VALDOSTA — The personal and political of consolidation
School consolidation has been thoroughly debated by both sides via media and multiple forums. The vote no and school board web pages have a wealth of information and source references. Those of us who have been involved from the beginning of the hostile takeover attempt are maxed out with all the coverage, but amazingly there are those who still have no clue what is going on. While poll watching during early voting, I saw county voters come in expecting to vote on school consolidation. They got upset and demanded a reason why not. Where were they when many, including myself, wrote letters to the editor and talked on the radio about the fact CUEE ignored priority of law when they used the 1926 statute, never mentioning the 1983 law which required county resident voting? With that legal issue now on the back burner until after Nov. 8, I turn my attention to opinions of the heart.
I attended Valdosta City Schools 10 years then transferred to Lowndes High to be close to my boarding stable, so I have loyalties to both systems. My two children attended private school for two years, but returned to public school when we realized the private school was teaching them to feel superior to public school students. We desired them to relate to and evaluate others not by race, creed, IQ, income, or group affiliation, but by individual character.
We also felt responsible for all students, not just ours, and opted to support public schools which exist for the many instead of the few. They received an excellent education and graduated in the top 1 percent of their LHS classes and one was the 1989 valedictorian. Unhindered by any prejudices our home and vehicles were often filled with mixed ethnic voices and friendships that endure today. My heart continues to belong to all students, not just my children and grandchildren.
Both sides should repent any misuse of race to push personal agendas. I believe it is best to keep our children safe in their respective neighborhood schools. Honest research has shown school consolidation at this time will have more negatives than positives. We should never risk disrupting and moving our community’s children around to attain manipulated racial balance and certainly not to satisfy mythical businesses or individuals that can’t appreciate our successful dual-system heritage.
Racial and socio-economic prejudices and challenges are learned more in the home than school and school-system reorganization is not an expedient answer. Our children need us to be focused on positive community and parental participation without unnecessary crisis management stress from deceptively engineered consolidation. If we all come together as one community to encourage tolerance of diversity and equal respect for student potential our unified support of both quality systems will enable them to move forward and continue to improve public education for all.
Observing both school boards up close and personal throughout this ordeal, I am convinced we have done an excellent job of selecting them and confident of the future for both systems.
Barbara Stratton is a resident of Hahira.
Parent chooses VCS
I’m not an educator, former superintendent or president of anything. I am a parent of two very bright boys. When looking for a home here almost 10 years ago I made one request, I didn’t want to see yellow lines on the street we lived on. My husband found us a home not knowing what school they would be attending until the furniture was moved in.
My children spent six years in Lowndes County Schools bored out of their minds. We had a few great teachers along the way but it didn’t take long to realize LCS is primarily interested in meeting AYP. Bright children are of little concern as long as enough children fall into the middle.
Once my boys were old enough for middle school, we met with the principals from both Hahira Middle and Valdosta Middle then quickly knew VCS would be a better fit. Friends and neighbors thought we were nuts but I can honestly say it is one of the best decisions we have ever made.
VCS has a bad reputation based on many false perceptions perpetuated in the community. There is no denying race is a contributing factor. My boys stand out sometimes at VHS but never feel left out as they did in LCS. Does it matter that my children are white? I don’t know the answer. The question is are they getting the education they deserve? By all means it isn’t perfect, but without a doubt Valdosta City Schools are where my children need to be.
Jeanne-Hope Bradshaw
Valdosta
Vote no on Sunday alcohol
On Nov. 8, we are going to be asked to vote to increase the availability of the most dangerous drug in our society by allowing Sunday sales of alcohol.
Alcohol kills and maims more people than all the other illegal drugs combined. From March 2003 through December 2009, 4,282 American servicemen lost their lives in Iraq. During this same period of time, drunk drivers killed over 70,000 men, women and children here in the United States. There are other staggering statistics that could be quoted but space will not allow.
Weekends are the time most accidents occur from drinking and are also the time when most physical abuse of spouses and children occur by those under the influence of alcohol. If all drinkers were moderate drinkers (one drink for a woman and two drinks for a man in a 24-hour period) as Dr. Komaroff defined in his Times article last week, we would not have the problem we now have with alcohol. But sadly that’s not the way most drinkers drink.
I have spent the last 40 years working with individuals and families trying to help them put their lives back together after the devastation caused by alcohol abuse.
My question is, who will benefit from this amendment? Will Valdosta be a better and safer place to live if this amendment passes? Please vote “NO” on Nov. 8.
Sammy Long
Disability consultant
Listen to expert voices
As we approach a very important election on Tuesday, Nov. 8, 2011, I would ask that everyone please take the time and make the effort to go to the polls and vote. Over the past six months, we have heard two opposing views of the consolidation argument. The leadership of the group who promotes consolidation, CUEE, consists of business people, attorneys, CPAs, and economic developers. While this group consists of individuals who are successful in their own areas of expertise, none of these individuals are considered experts in the educational field.
The leadership of the group opposing consolidation consists of educational experts who have spent their entire careers working to improve the quality of education for all children. The decision regarding consolidation is an educational decision. Our educational experts have been entrusted with the responsibility of leading both school systems to significant improvement over the last few years.
CUEE leadership has publicly acknowledged the academic progress the Valdosta City School System has made over the last three or four years. The Lowndes County School System was named the Distinguished School System of the Year in 2007 by the Georgia Department of Education. Since that time we have received numerous school awards (School of Excellence, Lighthouse Schools to Watch, Title I Distinguished Schools) from the Georgia Department of Education and the U.S. Department of Education. The Lowndes County School System has also been recognized by the Southern Association of Colleges and Schools as being Accredited with Distinction.
Don’t let CUEE and the Chamber of Commerce mislead you by saying our community has two mediocre school systems. The recognition and awards both systems have received certainly do not justify the CUEE and Chamber label of mediocrity. When compared to school systems of similar demographics, both school systems rank near the top.
The group opposing consolidation has demonstrated through research and experience these facts about consolidation: Consolidation will have little or no increase on academic achievement. Research does indicate there is a likely decrease in academic achievement for consolidating systems with poverty. Consolidation of two school systems the size of Lowndes and Valdosta will certainly lead to an increase in operating costs with a subsequent increase in property taxes. Consolidation will lead to a loss of jobs. Consolidation will result in increased busing to achieve racial and economic diversity. Consolidation will lead to the loss of numerous successful programs in both school systems.
The group promoting consolidation says just the opposite of what has been stated above, while offering no evidence to support their claims.
When making your decision regarding consolidation, please take into consideration the voices of experience, integrity, and reason, as well as those charged with the responsibility of implementing the directive of the voters. We have earned a high level of trust and credibility within our community, state, and nation. I ask the question, “Which group is more qualified to recommend the right decision?”
Dr. E. Steve Smith is superintendent of Lowndes County Schools.
We must focus on students
The debate about school unification has, to a large extent, been very disappointing because it has become a discussion about everything except the welfare and well-being of children, especially low-income and disadvantaged students who are falling behind. Children’s issues and how to improve educational outcomes frequently take a back seat to the agendas of the adults.
Issues such as political power and control are made to be the primary objectives to be preserved at all costs. The fact is there is no direct correlation between having a political or racial majority on a board and the quality of education delivered by the school system it oversees. An African-American majority on the city school board is not going to ensure children will receive a high-quality education. Neither will better outcomes be ensured by having a white majority. One has nothing to do with the other. When the quest for political power becomes an end within itself instead of a means toward a more equitable end for all citizens, we are in serious peril as a community.
Facing declining revenue and increasing racial isolation within the city school system, the African-American majority Board of Education for the city of Memphis, Tenn., gave up its charter recently in spite of the fact that such a move could result in African-Americans losing much of their political power when the new countywide board was formed. They chose to put the interest of the kids ahead of politics.
In highly charged matters surrounding schools and educational reform, emotions run high and fear and anger tend to distort our perceptions. Some use verbal intimidation and vilification aimed at marginalizing and belittling those who take an opposing view. Such behavior is nonproductive and prevents our community from having an open, civil dialog about our schools.
When one takes the time to look at the testing data from the Department of Education, it’s obvious we need to change our approach to public education. For more than 10 years, the achievement results, graduation rates and dropout rates among African-American students in Valdosta have run behind not only African-American students in Lowndes County but African-American students in Muscogee, Chatham, Fulton and Gwinnett counties.
We believe all children benefit from having a school system that reflects the reality of our world, and there is a growing body of evidence that suggests a diverse student body leads to gains in reading and math as well as eroding long-held racial prejudices. Unless something changes, our community will continue to go down a path of racial and economic re-segregation where African-American students are moving further and further away from obtaining a quality education.
As you get ready to vote on this issue, I encourage you to ask yourself one question. Do we want to keep the status quo, or do we want to take this opportunity and create a new unified school system where all children — black and white — can flourish. If you agree, I hope you will vote YES on Nov. 8.
Leroy Butler Jr. is a resident of Valdosta.
Unification will battle poverty
Some ask why the Chamber supports school system unification, instead of focusing on poverty. The answer is very simple: The Chamber’s mission is to build a strong and healthy community, resulting in job opportunities for our citizens, which addresses poverty. Improving public education is the single most important thing we can do to build a strong community, grow jobs, and reduce poverty.
Valdosta’s business community consistently ranks “lack of an educated, qualified workforce” at or near the top of their biggest challenges in growing their businesses. Our community has a large high school drop-out rate, affecting the quality of our workforce. Residents without a high school diploma have limited job prospects and little disposable income to spend in our businesses. Lack of education leads to poverty. It is a vicious circle.
We have two separate school systems whose educational outcomes are merely average in one of the lowest ranked states in the country. The Chamber believes that “being average” hurts our community. We must combine our resources and our efforts and work together — as a community — to transform two average school systems into one great public school system.
Working separately — even with extraordinary effort by our educators — our school systems have experienced limited success. We believe that unification will provide the platform upon which our community can transform public education — and help us grow jobs, reduce poverty and increase our quality of life.
Tom Gooding
Chairman of the Board
Valdosta-Lowndes County Chamber of Commerce
