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.

Listen Up Huntsville City Schools

Read! "@twowisegals: 4 Arguments That Scream Save Public #Education http://t.co/z4k7VpwPGD” #equality #CharterSchools pic.twitter.com/j1qhKzol8P
— Jackie Craig (@JackieC1989) March 31, 2014

"The National School Boards Association reminds us that "The school board represents the public’s voice in public education, providing citizen governance for what the public schools need and what the community wants."

All spin all the time, unfair and unbalanced, distorting what we decide, this is the media we have, instead of the media we wish we had

I sure do miss the good old days when the mainstream media used the public airways to inform the public with just the facts so we could make informed decisions.  Of course that was back in the day when the media was a voice for the people and not a corporation answerable to shareholders. Now it's all about controlling the message and  the outcome.  It's also why so many people  vote against their economic self interest, but I digress.

Huntsville School Board President David Blair's   media  enabled attempt to discredit Commissioner Bob Harrison crashed and burned when it was revealed on WEUP Talk with David Person the 2006  letter to former Superintendent Ann Roy Moore wasn't about demanding to close J.O.Johnson High School in exchange for his vote,  but an attempt  to leverage his position  as the swing vote for a proposed sales tax increase.  

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. Blair is seeking the Republican nomination for the District 7 state senate seat held by Sen. Paul Sanford, R-Huntsville.
"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.

Next up this headline/post:   Huntsville City Councilman Vows to stop "calling out" Supertindent,School Board,  accompanied by an interview with Councilman Richard Showers by Venton Blandin.  You can read/ watch/listen to the interview for yourself,  but I didn't hear Showers vow to stop "calling out" the super and the school board. I heard a lot of carefully edited sound bites and I read a lot of  editorializing.

Huntsville City Councilman Richard Showers is ready to drop his public fight against the Huntsville City School Board and its Superintendent.
Whatever you call it, bickering, grandstanding or advocacy, started earlier this month. Most black elected officials in Madison County were upset Huntsville school leaders were leaving out their voice on big decisions. Councilman Showers is now taking a step back.
Commissioner Harrison came out swinging. Councilman Showers was his back up.

Ventin Blandin doesn't get it.  We the people aren't stupid. We know better than to believe something just because it's on TeeVee.  As they say on one my favorite TeeVee Shows, let's go inside the headlines.

Showers vowed not to call out the superintendent or any school board member going forward. He says he’s now happy to give the money to the schools
“I am not going to deal with that anymore,” added Councilman Shower. WHNT News 19 asked, “But why say it?” Councilman Showers replied, “I said it because I wanted to get the attention.”
What did those words do?
“Before then, the superintendent would not meet with us. After that, I got a call and email asking, will you meet,” added Councilman Showers.

Psst Ventin! I didn't hear Showers say any of that and the meeting with the elected officials isn't going to happen because Wardynski doesn't want the meeting to be a media event, and,  he wants to make BOE member Laurie McCaulley the token, I mean, centerpiece.  You might want to call Commissioner Bob Harrison or WEUP Talk's David Person and get the real dealio.  According to Harrison, it doesn't look like that meeting is going to happen.

Speaking of WEUP Talk be sure and tune in to 1190 AM and 1700 AM, Monday, March 31, 2014 at 5:00 PM to hear long time Alabama media group education reporter/ state enterprise reporter Challen Stephens weighs in on the state of the Huntsville City Schools.

You see the problem with Huntsville City Schools is they don't realize there is no right (pun intended) way to do the wrong thing. If they weren't hell bent on maintaining a separate and unequal school system they wouldn't be in this mess. It's expensive to operate a dual educational system.

It's the media. They think we are stupid.

 ". . . whenever the people are well-informed, they can be trusted with their own government; that, whenever things get so far wrong as to attract their notice, they may be relied on to set them right." (as cited in Padover, 1939, p. 88)

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?

Arthur Shores, Rufus Lewis, Dr. C.G. Gomillion, Q. D. Adams, Isom Clemon, and Beulah Johnson must be turning over in their graves

H/T Speaking Out News

  Dr. The Arthur D. Shore Superior Leadership Award was presented to Eddie Cedric Sherrod, Sr. on May 11, 2013 by Dr. Joe L. Reed, chairman, Alabama Democratic Conference (ADC). Eddie Sherrod, Madison Co. ADC chairman, received this award for his consistent record, community outreach, dedication, and overall effectiveness for more than a decade of service to the people of Alabama and ADC.

The History of the Alabama Democratic Caucus, also known as the ADC

"The Alabama Democratic Conference, formerly known as the Black Political Caucus of Alabama, was established in 1960. Its leaders were African Americans who wished to encourage all voters, but especially other African Americans, to vote for the democratic candidate, who at the time was John F. Kennedy with vice president Lyndon B. Johnson. The founders of this influential group include Arthur Shores, Rufus Lewis, Dr. C.G. Gomillion, Q. D. Adams, Isom Clemon, and Beulah Johnson. All of these individuals held respectable positions in their communities and were looked up to by the people, especially by other African Americans."

It has come to my attention the Chair(s) of the Madison County Chapter of the Alabama Democratic Conference  thought it was appropriate, for lack of a better word, to have District 1 School Board mis-representative Laurie McCaulley, who was ostracized from the black elected officials group for siding with WARdynski against her constituents,  serve as Mistress of Ceremonies for their annual membership breakfast, and, to add insult to injury, honor Huntsville City Schools Superintendent Casey WARdynski for doing the following:

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!

 Why? I mean, seriously, why would a group of democrats honor a card carrying, republican for proving he is not afraid of minorities, democrats, liberals, aclu tyes and the entire entitlement crowd?

Somebody talk me down, because EYE am going to start taking names and making a list of the Uncle Toms and Aunt Thomasina's around here.

a black who is overeager to win the approval of whites (as by obsequious behavior or uncritical acceptance of white values and goals)

With democrats like this, who needs republicans?   Psst Madison County Chapter of the Alabama Democratic Conference, you either need to lead, follow, or get the heck out of the way of those of us who are sick and tired of being sick and tired.

RedEye stomping away from the computer to go make a list and check it twice.

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.

"Huntsville City Schools need a lecture on the state's open meetings law. Honesty and public trust should be part of that lesson"

Schools Dealing in Darkness

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?
Blair's excuse that he had not been officially seated yet is lame. Under state law, public officials elected, but not yet seated, count toward a quorum that would constitute a private meeting. That starts the day the election results are certified, The Times reported Thursday. Blair ought to know. He served on the board from 2000 to 2004 and was part of the selection of now-outgoing Ann Roy Moore as superintendent.
Robinson also offered a weak defense, noting the three had occasionally met for lunch before the election and that the luncheon started as a post-election celebration. All three acknowledged, however, that school issues, including the superintendent search, were discussed and they soon began to feel uncomfortable. "It just didn't feel right. And that's something that's not going to happen again," Robinson said.
Birney said no decisions were made in the luncheon meeting.

Open meetings act

In Alabama, an open meeting of a governing body is defined as the gathering of a quorum, or a voting majority.  

 The Alabama Open Meetings Act holds that "the deliberative process of governmental bodies shall be open to the public during meetings."

Commissioner Bob Harrison and Councilman Richard Showers are right.  No pun intended.

It's not about a name, it's about the quality of the air students, administrators, teachers, and support personnel will inhale

Photo from Paul Proctor's Post in North Huntsville Environmental Concerns(NHECC)

Someone on the Huntsville City Schools Board of Education thought it would be a good idea to build a $65,000 million dollar, predominately African American Middle/High School,  less than half a mile from an active rock quarry.  There are grave concerns about the air quality levels in the area.  These are remarks addressed to BOE district 5 representative Mike Culbreath during citizens comments at the special call meeting on March 18, 2013.

The BOE cut the live camera feed after the Superintendent and BOE made their comments.  Links inserted for emphasis and clarity.

Good evening,
 I am going to address my remarks to my board member, Mike Culbreath with the hope he will listen to the valid concerns I have regarding the location of the new J.O.Johnson Highs School (I said J.O. Johnson High School because the BOE violated it's own naming policy when it illegally renamed the school), being located less than half a mile from an active rock quarry. 

 I am concerned the BOE has not performed adequate air quality level testing, and most importantly an environmental health risk assessment to ensure the safety of students, teachers, and support personnel.  Currently the BOE is basing their assurance the air quality levels are safe on one test, which was conducted during a period of inactivity, which is not an accurate assessment of air quality.

The  Superintendent and the BOE point to several  other schools that are located even closer to an active rock quarry as rationale for building another school in the area, possibly putting more human beings at risk for respiratory illnesses.  Two wrongs don't make a right, and we didn't know then whatwe know now.

 Mr. Culbreath I am begging you to perform the same due diligence you wold apply to developing a subdivision to the location of the new J.O. Johnson High School.  There is liability for the health, safety and well being of students, teachers, administrators and support personnel.  Lives are at stake.

School Board President David Blair was asked on February 28, 2014 how long was the BOE going to continue to ignore the valid concerns about the air quality at the new J.O. Johnson High School,  he said, "Get me a health risk analysis and I will listen to you."  Mr. Blair has it twisted,  it's his responsibility to provide the citizens with an environmental health risk analysis, not the other way around.  And for the record, elected officials can't decide who they are going to listen too.  They have a duty to listen to ALL taxpayers.

On February 28, 2014 District 5 City Councilman Will Culver said "I looked at all the reports and the air quality at the Pulaski Pike monitoring station (located half a mile from an active rock quarry) is better than the air quality at the Airport Road monitoring station (7.8 miles away).  How can the air quality 7.8 miles away from an active rock quarry be worse than the air quality less than half a mile from an active rock quarry?

At the BOE meeting on March 18, 2014 the Superintendent and the School Board made a point of emphasizing their concern for the students. As they say in my neighborhood, talk is cheap.  How about showing some concern and conduct adequate and aggressive air quality testing, and an environmental health risk analysis ,before you build a $65 million dollar school that may, or may not,  be safe for students to occupy.  It doesn't matter whose name is on the outside of the building, what does matter is the quality of the air the students, administrators, teachers, and support personnel will be inhaling 8 hours a day,  5 days a week.

How long is this issue going to be ignored by those who claim to care about the students, administrators, teachers, and support personnel?

Standing in the School House Door Huntsville, Alabama Style

The Huntsville/Madison County Chamber of Commerce, Huntsville City Schools personnel, the Mayor,  the Board of Education, and  the Huntsville Council of PTA's went on a full scale media enabled public relations offensive yesterday, or as I like to call it, Standing in the School House Door Huntsville City Schools style with a few Negro's thrown in for....... color.  Nod, nod, wink, wink, we see you.

al.com's version:

The event comes after the district's formal response to the U.S. Department of Justice concerning the school rezoning plan and public criticisms from Madison County Commissioner Bob Harrison, Councilman Richard Showers and a group of northwest Huntsville residents.

My translation:  How dare those Negro's think they have rights!

The event comes after the U.S. Department of Justice told the district don't  even think about being granted Unitary Status and Council Richard Showers and Commissioner Bob Harrison called them out for as the young people say "dissing their constituents".

 The "rally" moved inside the building for part 2 of the PR offensive as the Superintendent posed with African American students, and the BOE was allowed to bash, bully, and browbeat citizens, and accuse them of threatening their lives on camera, but turning the camera's off when it was time for the citizens to speak.  Can't have the public hearing both sides of the story, that would be too much like right, pun intended. He/she who controls the message controls the outcome.

The Chamber’s Board of Directors also approved a position statement saying it supports the Huntsville City School system’s endeavors to seek unitary status.
Part of the statement reads:
“By attaining unitary status, the (school) System seeks to demonstrate to the local community, businesses, potential residents and the military services that it no longer operates two separate systems – one for African-American students and one for White students – and that it does not discriminate against any students based on their race.
“Unitary status will give the system the autonomy and agility to make education decisions locally in this age of accelerating change. This ensures that our school board is accountable to the citizens of Huntsville. Operating Huntsville as a unitary system will ensure our city is globally competitive and our economy will provide high wage jobs for our graduates and a strong tax base to support quality education for all students.”

So here's the deal, The Chamber's Board of Directors, Warynski, and the BOE wants Unitary Status in theory but not in practice.  They want to be able to say they don't have a dual school system while they maintain and operate a dual school system.  I wonder what part of Unitary don't they understand?

The U.S. Department of Justice fired back in federal court late last night, asserting that the Huntsville school board's plan for redrawing zone lines "would leave most students in segregated schools and, in some cases, assign them to even more segregated educational environments."

While the Chamber and others are supporting the superintendent and the BOE, who is supporting parents and students?  Not the people who were elected and are being paid that's for sure.  They care more about pretending to be a Unitary school district than they do the fact they are planning to build a $65 million dollar school less than half a mile from an active rock quarry.  A school the community did not ask for, or need.  A school that was illegally renamed against the wishes of the community. 
 
While the Chamber, the Mayor, and four members of the NW Cluster of PTA's support Wardynski and the BOE,  as for me and mine, we will continue to support the parents and children.  Lord knows nobody else is.

From: Bill Denney
Sent: Saturday, March 15, 2014 12:51 PM
To: Bob Harrison
Subject: Your Rant

Commissioner,
Your rant and accusations are TOTALLY unfounded. You had and vehemently supported a Negro female Superintendent who ran the school system, both physically and economically, into the ground.
It is time Negroes, you included, grew up and acted like adult AMERICANS instead of whinnying Negroes with an "America owes me" mentality.
You personify ALL that is wrong with Negroes in America.
Grow up and act like an ADULT AMERICAN instead of a Negro who always uses the race card as an excuse to whine because you don't get what you want.

 
FIRE ALL CAREER POLITICIANS
THEY ARE DESTROYING AMERICA
WHILE MAKING
MILLIONAIRE$ OF THEMSELVES

It's 1960 all over again, but Shhhh, don't tell anyone and maybe it will go away.    Sigh 

"An open letter to the people who hate Obama more than they love America"

 

Fist Dap Ministry of Truth via Daily Kos

I meet you all the time. You hate Obama. You hate gay people. You hate black people, immigrants, Muslims, labor unions, women who want the right to make choices concerning their bodies, you hate em all. You hate being called racist. You hate being called a bigot. Maybe if you talked about creating jobs more than you talk about why you hate gay people we wouldn't call you bigots. Maybe if you talked about black people without automatically assuming they are on food stamps while demanding their birth certificates we wouldn't call you racist. You hate socialism and social justice. You hate regulations and taxes and spending and the Government. You hate.

Read on.  Read often.

Jailed Journalist Sends Shocking Letter from the Birmingham, Alabama Jail.  

Alabama commentator Roger Shuler's condition has sharply worsened during his nearly five months of jailing, as I learned by visiting him in Birmingham March 10.
"It's a horrible trauma to be away from your wife, your home -- and have no idea when you can get out or how," Shuler told me in a rare interview. It was just his second jailhouse interview overall and his only one this year.
Shuler, 57, nearly choked up at the end when he said that he missed his wife -- who is afraid to leave their home (except on secret, emergency food runs) because of the threat she will be arrested for her husband's reporting.

Dr. Wilmer Leon:  Armed Angry White Males: The New Domestic Terrorist

“You go into these small towns in Pennsylvania and, like a lot of small towns in the Midwest, the jobs have been gone now for 25 years and nothing’s replaced them….And it’s not surprising then they get bitter, they cling to guns or religion or antipathy toward people who aren’t like them or anti-immigrant sentiment or anti-trade sentiment as a way to explain their frustrations.” Senator Barack Obama April 6, 2008

The 7 kinds of American racism in the 2010's 

According to the Oxford dictionary, the official dictionary for this blog, racism is:
The belief that all members of each race possess characteristics, abilities, or qualities specific to that race, especially so as to distinguish it as inferior or superior to another race or races: ‘theories of racism’

Arizona GOP Congressional Candidate Slavery Wasn't So Bad, "Kept Business Rolling"

“Basically slave owners took pretty good care of their slaves and livestock and this kept business rolling along,” he said.

8 Shocking Instances of Moronic Right-Wing Malevolence This Week

"We have got this tailspin of culture, in our inner cities in particular, of men not working and just generations of men not even thinking about working or learning the value and the culture of work, and so there is a real culture problem here that has to be dealt with."
You don’t have to be a genius at cracking codes to understand that he’s simply saying: Blacks are lazy. They prefer being poor to working. (As if working was a surefire way not to be poor.)

White Torture of Black Bodies:  6 Medical Experiments on African Americans You Never Knew About

By now most people know about the Tuskegee syphilis experiments, but what many don’t know is that this was just one in a long line of experiments conducted on African-Americans. The experiments actually began during slavery, when African-Americans were treated no better than field animals, and continued from there.

 "And for the record, I do not hate you. I am embarrassed by you and nauseated by your cruel and thoughtless behavior and your all consuming greed, but I do not hate you. I forgive you and I hope you can change someday, but I don't hate you. You have enough hate in you for the rest of us as it is."

God, help America.  Please.

A woman voting republican is like a Turkey voting for Thanksgiving

There’s one thing women’s bodies can shut down…and it’s called The Republican Party (poster) pic.twitter.com/auS9CMcDxz #StandWithWomen
— TQJ (@tqjones44) March 11, 2014

Alabama Offering "Free" Voter ID cards? Well, Sorta, Kinda..

Nothing is free, taxpayers are funding this little folly.  Although voter fraud is rarer than a shark attack, in an attempt to make sure democrats don't get to exercise their right to vote, Alabama republicans changed the rules in the middle of game.  All of a sudden the state issued voter registration card voters have been using for years is required to include your photo.

Oh wait... the state issued voter registration card doesn't have your photo on it.  Here's an idea, why not re-issue those cards with photo's from the DMV,  those voters who don't have a drivers license can go have their picture made at the DMV, or better yet, by the the mobile vans they've promised to provide for people who can't get to the DMV?  Instead of making the voters come to them, the state of Alabama should go to voters.  After all, the Secretary of State should know who they are, and where they are.

I'm just saying..