By Patricia Morris
At last night's school board meeting, the board went into executive session to discuss the hiring of the Transportation Director's position, and to see whether or not they would accept Kolwe's recommendation.
Upon returning from executive session, the board voted six to two to accept the recommendation of the superintendent to hire his recommendation of Levar James as the new Director of Transportation. One board member was absent. While it is being said Mr. James was the most qualified, we know differerently, and would not want to think this school system, being under the court order they are under would hire a black simply because they are black, and not give full credence to the fact that the order says the most qualified person is to be hired. Order number 866 is clear on this. Our children are far too important to do this, should this be the case.
While I did speak to Mr. James last night, and expressed this very same thing to him, and further stated we want the most qualified person in place, asking that he not be a pawn for Mark Kolwe, we will closely monitor the situation to see that this does not happen. Reapportionment will happen next year, and we want things to be fixed, and fixed correctly in a manner that all can live with. I can almost say, James has been given the proverbial lecture to avoid Pat Morris and the NAACP, but I remind him as others did last night. You are where you are because someone, a Pat Morris and the NAACP fought to see the decline in black administrators in this school system stopped, and black administrators rehired through court order, and the constant complaining about what was happening in this school system to Nelson Taylor, who filed motion after motion alerting Judge Lemelle as to what was happening. Do not forget that, nor take it for granted, because regardless of who is in place now to see that compliance is done, we are finding it is not done voluntarily by the school system's upper administration based on the recommendations of those persons who are there to see to it that compliance is done. Kolwe signs their paychecks too. It takes the presence of a force like the NAACP and a Pat Morris being in place to show the upper administration we are serious, and is out here monitoring what is being done from both sides.
Upon returning from executive session on the transportation director's matter, Al Link made his feelings very clear, and said, "I am just angry. If people would ask to sit down and talk about why we do what we do, as opposed to saying things that is not true..." Mr. Link, you have a court order to comply with, and as President of the Greater Tangipahoa Parish Branch NAACP I remind you that for nearly three years I came before the school board almost begging you, the former superintendent and the other school board members, as well as the current superintendent through letters and emails I personally sent to Kolwe to do just that. I went as far as to tell Nelson Taylor I was tired of being rejected by you and others, but his proverbial statement was always, "do not stop asking them, nor going to the board meetings." What happened? You were one of six board members who saw to it that this meeting would not happen, as well as Kolwe recently meeting with Pastor Samuel Brown and Pastor Andrew Jackson lying to them stating I had never asked to sit down and talk to settle this before and after going to court. That is a blatant lie, and you and I know it to be true. You are correct, you did underestimate my abilities, and took for granted it would go away, and by the way, Brown and Jackson got copies of the emails and letters sent to Kolwe asking to sit down to talk long before his meeting with them, as well as pastors throughout Tangipahoa Parish and all of the school board members.
If the records and videos and Daily Star newspaper articles are researched, you will find a plethora of interviews done by you, and several others on the school board stating that "this is just a lot of political rhetoric that will go away after the election." Well as Gomer Pyle would say, "surprise, surprise," it did not go away and will not go away until every iota of the court order is fully complied with, and I guarantee you it will be complied with. While this is in no way to be considered a complaint, it is merely a statement being made on how ridiculous it looks to see an act such as was displayed last night by you, an elected official, when you are fully aware of what needs to be done. This transportation director's job was promised early on to someone else, we know this to be true, and in an attempt to give it to the individual, you most probably found out from Compliance Officer Arlene Guerin what the court order said, a qualified black person was to be hired. However, when blacks we knew were fully qualified, and in one case more than qualified for it applied, and was eliminated by your process in hiring of writing qualifications for the positions of those whom you want to get the position is done, you cried foul play in the community in saying "you could not hire who you wanted because of the NAACP and Pat Morris" in an effort to distract from the real issue of what you knew you must do.
Again, there is no need to thwart the efforts of the NAACP and me in seeing to it that you comply with court orders. If you would voluntarily do so, this school system would save hundreds of thousands of dollars in legal fees, but as long as you do what you do behind the scenes, thinking the NAACP or myself will not be made aware of what you do, think again. There are more and more avenues open now to assist us in seeing to it that you comply with court orders, and in seeing to it that you do what you are to do.
At this point, let me make one thing abundantly clear, settling for second best is not an option.
While we know there are some people who want the proverbial "credit" now for a fight won in 1979, and again in 2007, while many of these same people sat on the sidelines watching to see the outcome, we say to them that this fight is far from over. You have no idea of what is involved now. We do, and will continue in our effort to correct years of wrongdoing to fix this problem - a failing school system. While we congratulate those who genuinely care about the welfare of all students in this school system, we realize there are so many others who do not, and therein lies the problem(s). This broken school system needs to be fixed, and fixed it will be. New leadership is needed.
Link made reference to sitting down to talk. The response is this. Get permission from your deseg attorney, and name a day, time, and place, but whatever you do, stop complaining about problems you created for yourself in attempting to keep something in place that will keep things as they have been for years. It is no longer working for you, and will not ever work for you again without a fight. You can count on this being the new perspective in the new way of how things will be done in this school system. The numbers on the Department of Education's Website do not lie, nor does those numbers you send to Washington. They both say the school system is failing. Change MUST happen, and happen now.
Our school system is failing. Fix it, or get out of the way and let those who know what they are to do, do it. The futures of our most precious assets, our children is far too important not to do so.
Finally, I ask you Al Link, how is it you can vote to hire from the superintendent's recommendation, when you did not see, or maybe you were one of the privileged board members who did see, but others on the board did not see the resumes' of all who applied for this position before a vote was done? The next time you rant and rave, ask your superintendent why this is the case, and why is a school board member who must vote on the superintendent's recommendations, having to ask to see an individual's resume, as opposed to the administration stating these are our choices of individuals who have applied. You are supposed to be the lawmakers in this school system and Kolwe and the administration work for the taxpayers and you as school board members. We now DEMAND change.