| Update of the School Board 227 Candidates Forum Debate on Saturday, January 26, 2013 In the 2009 school board election we elected one true community representatives of the people and children in high school district 227. Sadly, we were still unclear on what was still happening behind board 227's closed doors by April 2011. Today, due to our efforts at keeping our community informed on how their tax dollars are spent, we are more clear headed than ever, and it shows in our higher calibre of school board 2013 candidates. Like in 2011 and over the past twenty years, we realize today that several of the school board candidates running are in the race for selfish reasons. Hopefully, to save our homes, our children, and our community's future, the truth will be exposed. Due to many years of neglect, suppression of free speech and right to full board and community participation in our affairs, and political buffoonery, today we need to elect those who care with wide experience and knowledge of the school district and with uncommon abilities. Considering the sad situation that our school district is in today riddled with corruption and incompetence, this is not a job for the novice , those who need much on-the-job-training, or those wishing only to further their political ambitions at the continuing expense of delaying our children's and community's future. On April 9, 2013, we need to hit the ground running. There is a difference between April 2009, April 2011, but the greatest difference we saw on January 26, 2013 in preparation for the April 9, 2013 elections were more qualified candidates with more clarity of focus. As expected, our field of highly qualified candidates are today in the majority. Thanks is due to all those citizens who are passionate about school improvement, saving our tax dollars, and saving our children, we have done a superb job in our efforts at being transparent and keeping our community informed over the past four years since I've come to the school board. An informed public is an empowered public. Thanks for all your love and support in creating equity and excellence in public education. Nevertheless, like the 2009 and 2011 field of candidates, the disease of incompetence, EGO (Edging God Out), interposition, nullification and obstruction of justice, of academic and community collaboration and progress against parents, community, and its representatives are also still in evidence. We also see those who are anti-children, anti-school progress, anti-community and anti-life clinging to a bygone era, who are also running for the school board. For the school board, it's hard to still look innocent and pious at election time given their history of abusing tax payers and wasting millions of our tax dollars fighting our community in court, but they're pulling it off. But today, we need honesty, integrity, and fair representation. Also, know too that when God is about to reposition our lives, the devil will begin to attack. When we want healing, to save our children, our community's future, we must know our power by tapping into the self help and healing that is within us. The one candidate who won the school board election debate on Saturday was Mr. Komaa Mnyofu. Those parents with over a decade of a history of working with and being involved in the school district and are closely familiar and highly knowledgeable about the district's background, culture, school climate, and academic history understand our district's past and present better. That is why the winner of our school board debates is our hope for a better tomorrow. Among others who also acquitted themselves well were Dr. Delores Woods, Mr. Antoine Bass, Dr. David Morgan, and Mr. Michael Holmes. In contrast, some candidates included those who had not given up on bragging on how well the school district is still doing under their so-called dictatorial with no-community or full board input "leadership" where the school district has not made Annual Yearly Progress in over a decade. Service is the rent we pay while we are on this earth. We must serve with integrity. This is a history-making election and we can make a historical difference in the lives of our children's future and community and stand as a tribute to everything Dr. King achieved in his life time. Among the other candidates were those who are following in the footsteps of their nontransparent "leaders" who have obstructed communication, full board and community collaboration, our school progress, common human decency, and have failed miserably as board members. But, for selfish reasons, they also wish to return to the wreckage that they have created on April 9, 2013. On Saturday, we also listened and observed their limited beliefs in their self-defeating self talk, their limited knowledge of what constitutes the role of a board member, or what school effectiveness" means. In following in the footstep of their misinformed mentors, we observed their ideas for muting and controlling others voices and violating their Freedom of Speech and right to public participation, their confusion of the true role of school board members, their fears, limitations, excesses, excuses, lies, lack of "integrity," their dishonesty and lack of knowledge, realism, intolerance, lying, living in the past, their attachment to failure, their twisted ideas of what "being united" means, their resistance to change, their non-transparency in not revealing or being sure of their true aims, their fear of giving up the past, being a rubber stamp with little originality or integrity, and to living up to other people's failed expectations. It is easier to continue to support and build strong people than to repair broken board members. In tough times, we need tough leaders who understand the struggles of our families. There is no surer path to success than a good education. In his efforts to do nothing more than voice his opinions at open board meetings, Mr. Mnyofu, like other progressives whom he will be joining when he sits on the school board, is also a district 227 board candidate and parent of three students. His oldest child, a graduate of Rich Central, has recently served in the Armed Forces in Iraq defending our liberties and freedoms abroad. Mr. Mnyofu has been a trailblazer in fighting for school district 227 school improvement efforts for over a decade in the hopes that the academic environment would be better served by the time that his last two children arrive in high school district 227. However, like the community, parents, and minority board members, he has been damaged and blocked by the same school board majority disease (Suppression of First Amendment Freedoms) that has plagued our community and has kept our schools failing for over twenty years leaving in its wake academic failure, bullying, lying, corruption, suppressing and muting the school improvement voices of our parents and community who want better for their children, and minority board members. As a result of this bullying and blocking parents and community efforts in school improvement, public participation, asking questions, dialoguing, and in finding solutions to our plight, by the 2010-11 school year, less than three out of every ten of our high school students were at grade level. This is our school district and history is calling on us to make a change and a difference. In tough times, we need tough leaders who understand the struggles of our schools and families. We need someone who can bridge the gap and put our children, grandchildren, and community on solid ground. We need a board who can eliminate corruption, incompetence, and blight, and educate our children to do the work of the modern world. Freedom of expression and parent and community input are the foundation stones for human rights and school success. As in the past, today the present board majority has not addressed student achievement levels, followed a regular process to review student achievement data to ensure continuous improvement, listened to its community or cooperated with us toward our goal of rebuilding the successful school district that they have destroyed. No American should be treated in this manner. Therefore, we must remove the rubbish and rebuild from the beginning with a new school board on April 9, 2013. At that time, through community participation support and encouragement, we must plant parents, students, true community participation, democracy, justice, and true parent involvement on the ruins of corruption, gag rules, community exclusion, a history of twenty years of school board cover ups, faking it, ongoing failure, and negligence. Our school board election of April 9, 2013 is a struggle based upon two conflicting ideologies. One view is ossified, undemocratic, unrepresentative of our community and of our nation, repressive, and reactionary that looks backward toward slavery. This view has frozen our community's First Amendment Freedoms, our right to know, and our citizens' civil rights as we were doing nothing more than trying to voice our school improvement opinions in the forum of public opinion. This view is closed, intolerant with lack of reason, fearful of new ideas, is non-collaborative and undemocratic, fears progress and change, and has failed our children and community for twenty years now. Today, we still have a school board majority that is disconnected from reality and from its community it has sworn to serve and represent. To save the school district 227 sinking ship, we must first plug the hole on election day. Retaining these same people on the school board will be like kicking these school district 227 problems down the road and they will only get worse. The other view is confident, fair, democratic, inclusive, looks forward to the future, progressive, faithful, effective, hopeful with a record of achievement, compassionate, competitive, innovative, knowledgeable, tolerant, open to new ideas, experienced and driven by success and the spirit of "Yes, we can and Yes we will." Finally, we have some highly competent, experienced, highly successful, and trained educators running for the school board on April 9, 2013. These highly experienced, successful, and trained citizens with a track record of school success will be our saviors and hope on April 9, 2013. Today, through school board listening, the community needs to know that their ideas and thoughts are being heard. Only then can there be a chance that community concerns will be acted upon. On April 9, 2013, we must not sleep on election day. Contrary to the popular opinions of the uninformed, School Board 227 is not above the laws of our land. To say that it is wrong for our citizens who have been wronged to defend their constitutional and God-given rights in our courts of justice against board 227 who has violated those rights is a libel upon the whole character of our law-abiding parents, community and its citizens. Today, our school district community hungers for change, school progress, and the restoration of a brighter future of unlimited possibilities for our children. In doing so, we can restore the declining values of our homes, and our community and save more of our tax dollars. On election day, the people of our community will speak. Their voices of restoration will be heard and their desire for voice, liberation, school district success, community participation, democracy, creativity, diversity of views, and talent which represents their hopes, and not their fears, will be recognized. Liberation is something in our souls that cries out for saving our children, school effectiveness, and freedom to be successful. This time around, to save our children, our schools, and community's future, we must not sleep on election. David E. Morgan, Ph.D., Educational Leadership School Board Member Rich Township High School District 227 Olympia Fields, Illinois 60461 |
