You Do Not Speak For Me

I sat here at home last night watching the disgrace that happened in the administration board room at BISD.  I clapped sometimes at comments made by the public...and then I wanted to vomit when the vote was taken to fire over 200 teachers. 

I sat here yelling at my screen when Zenobia Bush, in all her ignorance, made the following statement:

"I try to be respectful and listen to what you have to say, but the reason I asked how many of my constituents are here is because there are some of you who are under the false assumption that you represent all of Beaumont, Texas, and I'm sick of hearing it," she said. "There is more than just one side to a story.

"You cannot make me go home," she replied to vociferous booing, "and until a board of managers comes here, I am going to be sitting right here. I'm going to make the decisions that I make, and I'm going to go home and sleep well."

This woman is so ignorant of what is going on around her it blows my mind.  This is what I have to say to her:

Ms. Bush,

Respectfully, you don't speak for me.  You speak for the people of your district who elected you to that seat.  Those people are going to be the most affected by the decisions that you and the board made last night.  Your agreement that over 200 teachers be fired and that students be bused across town to a school was a blow to your constituents. 

You stated in one meeting something about "people who look like you" being disenfranchised by the 5-2 plan. Ma'am, with all due respect, the "people who look like you" disenfranchise themselves every time they do not go to the polls to cast a vote.  I have a friend who is a black man who told me once that black people do not go out to vote because they feel they are not being afforded the equal rights when they try to vote as white people.  Whose fault is that?  If a person over the age of 18 is registered to vote and that person decides not to go because they feel they will be turned away or their vote won't be counted, that is not the problem of the people who do vote.  Just because a plan was passed that you disagree with, you cannot blame it on us.  Why not go out and talk to the "people who look like you" and encourage them to go out and vote if you want a different result?  Why not get in your car and take the elderly in your district to the DPS office if they need an ID so they can vote?  Why not be proactive instead of being reactive when things do not turn out the way you want them to?  I get so tired of this argument from the black community.  The only people holding the black community back are the black community.  Fight for it if you think you are being disenfranchised.  Fight for it at the polls, not with money that doesn't belong to you but instead belongs to the students of BISD. 

I have been as respectful as I can be on this issue.  I have not attacked individuals, but the entire system that has gotten completely out of control.  It it time that the "people who look like you" start taking responsibility for what happens to them.  Were they at the meeting last night, maybe...maybe not.  If they truly supported you, why weren't they there to speak up for you?  They had the same opportunity to speak that others had and the same means of asking to speak.  No need to go to the admin building, applications were online; and, if they really wanted to speak and had no way to get there, I'm sure you would have helped them out....right? 

Your asking during the public comment portion of the meeting was not only an ignorant thing to do, it was inappropriate.  It doesn't matter in which district those in attendance live.  What matters is that those are the people who truly care about every student in BISD.  Not one of those people can say they are only fighting for the children of the district in which they live.  They will tell you that they are fighting for every child, every teacher who will be unemployed, and even for you...for your vote last night hurt all of Beaumont.  Those are the ones who have been out at admin every meeting making their voices heard...the problem is that you and the other four board members were not listening.  You have not been listening for the last three years.  You didn't listen last night.  You will, however, be listening soon when the commissioner asks you to vacate that seat that you cherish so much. 

What you do not seem to understand is that nothing matters in all of this except the students.  You also do not understand that at some point, you need to do what is right, not what you believe the people in your district want.  Have you asked them?  Have you gone out to see how they are being affected by your decisions?  If you haven't, you have failed them. You have failed the voters and you have failed their children.  Your inability to see that is what truly disturbs me.     

Fine Arts Matter

I have talked before about the problems in the Beaumont Independent School District (BISD).  Recently, the school board voted to declare a financial exigency that will allow them to put forth a reduction in force (RIF) that is going to negatively impact not only the lives of the teachers and their families, but also the lives of the students in BISD.

In Beaumont, we have three high schools - Central, Ozen, and West Brook.  During the school year, these three schools compete on the football field, the basketball court, and in numerous other athletic/academic areas.  West Brook is a 6A school; Central and Ozen are 5A.  The schools only compete to get bragging rights for the year.  The competition is fierce and you know for an entire year who won the Beaumont Bowl trophy most recently.  The students are separated by neighborhoods, but they share the same churches and out of school activities.  They may be rivals, but they are also neighbors and friends.

Those students came together this week to make their voices heard by the school board.  Students from all over the city came together as one to support their teachers and to let the school board know that what they are proposing is too drastic.  Most drastic among those cuts is the proposal of cutting so many fine arts positions that in some cases entire programs at schools will be gutted.  Fine arts consists of band, choir, orchestra, art, theater,dance.  These programs enrich the lives of the students in ways academic classes can't.  They allow the students to show their individual personalities and to use their talents to express themselves through music or art.

According to the MENC (Music Educators National Conference) in their Journal Of Music Education, "Students in high-quality school music programs score higher on standardized tests compared to students in schools with deficient music education programs, regardless of the socioeconomic level of the school or school district." Additionally, the College Board Profile of College Bound Seniors says that students enrolled in fine arts classes score between 11 to 13% higher on the SAT than students not enrolled in any Fine Arts classes.  These aren't statistics that need to be ignored.

I was proud as I stood on the grounds of the BISD administration building as I watched the students come together for a common goal.  The protest of the proposed RIF transcended the boundaries of race, religion, neighborhood, school, age.....it was a true representation of our city and one that showed the board that the city has not divided as they had hoped it would.  Instead, their continued malfeasance brought the city together and their voices were loud and clear.  FINE ARTS MATTER!

Is the fight over after yesterday?  No.  The fight continues as long as there are teachers whose jobs are on the line...as long as fine arts programs are in peril...as long as those who should be working for the best interest of the students continue to work for themselves instead.