| Update of the School Board 227 Candidates Forum Debate on Saturday, January 26, 2013 Unlike the 2009 school board election when we elected only one true representative of the children in the high school district 227 community, after we were still unclear on what was still happening with a corrupt and incompetent school board, we still elected only one progressive and true representative of the people in April 2011. However, between April 2011 and January 26, 2013 in preparation for the April 9, 2013 elections, as expected, our field of highly qualified candidates are today in the majority. Thanks due to our efforts at being transparent and informing our community for over three years now. An informed public is an empowered public. Nevertheless, like the 2009 and 2011 field of candidates, the disease of incompetence, EGO (Edging God Out), interposition, nullification and obstruction of academic and community progress against parents, community, and its representatives are also 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. 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 the school district and are closely familiar and 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, Mr. Michael Holmes, and Ms Janiece Whittaker. 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. Among the other candidates were those who are following in the footsteps of their nontransparent "leaders" who have failed miserably as board members. 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 memer, or what school effectiveness" means. In following in the footstep of their misinformed mentors, we observed their ideas for muting and controlling others voices, their confusion of the true role of school board members, their fears, limitations, excesses, excuses, 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. 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, he has been damaged and blocked by the same school board majority disease that has plagued our community for over twenty years with academic failure, bullying, 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 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. 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 opinions in the forum of public opinion. This view is closed, intolerant, fearful of new ideas, 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. 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. David E. Morgan, Ph.D., Educational Leadership School Board Member Rich Township High School District 227 Olympia Fields, Illinois 60461 |
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