2023-07-24 | Email to Decision Making Council, AROS Representatives, Grassroots Allies

FYI — Just keeping you all in the loop since this involves some of the work we’ve done as a Coalition. I’m hoping to clear up some of the misunderstandings that I feel have contributed to critical mission failures, this one going back to 2020. 

Why would he send an email like that in the first place? Didn’t anyone else find this offensive or problematic? Why do we allow powerful white JCTA execs to take up so many seats at so many tables and hold final veto power over marginalized voices in the only spaces we have access to, which we have to share with them? 

What is the status of the motion I made for the KY Alliance to end our membership? 

Difficult, but necessary, conversations ahead.  Please join us. 

Gay

Begin forwarded message:

From: Save Our Schools KY <moderator@saveourschoolsky.org>
Date: July 23, 2023 at 3:48:06 PM EDT
To: Chris Harmer <colonel221@yahoo.com>, Pat Geier <pgeier@fastmail.fm>, Ivonne Rovira <missivonne2010@gmail.com>, Emilie Blanton <emilie.blanton@gmail.com>, Maddie Shepard <maddieshep1689@gmail.com>, brent.mckim@jcta.org, Tyra Walker <tyra.walker71@gmail.com>, Tia Edison <edison.tia10@gmail.com>, Shameka Parrish-Wright <shamekapw@gmail.com>, Dawson Dre <Dredawsonceo@gmail.com>, Kirk Owens <firstwave9@juno.com>, Cordia Pickerill <cordiapickerill@gmail.com>, Corey & Chandra <coreydutton@kftc.org>, LESLIE MARCELLINO <bldg@aol.com>, Rebecca Harmon <rlharm@aol.com>, Margie Charasika <mcharasika@win.net>, Greg Tichenor <gregtich@hotmail.com>, Sonja de Vries <sonjadevries2017@outlook.com>, Carla Wallace <cfwallace33@gmail.com>, kenyatadeanbacon@gmail.com, “K.A. Owens” <firstwave9@juno.com>, dananicole@ymail.com, missivonne2010@gmail.com, lagente@bellsouth.net, iragrupper@gmail.com, ike.thacker@gmail.com, Latasha Harrison <nvymedia@gmail.com>, LouisvilleSURJ@gmail.com, kimberlymuckerjohnson@gmail.com, adrianlayne1@gmail.com, vjgonz01@gmail.com, cavalclan@msn.com, Jeffrey Compton <jcompton07@gmail.com>, moderator@dearjcps.com
Subject: Re: Please DO NOT JOIN “Stand with JCPS” .  It can’t guarantee accountability, risks tax ballot  failure

Apologies if this is a duplicate message. I received a number of undeliverable messages the first time, so I’m sending from a different address. 

Thanks,

Gay

Sent from my iPhone

On Jul 23, 2023, at 3:37 PM, moderator@dearjcps.com wrote:

Greetings AROS representatives and public education grassroots group leaders/organizers,

Is AROS having their monthly meeting tomorrow night? If so, I would like to encourage the member organizations to discuss a few things:

Was a 24% raise to the superintendent an item you anticipated and supported when the coalition provided “unconditional support” of the tax increase?

Do you intend to have speakers at Tuesday night’s board meeting to speak about this or any other concerns?

Did the district ever create the dashboard that was promised by Dr. Pollio to demonstrate how every new tax dollar was being spent?

Previous requests by other members for Dear JCPS to have an authentic restorative meeting with AROS has never been honored. Not to mention, allowing admission of other minority-led parent and teacher groups, such as Louisville PTO and GLABSE (although they have since withdrawn their interest)? What is the status of these requests?

Answers to previous questions asked of the chair still have not been provided, to me, at least.

  • How/When did Chris Harmer become chair of AROS?
  • Was there an election or was he appointed?
  • If appointed, by whom?
  • When are the next elections?
  • What is the nomination and selection process?
  • Lastly, can you please provide a copy of the minutes where AROS members voted to support the tax increase “unconditionally” as stated below?

As the current leader of several non-profits and ad hoc committees dedicated to educational justice in JCPS and across Kentucky, I look forward to constructive dialogue on these topics and other urgent matters facing our public schools.

In solidarity,

Gay

From: Chris Harmer <colonel221@yahoo.com>
Sent: Sunday, July 12, 2020 12:08 AM
To: Pat Geier <pgeier@fastmail.fm>; Dear JCPS <moderator@dearjcps.com>; Ivonne Rovira <missivonne2010@gmail.com>; Emilie Blanton <emilie.blanton@gmail.com>; Maddie Shepard <maddieshep1689@gmail.com>; brent.mckim@jcta.org; Tyra Walker <tyra.walker71@gmail.com>; Tia Edison <edison.tia10@gmail.com>; Shameka Parrish-Wright <shamekapw@gmail.com>; Dawson Dre <dredawsonceo@gmail.com>; Kirk Owens <firstwave9@juno.com>; Cordia Pickerill <cordiapickerill@gmail.com>; Corey & Chandra <coreydutton@kftc.org>; LESLIE MARCELLINO <bldg@aol.com>; Rebecca Harmon <rlharm@aol.com>; Margie Charasika <mcharasika@win.net>; Greg Tichenor <gregtich@hotmail.com>; Sonja de Vries <sonjadevries2017@outlook.com>; Carla Wallace <cfwallace33@gmail.com>
Subject: Please DO NOT JOIN “Stand with JCPS” . It can’t guarantee accountability, risks tax ballot failure

Dear AROS member groups’ representatives and leaders.

I am writing to all of the seven Alliance to Reclaim Our Schools (AROS) member organizations to ask you to carefully consider, or reconsider, the serious negative impacts and consequences of this new DearJCPS-designed coalition, petition and pledge ( Stand with JCPS–see below and  https://istandwithjcps.org/ ) before signing on. Three AROS member organization logos already appear on “Stand with JCPS” page

I am particularly concerned about its block voting pledge. If the threat of block voting against the ballot is not real, you have no leverage to win more detailed commitments now.  You can’t have it both ways–leverage and it being a foregone conclusion  the block will end up supporting the tax measure . It risks potentially withholding the critical votes necessary to win the tax increase at the November ballot. And who would make the “For/Against” voting decision?

As an alternative, a 501c4 is being developed as a broader umbrella organization for supportive community groups,  businesses, faith leaders, educators,JCTA and other unions, and donors to coordinate, message, and fund a major campaign leading up to the November vote. With the well-funded, conservative Americans for Prosperity providing funding for the opposition, we need this umbrella organization to get our message out at least as widely and deeply.  JCPS apparently by law cannot directly inject advertising money for this, but management and the board members can and will speak out. They and JCTA are key to delivering the better education we all want for students of color and they, like AROS, are in it to win it.

As a start in our part, AROS is already developing its own FAQ sheets and other materials for advertising and appropriate “community conversations” in the pandemic times.  The facts and numbers are aligned with and in many cases drawn from what the JCPS superintendent, board members and the  broad-based, multi-racial JCPS community Revenue Task Force learned after studying JCPS needs all winter.

More than a month ago, your AROS representatives voted by a majority vote (which included DearJCPS and LSURJ) to unconditionally support the school property tax rate increase (7 cents/$100 property value) passed by the JCPS board. We had heard from people of color in AROS about reservations to the tax increase before we voted.  We know that additional taxes hit these communities hard,  especially in the pandemic, and agree JCPS has not always delivered against promises–issues called out below by DearJCPS. A voting block that would potentially vote against the increase absent further as yet unspecified commitments and accountabilities is  simply contrary to/inconsistent with participating in  AROS’ own strategy.

A consistent part of AROS’ platform has been for investment into public schools and educational opportunities and supports, particularly for communities of color.  That is what has been promised by the superintendent and board in this historic, first-of-its-kind board vote. That vote is the risk five board members, including three people of color, took.  They have talked with their constituents already. The board members’ only hard accountability is solely at the polls and there is only one board member facing a contested election this fall.  Neither the superintendent nor board members can deliver on specific future budget commitments to specific projects, programs or services. As DearJCPS has shared, the superintendent has already made public what he intends to do. However, JCPS has and may, in any year, face surprises.  They could be forced to address new needs for additional revenues due to pandemics, legislative cuts or mandates, new state audit requirements or a host of other possibilities.  We will have to lobby continuously, as we have in budgets past.  

An initial polling by the JCPS consultant who has successfully guided five of six districts to success  in ballot proposals this year alone indicates the margin of victory would be small in the fall.  Don’t inadvertently hurt chances of passage for what everyone in AROS agrees is much-needed additional revenues..  Let’s focus on having the conversations making the case to the different demographic groups across the county–West, East and South.

Thank you

Chris Harmer

chair, AROS

 

—– Forwarded Message —–

From: Dear JCPS – An Open Letter Forum for JCPS Administrators and Board of Education <moderator@dearjcps.com>

To: Chris <colonel221@yahoo.com>

Sent: Thursday, July 9, 2020, 6:41:25 PM EDT

Subject: Put The JCPS Tax Increase On The Ballot! Deadline is 4PM Friday!

 

View this email in your browser

 

 

 

Sign The Pledge

 

We need more time…

Chris,

Don’t get me wrong. We like the proposals we have been seeing from Dr. Pollio on how the district intends to spend the proposed tax increase, which was approved by the JCPS Board on May 21. We understand that JCPS needs to build several state-of-the-art schools in the West End in order to cut down on the number of students that are bused to schools outside of their communities against their wishes. We also realize that the proposals calling for a more equitable student assignment plan are largely dependent upon raising the district’s “bonding capacity” via a 7 cent tax increase.

But we need more time. That’s why Dear JCPS recommends signing our petition to make sure the proposed tax increase is on the November ballot.

With the pandemic changing the landscape of education by the minute, and the movement for Black lives providing meaningful opportunity for structural change, we believe the JCPS community needs more time to process the needs of our district’s most vulnerable students and brainstorm solutions. We have heard from numerous grassroots JCPS organizations and individual community members who currently oppose any tax increase. Their reasons are varied, from lacking confidence that the district will spend the new revenue in the ways they are proposing, to lacking factual information about the district’s tax or tax history.

This is NOT TO SAY that we don’t support a tax increase. We’re just saying, we need more time.

We believe most of the reasons and concerns we have been hearing from our community can be addressed if given more time. Adding this measure to the ballot will give our community until November to have these necessary but difficult conversations, which will not only increase community buy-in as solutions are developed, but it will increase the likelihood that any new tax revenues will be spent in the best ways possible.

We Offer a “Pro Public Education” Petition

Many have also told us they support seeing the proposed JCPS tax increase on the November ballot, but they have been (understandably) reluctant to sign the petition that is being circulated by “anti-public education” outsiders and special interest groups. And since tomorrow (Friday) is the last day for Jefferson County voters to petition to have the proposed JCPS tax increase added to the November ballot, we wanted to give voters the opportunity to weigh in on the ballot measure here, too. Please sign the pledge and check “yes” to the “On the Ballot?” question by 4 PM Friday (tomorrow), if you wish to add your name to our “pro-public education” petition.

Regardless if you choose “yes” or “no,”  Please Sign the Pledge to Stand With JCPS Grassroots Organizations

Whether you favor the tax increase or not (or still haven’t decided), please sign the pledge to support grassroots JCPS organizations as they continue to advocate for systemic change in the district on behalf of our most vulnerable populations. By signing today, you are essentially agreeing to use this additional time to stand with the organizations that are demanding racial justice, accountability and transparency from district and community leaders between now and the November election, and pledge to vote according to their recommendations at that time. Based upon the input from these groups, a recommendation to vote in favor or opposed to the increase will be forthcoming prior to the General Election.

A lot can happen between now and November. Let’s see where this conversation takes us.

Thank you!

(THIS IS JUNK THAT APPEARS AT THE END OF HIS EMAIL. I THINK HE WAS DRAFTING HIS MESSAGE AND FORGOT TO DELETE THIS)

)– to  carefully consider the impacts and consequences of the coalition. Three AROS member organization logos already appear on the “Stand with JCPS” page. I am particularly concerned about its block voting pledge. I believe it cannot deliver the accountability DearJCPS is seeking, and risks potentially withholding the critical votes necessary to win the tax increase at the November ballot. And who would make the “For/Against” decision?

As an alternative, there already is a 501c4 being developed as an umbrella organization for supportive community groups,  businesses, faith leaders, educators,JCTA and other unions, and donors to coordinate, message, and fund a major campaign leading up to the November vote.  JCPS apparently by law cannot inject advertising money for this, but management and the board members can and will speak out with the “umbrella’s” help.

AROS is already in process of developing its own FAQ sheets and other materials for advertising and appropriate “conversations” in the pandemic times.  They are aligned with and in many cases drawn from what JCPS, JCTA, its superintendent and its broad-based, multi-racial JCPS community Revenue Task Force concluded after studying JCPS needs all winter.

Some of you organizational leaders may not know that more than a month ago, your AROS representatives voted by a majority vote to unconditionally support the school property tax rate increase (7 cents/$100 property value) passed by the JCPS board.  We heard from people of color in AROS about reservations to the tax increase before we voted.  We know that additional taxes hit these communities hard, and agree JCPS has not always delivered against promises–issues called out here by DearJCPS.  However, developing a voting block that would potentially vote against the increase without further firm commitments and accountabilities seems contrary to/inconsistent with participating in the AROS coalition. Our members haven’t taken contrary positions like this on their own before. Developing a voting bloc that would potentially vote against the increase without further firm commitments and accountabilities seems inconsistent with participating in the AROS coalition

A consistent part of AROS’ platform has been for investment into public schools and educational opportunities and supports, particularly in communities of color.  That is what has been promised by the superintendent and board in this historic, first-of-its-kind board vote. That is the risk five board members, including three people of color, took.  They have talked with their constituents already. Their accountability is solely at the polls. 

If the threat of block voting against the ballot is not real, you have no leverage.  You can’t have it both ways.  An initial polling by a consultant indicates the margin of victory would be small in the fall.  Don’t inadvertently hurt chances of passage.  Let’s focus on making the case for it to the different groups across the county.

Thank you

Chris Harmer

 

 

—– Forwarded Message —–

From: Dear JCPS – An Open Letter Forum for JCPS Administrators and Board of Education <moderator@dearjcps.com>

To: Chris <colonel221@yahoo.com>

Sent: Thursday, July 9, 2020, 6:41:25 PM EDT

Subject: Put The JCPS Tax Increase On The Ballot! Deadline is 4PM Friday!

 

With the pandemic and movement for Black lives continuing to unfold before our very eyes, our educational climate is also changing by the minute. 

View this email in your browser

 

Sign The Pledge

 

We need more time…

Chris,

Don’t get me wrong. We like the proposals we have been seeing from Dr. Pollio on how the district intends to spend the proposed tax increase, which was approved by the JCPS Board on May 21. We understand that JCPS needs to build several state-of-the-art schools in the West End in order to cut down on the number of students that are bused to schools outside of their communities against their wishes. We also realize that the proposals calling for a more equitable student assignment plan are largely dependent upon raising the district’s “bonding capacity” via a 7 cent tax increase.

But we need more time. That’s why Dear JCPS recommends signing our petition to make sure the proposed tax increase is on the November ballot.

With the pandemic changing the landscape of education by the minute, and the movement for Black lives providing meaningful opportunity for structural change, we believe the JCPS community needs more time to process the needs of our district’s most vulnerable students and brainstorm solutions. We have heard from numerous grassroots JCPS organizations and individual community members who currently oppose any tax increase. Their reasons are varied, from lacking confidence that the district will spend the new revenue in the ways they are proposing, to lacking factual information about the district’s tax or tax history.

This is NOT TO SAY that we don’t support a tax increase. We’re just saying, we need more time.

We believe most of the reasons and concerns we have been hearing from our community can be addressed if given more time. Adding this measure to the ballot will give our community until November to have these necessary but difficult conversations, which will not only increase community buy-in as solutions are developed, but it will increase the likelihood that any new tax revenues will be spent in the best ways possible.

We Offer a “Pro Public Education” Petition

Many have also told us they support seeing the proposed JCPS tax increase on the November ballot, but they have been (understandably) reluctant to sign the petition that is being circulated by “anti-public education” outsiders and special interest groups. And since tomorrow (Friday) is the last day for Jefferson County voters to petition to have the proposed JCPS tax increase added to the November ballot, we wanted to give voters the opportunity to weigh in on the ballot measure here, too. Please sign the pledge and check “yes” to the “On the Ballot?” question by 4 PM Friday (tomorrow), if you wish to add your name to our “pro-public education” petition.

Regardless if you choose “yes” or “no,”  Please Sign the Pledge to Stand With JCPS Grassroots Organizations

Whether you favor the tax increase or not (or still haven’t decided), please sign the pledge to support grassroots JCPS organizations as they continue to advocate for systemic change in the district on behalf of our most vulnerable populations. By signing today, you are essentially agreeing to use this additional time to stand with the organizations that are demanding racial justice, accountability and transparency from district and community leaders between now and the November election, and pledge to vote according to their recommendations at that time. Based upon the input from these groups, a recommendation to vote in favor or opposed to the increase will be forthcoming prior to the General Election.

A lot can happen between now and November. Let’s see where this conversation takes us.

Thank you!

 

Sign The Pledge

 

Want more info? Join the conversation in our private group on Facebook!

 

 

Facebook

 

 

Teachers! Mark Your Calendars!!

 

There is a lot of discussion taking place regarding a safe return to school. The newly organized Kentucky Educators United is hosting a town hall on July 14 where you can voice your concerns and opinions and hear from other educators across the state! Register by clicking on the graphic below. After completing the Google form, in a few days, you will receive a ZOOM invitation to the Town Hall.

 

 

 

 

 

We wouldn’t ask if we didn’t need your help.

Dear JCPS is 100% volunteer run. Expenses (primarily printing and communications), come directly from our volunteers’ pockets or from donors and supporters like you. Please help us offset some of the costs to advocate for our most vulnerable students by making a donation to our parent group,
Save Our Schools Kentucky. Thank you!

 

Donate

 

 

 

 

 

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