(Watch the 3 minute speech here.)
Throughout the years we showed you, Dr Pollio, how parents of color and their accomplices are pushed out of PTA for bringing forward their concerns about discrimination in their schools. Instead of being asked how we can improve, they are treated like the problem
We showed you how educators and staff are lied on, pushed out, blacklisted for reporting abuses of children, especially black children, even though they are Mandatory reporters. We Brought you evidence of how the grievance process has been manipulated against black employees and how internal investigations process can be fraudulent, self-serving with no accountability or recourse.
Administrators and principals have been allowed to hijack PTA for their own purposes. Rigging sbdm elections to put “yes people” in them.
Meanwhile their PACs rig internal elections and accept dark money contributions and are able to funnel hundreds of thousands of dollars into candidates who repeatedly vote against public education with zero consequences.
Administrators bully us but not them. And you pretend you don’t notice.
In 2019, I sat here and encouraged you to add parents to the legislative agenda. Another time, I asked you to reign in outside organizations.
Again last year I reiterated it.
In between, there was a pandemic. The requests of parents, teachers and organizers who work with our district’s most impacted community members every day were delayed, denied, disrespected. By you (Marty). By you (Chris). By you (James).
We told you how powerful white-led organizations were abusing their power to continually drown grassroots voices out. We elevated concerns of shut-out teachers, staff, students and parents only to be labeled “rogue groups” by these whyte leaders that have been holding their organizations hostage and out of reach of their members, for decades. You allowed it. Some of you even participated in it.
Why keep bringing solutions only to have them mocked, ridiculed or ignored? Or to risk personal attack or retaliation?
Teachers showed up in red by the thousands in 2018 and 2019 telling anyone who would listen what they need. Leaders of organizations attacked their own members instead of standing in solidarity with them.
And here we are. That anti-CRT moment has not passed.
Unchecked white supremacy has created a rise in white nationalism and fascism that is knocking at our door. We can’t ignore it. We have to name it, denounce it and smash it, before it is too late. Our district is the last stronghold that protects 170 other districts across the state. We can’t expect someone else to save us.
Our inequitable system allows special interests to infiltrate these outside groups, pour hundreds of thousands of dollars in to gaming the system, their PACs outspend us 100 to 1, leaving democracy out of reach for PTA moms like me.
Yet JCPS Lobbied to take power away from parents and teachers dismantling SBDM. The opposite of what stakeholders asked you to do.
Add a parent and student to SBDM.
Stop putting a paid employee in a gatekeeping role with outside organizations.
(mic is shut off)
Support another KERA.
Justice for the People
Justice for Breonna
Thank you.