of the Week.  While we are fighting for the right for all children to have equal access to quality public schools, he is advocating for Charter Schools and privatizing public education. 

Charles Barkley Isn't Shedding  Light on the Black Communities Problems.  He is the Problem.  He is also the National Slave Catcher of the Week for enabling the media driven racial stereotyping of African Americans.

Eye HOPE all my readers have a happy and safe Halloween.

The Pinnacle of Hypocrisy Huntsville City Schools Style ~Friday Edition #hsvboe

Superintendent Dr. Casey Wardynski answers questions from the press following Thursday night's Huntsville school board meeting. (The Huntsville Times/Michael Mercier)

Why is it when a longtime HCS teacher  is accused of violating district policy, everyone immediately calls for her (or his) head, but when a private company does the same thing, or usually something far worse, everyone rushes to defend it? This is indeed The Pinnacle of Hypocrisy.

Pinnacle is a privately run alternative campus that often takes in children who’ve been expelled from Huntsville City Schools.
Huntsville city has no direct authority or oversight of pinnacle

Why is it when student's, alumni, and any number of councilmen and officials call to inform the Superintendent he is making a gargantuan mistake changing the name of Lee High School, he acknowledges his mistake and backtracks on his proposal, but when J.O.Johnson High School alumni and students protest, and any number of councilmen and officials call to inform him he is making a gargantuan mistake changing the name of Johnson High School,  he violates district policy and changes the name of not just Johnson but Davis Hills Middle School too?  This is indeed the Pinnacle of Hypocrisy.

 Last night the Huntsville City School Board of Education violated their own policy on the Selection of School, Facility, and/or Property Name (Policy 2.9, presented September 5, 2013) by concluding the process and voting on the new names approximately three weeks before they were allowed to do so.

Why is it public officials, and citizens expressed environmental concerns about unsafe traffic patterns, heavy trucks sharing roads with school buses, and  air quality at two schools located two miles from an active rock quarry in New Hope, but those same officials say the air quality is safe at two schools located less than half a mile from an active rock quarry?  This is indeed the Pinnacle of Hypocrisy.

 Other elected officials speaking against the quarry were Mark Russell, president of Huntsville City Council, Madison County District 3 Commissioner Eddie Sisk, state Sen. Paul Sanford, state Sen. Shadrack McGill, state Rep. Wayne Johnson, Gurley Mayor Rob Sentell, Gurley Councilman Robert Wren.

So much hypocrisy, so little time.

#hsvboe

"In order to shut up the clowns" at the Alabama State Department of mis-Education just change the name of failing shools

Push to drop Johnson High name still on, despite opposition from some in northwest Huntsville

  Huntsville Superintendent Casey Wardynski, center, and school board president Laurie McCaulley, right, listen Monday afternoon as Huntsville resident Carlos Mathews talks about the choosing of possible names for a new northwest Huntsville high school to replace Johnson High. Behind Mathews are pictures of astronauts Ronald McNair and Mae Carol Jemison, whose names may grace the new high school and a new junior high to be built on the same campus. (Crystal Bonvillian/cbonvillian@al.com)       

Chapman Middle to be removed from Huntsville's list of "failing schools" under the Alabama Accountability Act blares the headline. At first read it sounds wonderful, then you go inside the story to learn Chapman Middle school will soon be taken off Alabama's list of "failing schools" because the school no longer exists.

Malissa Valdes-Hubert, a spokeswoman for the Alabama State Department of Education, confirmed Friday morning that Chapman Middle will no longer be considered a "failing" school under the Accountability Act.
"Huntsville requested to close the Chapman Middle School and reconfigure a Chapman P-6 school to be a P-8 school," Valdes-Hubert said. "The students that attended the Chapman Middle School are now part of the Chapman P-8 school."
Valdes-Hubert said the process of making that change includes approval from a school's local board and a request to the state Department of Education. Both have been obtained in Chapman's case, she said.

According to the article, the school district began the process of turning Chapman elementary and middle schools into a P-8 campus in the fall of 2012.   I'm still trying to figure out when the local Board of Education presented, approved then requested State Department approval, but like other issues of importance it was probably done in secret, I mean executive session, without input from the public, you know those pesky people who pay taxes which fund the schools.  Snark

Let's recap ( some of the links inserted for emphasis are mine):

A total of 78 schools across the state were deemed to be failing under the law, which was ruled unconstitutional late last month by a Montgomery County circuit court judge. That ruling is under appeal.
On an updated list released in January, Huntsville had the most failing schools of any district in the state. It will not stay that way for long, however, since the Huntsville district is also closing Davis Hills and Ed White middle schools.
Those schools are being combined into one at the new McNair Middle School now under construction on Pulaski Pike. McNair will be located on a combined campus with the new Jemison High School, which is being built to replace Johnson High.
The new Jemison could potentially knock Johnson High off of the failing list, as well.

Once again the school district is using smoke and mirrors as a means to an end (pun intended). They aren't solving the problem, they are just slapping the good names of black astronauts on the outside of a $65 million dollar school located less than half a mile from an active rock quarry and calling it fixed. 

Mission Accomplished.

And you wonder why the Huntsville City School Board of Education not only objects to citizens' comments but the Federal Judge digging into the desegregation data as well.

U.S. District Judge Madeline Hughes Haikala said she would review databases stored on the education web sites belonging to Huntsville, Alabama and the United States.
Within those three government sites, she could find relevant data on just about anything she wanted to know about Huntsville schools, from how many white students were paddled to how many teachers have advanced degrees to how many second-graders qualify for subsidized lunch.
"The websites listed in the Court's Order contain an expansive amount of information much of which falls outside the scope of scientific facts, matters of geography, or matters of political history," reads the objection from Huntsville, which is signed by board attorney J.R. Brooks.

Translation, don't believe the data stored on the education web sites, believe the data we gave you, nod, nod, wink, wink.

Changing the name is a gimmick to get off the list, a trained, certified, educator would know the performance of the students who will remain at the school is the reason the school is on the list in the first place.  Changing the name does nothing to solve the problem, but who cares as long as the school is off the list.  Snark

And why is Chapman P-8 in partnership with Athens State  University instead of the local state institutions of higher learning,  Alabama A&M University and/or The University of Alabama in Huntsville?    Why is Chapman, as well as other HCS's getting to keep their names, but Johnson, Ed White, and Davis Hills are not?  Never mind.  We know why.  It's life's unfairness.  RedEye Roll 

Rarely is the question asked, "Is the children learning?"

Pay your taxes, shut up, and die

Happy birthday Gloria Richardson (5/6/22). “A first-class citizen does not beg for freedom. A first-class citizen does not plead to the white power-structure to give him something that the whites have no power to give or take away. Human rights are human rights, not white rights.” Richardson led the Cambridge Nonviolent Action Committee (a SNCC affiliate) in Cambridge, Maryland to fight against institutional racism.

If you were meant to have a voice you would have been born white.  This is how I feel as I type this post in the wake of HCS superintendent Casey Wardynki's meeting with Southeast Huntsville residents, organized by Huntsville City Councilman Bill Kling and community leaders.   I would describe the atmosphere as....cordial.  Unlike BOE meetings, citizens comments/questions didn't have to be written down and read by the Director of Community Engagement, also, unlike BOE meetings, the superintendent answered their questions.

Several people expressed their love and support to the Superintendent for doing the job he was hired to do.

Casey you have to break the mold and prove you're not afraid of minorities, democrats, liberals, aclu (sic) types and the entire entitlement crowd! Do that, and you'll be doing the job you were hired to do! Oh yeah, not to mention striking down all racial transfers. And that includes allowing not allowing whites to racially transfer either. If you don't like where your child goes to school, move to where they can be zoned into a school of your preference, that's what I had to do!

One thing I did learn as a result of the meeting is although they can't disclose who the potential buyers are for Butler High School and some of the other vacant schools in the district, residents in these neighborhoods would be happy if these deals go through.

In addition to the interest in Butler, Wardynski said, there is also a buyer interested in both Stone Middle and West Huntsville Elementary. A portion of the Stone property has already been sold off, and the school itself is being used as a storage facility by the district.
Portions of the West Huntsville building are currently being used by the non-profit Free 2 Teach and The Pinnacle Schools, the outside company that, in 2012, replaced the Seldon Center as the district's alternative school.

The current Grissom High School campus may become the site of a new southeast library and a police substation.  The current J.O. Johnson High school  facility will be used as a public safety training facility when the new school is moved less than half a mile from an active rock quarry.  It's hard to see how a public safety (police and fire) training station slapped right dab in the middle of a residential neighborhood is going to improve the quality of life and property values in north Huntsville.  But hey, it's north Huntsville, who cares?

The superintendent and the councilman did all they could to assure southeast Huntsville residents they would be pleased by the purchasers of the properties in their neighborhood, and promised they would be safe from homeless vagrants, north Huntsville residents not so much.  Speaking of security, the superintendent must have been afraid for his safety because he was there with a full security detail consisting of a HCS and HPD detail.  I thought he was the Governor of the President or something.

So tonight, at a public meeting held in a church, Huntsville leaders claim they want residents to contribute to the cities future plans. Call me cynical, but I believe the plans have already been made, and I have no reason to believe north Huntsville is included in said plans.  We can't even get them to listen to us about  a name change.  Why should they listen to us about anything else?  Seems like to me all they want north Huntsville residents to do is pay taxes, shut up, support the status quo, and die.

I feel like an unwelcome visitor in my own city.  Marginalized, minimized, under estimated and under valued.
Remember when Huntsville was known as the Star of Alabama?  What happened to that bright star?

Our new Constitution is now established, and has an appearance that promises permanency; but in this world nothing can be said to be certain, except death and taxes.

—Benjamin Franklin, in a letter to Jean-Baptiste Leroy, 1789

Two white guys discuss Hsv City Schools and black leaders, no, this is not an April Fools Joke

Listen to Dale Jackson and David Blair use the public airways for Blair's political gain, lecture black people, spread misinformation and half truths, and throw red meat to their base. 

I am not a regular listener of Dale Jackson's radio show, I read his blog,which I am proud to say I am banned from posting comments, to see who/what the right wing spin of the day IS.

You know how it is when you see a train wreck and you just can't help but look at the wreckage?  That's how I felt when I saw this headline:

03-31-14 – Dale Jackson and HSV School Board Member David Blair discuss HSV City Schools and black leaders

It is a joke that is so not funny.

Psst Dale and David! It's not about a name, but it is about a name, if Wardynski hadn't been hell bent on changing J.O.Johnson's name we wouldn't be in this mess.  He made a gargantuan mistake. 

Again~ It's not about Commissioner Bob Harrison. It's about keeping J.O.Johnson's name, desegregating the public schools, and making sure the location of the new north high school is safe for students, teachers, and support personnel to occupy.

The Slow Motion, Media Enabled, Lynching Of Commissioner Bob Harrison

An image from the Huntsville City Schools website.  It ought to be against the law to use the Huntsville City Schools official website for personal vendettas

Get the rope, light the torches.

 If it is…….Mr. Harrison started it by sticking his nose where it doesn’t belong. I have a feeling Mr. Harrison is going to loose a lot of sleep in the near future. He better buy a big supply of anti-acid pills..he’s going to need it.

 big boy bob got a little dookie on his shoe

March 31, 2014 at 1:46 pm

I wonder what Mr. Harrison will look like in a Orange Jump Suit. A pumpkin??

This is what happens when black elected officials try and represent their constituents, you know the people who elected them, they find themselves the victim of a media enabled legal lynching.

Dr. Wardynski said WAFF brought this matter to his attention – a matter that surfaced once we obtained a 2009 internal memo regarding an audit. The audit pre-dates Wardynski taking over as the head of Huntsville City Schools.

"The whole thing is unusual," said Wardysnki today, "that a county commissioner involves himself so personally in the operation of a school system."
Wardynski said the threat of withholding money damages the city reputation among prospective home buyers, and that prompted him to post the information about Harrison online. "This is of direct interest to the city system."

 Mr. Harrison, the old saying goes”you mess with the bull,and you get the horns”. You had this coming too you and you can’t blame anyone else, except yourself. It’s very obvious that you’re not the sharpest knife in the drawer.

Commissioner Bob Harrison was reached for comment, but declined an interview, saying the audit speaks for itself. He also said this is an attempt by some to distract from what he is trying to do for the northwest community in the interest of children.
The City of Huntsville reviewed documentation and determined no action was needed. As for Huntsville City Schools, the district has already put the information in the hands of law enforcement.

Maybe this explains why District 1 School Board representative, Laurie McCaulley doesn't even try to represent the wishes of her constituents.  You know, the people who voted for and elected her twice.

How dare Commissioner Harrison and Councilman Showers do the job they were elected to do?  What makes them think they have the same rights and privileges as their white counterparts?

Superintendent Casey Wardynski was warned by any number of councilman and officials it would be a gargantuan mistake to rename Lee High School.

The current President of the Huntsville City Council was among the many elected officials and community leaders who tried to stop an active rock quarry from operating 2 miles from Madison County (not to confused with  City) schools.

Other elected officials speaking against the quarry were Mark Russell, president of Huntsville City Council, Madison County District 3 Commissioner Eddie Sisk, state Sen. Paul Sanford, state Sen. Shadrack McGill, state Rep. Wayne Johnson, Gurley Mayor Rob Sentell, Gurley Councilman Robert Wren.
Their concerns addressed environmental quality of Flint River and Hayes Nature Preserve, unsafe traffic with trucks crossing Norfolk Southern Railroad along a curve, heavy trucks sharing roads with school buses, air quality at two nearby schools and a lack of local governmental control of the quarry operation.

Nope, black officials are not supposed to represent the wishes of their constituents, they are supposed to STFU and STFD down like good little guys and gals, and let the government take care of them. 

 Not.

Everyone knows this is the HCS latest media enabled Weapon of Mass Distractions from the real scandals, I mean issues, because let's face it, it's easier to talk about what happened in 2006 and 2009 than it is to talk about what's happened in 2011, 2012,  2013,  and  what is happening 2014.  Contrary to popular belief, we the people aren't stupid. We know this is classic attack the messenger because you can't attack the message. This is what they do and who they are. Is it who they will always be?

The BOE and Wardynski are angry because they didn't get their way with the Department of Justice, they are trying their best to paint themselves as the good guys, and Bob Harrison as the bad guy, taking whatever shots they can to convince the public they are right and everyone else is wrong.   They don't want to bring all stakeholders to the table, they just want to be dictatorial in their decisions concerning northwest Huntsville.

Carry on.

 Two weeks ago, the superintendent boldly proclaimed that he was simply not going to communicate with people who are “a complete waste of [his] time.”  During a discussion of the superintendent’s goals for 2012-2013, some on the board suggested that the superintendent should be evaluated on his ability and willingness to communicate with the public. He told them that he wasn’t going to do that.
Here’s what he said:

I freely admit that there is people who I will not talk to anymore. They’re a complete waste of my time. I’ve talked to them until I’m blue in the face. I’ve got a lot to accomplish. I’m working seven days a week. Most time at night till ten o’clock. Uh, if my requirement is to answer every phone call, and everybody who calls me and emails me, no matter how many times and how ridiculous, uh, we’re gonna be in a job hunt.

It's not about Commissioner Bob Harrison. It's about keeping J.O.Johnson's name, desegregating the public schools, and making sure the location of the new north high school is safe for students, teachers, and support personnel to occupy.

Update 2: How dare Bob Harrison and Richard Showers try and represent the wishes of their constituents !

Madison County District 6 Commissioner Bob Harrison said he wants the commission to make the Huntsville school board and superintendent answerable for their arrogant behavior in the rezoning debate. (Paul Huggins/phuggins@al.com)

Update:  The spin is in.  The 2006 letter released by HCS BOE President David Blair was taken out of context. Surprise!  Surprise!

Harrison said the Blair's accusations take the 2006 dialogue with Moore out of context. The discussion with the former superintendent was about bringing an International Baccalaureate school to North Huntsville and combining two high schools, he said, not closing Johnson.
The issue now is about unitary status and getting away from racially segregated schools, which is totally separate from the discussion about helping North Huntsville eight years ago, he said.
The statements by Blair, Harrison added, are coming from a political candidate seeking attention.
"He's trying to get all the attention he can get at this time. So he's engaging in the process of prevarication," he said.

In 2006 Commissioner Harrison was trying to bring an International  Baccalaureate School to north Huntsville.  Guess who got the International Bacculareate School? Hint, it's wasn't north Huntsville.

  "Commissioner Bob Harrison, District 6, said he would entertain the idea of a sales tax but he would have to see how it would benefit the people of his district. “The caveat that my district has given to me is that there should be a no vote unless there is something in it for them”.http://www.flashpointblog.com/?m=200806

Who do Harrison and Showers they think they are....elected officials or something?  How dare Commissioner Harrison email a letter to  U.S. District Judge Madeline Hughes Haikala, who is handling Huntsville's long-standing desegregation case. 

 "This letter is being submitted because those who I represent and I have not been offered an opportunity to meaningfully participate in the process of drafting the School Construction and Student Assignment Plan and in seeking Unitary Status by the Board of Education, issues pending before you," wrote Harrison.

And how does the Huntsville City School Board, enabled by some in the media, respond?  By attacking Commissioner Harrison of course.

"Let me be very clear, this school board and superintendent are focused on doing what is best for our students and our community," wrote Blair in response to Harrison earlier this month. "I remind Mr. Harrison that he supported the previous administration who allowed our school system to go $20 million in debt and put us on the brink of a state takeover."

About that Mr. Harrison supported the previous administration who allowed our school system to go $20 million in debt and put us on the brink of a state takeover thingy  Mr. Blair.... Dr. Ann Roy Moore was not the only one to blame for the school systems problems.  You see the superintendent recommends and the Board of Education adopts.  In other words the superintendent can't do anything without the BOE's approval.

The reason we are in dire straits right now is because the board abdicated their responsibility in supervising the superintendent. Relinquishing their ability to question the directors of divisions in the central office will allow the future superintendent to continue to shelter her or his employees as Dr. Moore has done so for Mrs. Sledge.
This is not acceptable.
To accomplish their job to educate our students, the board and the central office must involve the community not an outsider who has no stake in the outcome of his recommendations. They should especially involve the parents of the students they are attempting to educate. What they absolutely must not do is exclude the people who pay their salaries from discussions of plans about how to best education our children.
Frankly, if the board wanted to have a secret meeting with someone yesterday, it should have been with the parents of the students they’re responsible for to discussion the segregation plans that are currently being implemented in our city.
An appointed official who, even after being fired, still has the ability to abuse our school system, our teachers, and our students, does not need any more power or influence. We elected the board to represent us. They cannot do that by remaining silent and refusing to question questionable activities and decisions made by the central office.

This is nothing more than the BOE attacking the messenger because they can't attack the message.

1.  The BOE violated their own policy and renamed J.O.Johnson against the protest of the J.O.Johnson Alumni Association.

2.  The BOE has repeatedly violated the open meetings act.

3. The location of the new J.O.Johnson is located half a mile from an active rock quarry.

The School Board continues to deal in darkness.

HUNTSVILLE, Ala. City city school board members Topper Birney, Jennie Robinson and David Blair need a lecture on the state's open meetings law. Honesty and public trust should be part of that lesson.
Only a week or so after the municipal elections, the three huddled privately at a local restaurant to discuss board business, including the search for a superintendent and who might be the next school board chairman. Times special projects editor Challen Stephens reported on the restaurant rendezvous on Thursday.
As it turns out, Birney was elected board chairman and he immediately placed Blair and Robinson in charge of the superintendent search.
If that was coincidence, it sure seems fishy. Even if the leadership selections weren't influenced by that meal time pow wow, what were they thinking?

 They were thinking they could get away with it.  And they did.

Again:

It's not about Harrison and Showers, it's about the taxpayers.  This little war could have been avoided if Casey WARdynski hadn't been hell bent on wiping out the legacy of J.O.Johnson student's and alumni.  Every school in this city was allowed to keep it's name after moving into a new building except J.O.Johnson High School.  

Why?

War begins with WARdynki, blame Harrison and Showers

 Fist Dap: Crooks and Liars

I am still trying to figure out how The Huntsville Times leaped from Black community leaders deserve the right to represent their constituents, too--  black community leaders need to STFU and STFD (my words), but here we are. I guess Colonel WARdynksi was right (pun intended) when he said the media was not the voice of the people but a corporation accountable to shareholders.  Huntsville Times Director of Community News Editor Shelly Haskins made it clear AL.com is a voice for the corporation and its shareholders in his latest opinion column, where he adopts the false narrative both sides are wrong, and shut up before the Federal Judge hears about it.  But that's what you have to do when you want the other side to win. 

The conversation about the future of education for thousands of Huntsville students has been hijacked by staged protests and inflammatory public rhetoric on one side, and staged rallies of support and blunt dismissals of the opposing view on the other.

The J.O. Johnson Alumni Association and it's supporters did indeed stage a protest march after BOE members and the Superintendent ignored a petition with over 1300 signatures, and pleas by the James Oliver Johnson Family to keep the name. As a matter of fact, after the staged protestt, the BOE violated their own rules and renamed J.O.Johnson High School  Mae Jemison High School.

For several months now, culminating in the past few weeks, this little war pitting local government officials against Huntsville school officials has been escalating: County Commissioner Bob Harrison and City Councilman Richard Showers versus Superintendent Casey Wardynski and the Huntsville school board.

Uh, FYI, Harrison and Showers are members of the local government, and it's not County Commissioner Bob Harrison and City Councilman Richard Showers versus Superintendent Casey Wardynski and the Huntsville school board, it's the constituents Harrison and Showers represent against the Superintendent and the School Board, which is also supposed to represent the people, but I digress.

It's not about Harrison and Showers, it's about the taxpayers.  This little war could have been avoided if Casey WARdynski hadn't been hell-bent on wiping out the legacy of J.O.Johnson student's and alumni.  Every school in this city was allowed to keep its name after moving into a new building except J.O.Johnson High School.  

 In one corner, Harrison has publicly accused Wardynski and the board of lying and deceit in their attempts to win favor for the rezoning plan that consolidates Butler High School, which will close, with what is now Johnson High and renames it for astronaut Mae Jemison.

This BOE has told so many lies I don't know where to start.  First, they said J.O.Johnson was being renovated, then they said it was closing, then they said someone from the community suggested a name change, then they said all new schools get a new name, then they said the community would have input, then they violated their own policies and renamed the school.

Now let's move on to the rezoning lies, first they said they were under a gag order, then they said they were confused.  They said the NAACP and Dr. Sonnie Wellington Hereford did not oppose the plan,  then they submitted a sign in sheet as proof Black elected officials and community leaders did not oppose the plan.  I'm pretty sure I haven't covered all the lies, but you get my drift.  Harrison's public accusations are not unfounded.

 Backing up Harrison is Showers, who has proposed pulling $20 million in city funding from the school system over the issue (though the threat has no support on the council).

Of course, Showers doesn't have support on the council.  It's north Huntsville, who cares?  Mind you this same council made it known to WARdynski he would be making a gargantuan mistake if he tried to change the name of Lee High School.  The President of the Huntsville City Council was a very vocal opponent of an active rock quarry operating within two miles of schools in nearby Gurley/New Hope, AL.

 In the other corner, school board president David Blair fired back at Harrison with a news release, and then at Showers with an op-ed piece on AL.com, calling Showers' threat "repugnant.

Way to go, David Blair, attack the messenger because you can't attack the facts.  David Blair has his nerve calling anyone repugnant,  and that's all I'm going to say about him.

Wardynski, until recently, had expressed no desire to meet further with the black elected officials that have been his chief critics.
Wardynski said his job is to report to the school board and that northwest Huntsville board member Laurie McCaulley (since ostracized from the black elected officials group for siding with Wardynski) was the person elected to represent north Huntsville on education issues.

Laurie McCaulley was ostracized from the black elected official's group for siding with WARdynski against her constituents, you know, the people she was elected to represent.

This has turned into a childish game, but the effect is far from child’s play. The city desperately wants to get out from under a 1970 desegregation court order that forces the school board to get federal approval before building a new school or shifting zone lines to balance student population.

If the city really wanted to get out from under a 1970 desegregation order they would desegregate the schools.  Out of 40 public schools, only three are considered desegregated. The reason the city has to get approval before building a new school or shifting zone lines is that HCS continues to ignore the Brown v. Board decision.

 That lack of local control -- and the stigma that comes with a 44-year desegregation order -- is a constant negative in the city’s quest to recruit new jobs and new people here.

What part of it's not the lack of local control, it's the sad, sorry state of public education in Huntsville City Schools that is a constant negative in the city's quest to recruit new jobs and people here don't you understand?  If the BOE spent as much time ensuring every child had equal access to quality public education as they do trying to scheme their way out from under the court order,  new jobs and new people would flock here.

The Justice Department, which has opposed Huntsville’s recent rezoning plan in federal court, has been watching these dueling protests/rallies I’m sure, and thinking, ‘This doesn’t look like a unified community.’ Let’s hope the federal judge hearing the rezoning motions hasn’t seen the clippings as well.

I hope I'm reading this wrong, but it sounds like Haskins is hoping the federal judge hearing the rezoning motions doesn't know what the heck is going on, and that he'll believe whatever the school district tells him.  Which would be a gargantuan miscarriage of justice IMHO.

 In an unscientific poll on AL.com this week, nearly 53 percent of more than 1,300 readers voting said they approved of the financial and academic/technological turnaround Wardynski orchestrated by taking charge like the retired Army colonel that he is.

An unscientific poll on AL.com this week is right, all you have to do is read the comment section to find out who the nearly 53% of more than 1300 represent.  Here are some samples:

 Casey you have to break the mold and prove you're not afraid of minorities, democrats, liberals, aclu types and the entire entitlement crowd! Do that, and you'll be doing the job you were hired to do! Oh yeah, not to mention striking down all racial transfers. And that includes allowing not allowing whites to racially transfer either. If you don't like where your child goes to school, move to where they can be zoned into a school of your preference, that's what I had to do!

 People like Harrison and Showers, need to take a good look at their districts and fix the problems that they control. Like roads, the boarded up buildings and shops. Fix your areas, then complain about something you have no control over. I can't believe these two elected officials so concern over a school name. They are more concern over that than the people that they are suppose to serve as an elected official. But then again, the same fools keep voting them in.

 Yeah they should be allow to destroy Huntsville like Birmingham's black leaders have destroyed Birmingham!

 "Who cares what the name of a schoolis. Sounds like someone throwing a tantrum. If you're cutting funding for something so asinine, do you really care about proper education?" - JA

 Bob Harrison is a big-lipped embarrassment to the people of Northwest Huntsville. He needs to be removed and a reasonable, clear-minded democrat needs to take his place.

 "Blacks misbehave on average more frequently than whites do," McInnish said. "(Brown) hasn't shown any evidence to the contrary."

McInnish went so far as to include in his letter a chart that purports to show the "black crime rate as (a) multiple of (the) white crime rate." The chart indicates that black people commit more than six times the violent crime of white people overall; it has them committing about eight times as many murders as white people and more than 14 times as many robberies.

All the AL.com unscientific poll proved is they have done a good job of misinforming the uninformed.

 Though it may be too late to mend fences, Wardynski did send a registered letter, received last week, to this debate's key players, offering to host a meeting with Harrison, Showers, Rep. Laura Hall, D-Huntsville, and McCaulley on Tuesday, April 1.

I agree, it's too late to mend fences, what good is a meeting after the fact?  What are they going to say, I'm sorry but we are still going to change the name and build the new school less than half a mile from an active rock quarry without adequate air quality level testing and an environmental health risk assessment?

I hope, for the community’s sake, these elected officials and Dr. Wardynski can set all pettiness aside and just sit down and talk and listen to each other respectfully.
AL.com has offered to be there to chronicle the meeting and make sure no one’s message is garbled by a one-sided retelling of it.

Thanks but no thanks!  You have already said you don't want the federal judge hearing the case to have all the facts, so forgive me when I say I can't trust you to make sure no ones' message is garbled by a one-sided (yours) telling of it.  Sorry.

It may be too late to find a consensus, but a meeting done in the right spirit by all could set the tone for future discussions, and set an example for the students they all claim to represent.

It's too late to find a consensus, and it's going to be hard to have a meeting with people who disrespect your constituents, unfortunately, the example for the students has already been set by the people who claim they represent them. 

City  school board members Topper Birney, Jennie Robinson and David Blair need a lecture on the state's open meetings law. Honesty and public trust should be part of that lesson.

You think?

On Friday the Department of Education’s Office for Civil Rights released the latest data on minority students in our nation’s public schools. More than a decade into the 21st century and six decades after Brown v. Board we find black students underrepresented in calculus and chemistry, and overrepresented in out-of-school suspensions and expulsions. They face harsher discipline, less access to college-prep courses, and are more often taught by lower-paid and less experienced teachers.

 It is stupefying to me that so many people who seem to genuinely care about children in public schools and work tirelessly to improve their educational outcomes manage to skirt responsibility for helping to eliminate racial disparities in education. When racial inequities are evident in all other areas of black life – housing, jobs, pay, health services, transportation, access to food, even life expectancy – you will need to explain to me like I’m five how you hold the belief that schools are an oasis of colorblindness.

RedEye tiptoeing away from the computer to go pray for the children who are the future of our republic.