Not For The People, Not By The People

Malcolm X once said that if you are sitting at a dinner table, and you do not have a plate in front of you, then you are not dining. Clearly this is the case with the citizens in Baltimore, who do not have a plate at the table of public school education. Friday in Annapolis, the Maryland House Ways and Means Committee struck down HB 374 entitled Baltimore City - Board of School Commissioners - Selection of Members - Local Referendum. The bill – sponsored by Delegates Cheryl D. Glenn, Curt Anderson, Jill P. Carter, Frank M. Conaway Jr., Barbara Robinson, and Melvin L. Stukes – would have mandated a partially elected school board. The reading came down like a sonic boom – nine against, five for, with four abstentions. It was a devastating blow to all citizens in “The City That Reads,” particularly those on the front lines who vociferously advocate for the youth so they may have not just a voice, but have a seat at the decision making table. What is abundantly clear by now, if not before made clear to all those who practice incoherence, is that the elected officials and all of their supporters who voted against the bill, are against the people. One delegate was quoted saying that they were lobbied on this issue by Mayor Stephanie Rawlings-Blake, business leaders and other folks to leave things as they are, in other words, the status quo. There is no way in creation that those persons who claim to have a vested interest in serving the people would not allow for the people to share in the decision making so that our most precious resources – our children – can have a safe, nurturing environment in which to learn and grow. This also includes the ability to ensure that the citizens can keep the School Board in check so that the entire city is on the same page – not just a body of few. The decision draws a clear line of demarcation between those who wish to hoard power, and those who wish to share power. How could this have happened? We gave this power away. We elected those officials who obviously do not represent us. Over and over again, we elect personalities, not our politics. Lesson number one: we should never have permanent friends, only permanent interests. Beware of the wolves in sheep’s’ clothing, especially those during their campaigns who touted their background as teachers, played the empathetic violins to our struggles, while grabbing the political brass rings and effectively leaving us out to dry as they ascended to their positions. Then we allowed our City Schools to fall under a city-state agreement that wrested half of our oversight away from us and into the hands of the state. So what has happened as a result? Criminal malfeasance unchecked – remember the $57 million that mysteriously disappeared and no one was prosecuted? Schools remain persistently underfunded, with the 2004 Thornton ruling not being enforced. We are owed millions of dollars in back payments, but the State simply will not pay. The School Board is closing schools and implementing programs without the consent of the citizens. Community engagement is not the same as decision making. Communities should decide whether their school should be closed, not a Board. Very direct questions must be raised, including, how many closed door sessions have there been regarding the future of our schools? Who are these “stakeholders” – that term does not refer to the parents of city students – and why are they not transparent to the public? It is clear, that the priority of the State is toward building new youth facilities to the tune of almost $300 million. Youth leaders and advocates have been demanding that Gov. Martin O’Malley revert over at least $100 million back to education, effectively curtailing the school to prison pipeline that has been destroying our youth and our communities. And now with this regressively landmark decision, the so-called public servants do not even give us the respect we deserve, to give us half the decision making power over our schools that is our right as citizens and human beings. But many of us are too frightened at the prospect of losing the politicians’ handshake or the invitation to the formal reception to speak up to these injustices. Unbelievably, the same delegate surmised that the fear of losing Baltimore City Schools CEO Dr. Andrés Alonso prompted such a groundswell of opposition. Is this the kind of leadership for which the citizens have voted, elected officials who do not possess the intestinal fortitude to stand up for the needs of their constituents, out of fear of regime change? It is insulting to the people of Baltimore that our fearless leaders do not believe in the talent in their own backyard, that there could not be persons ready to take over the helm should Dr. Alonso leave his post. So here we are again, sitting at the table of education without any plates. But ultimately it is not we who are starving – it is our children.