Although its more like getting one's car back from the body shop after a self-inflicted accident - restored to its original form, instead of receiving something new - CONGRATULATIONS are due to the Clayton County School System upon the restoration of their full accreditation.
Clayton County has "flipped" in the past 10 to 15 years. It became metro Atlanta's second majority Black county. After approximately 2 election cycles the (White Democratic) "Good ole boys" were replaced by Black Democrats (some of whom are a part of the "We Got The Power Now WE Are Going To Use It" mentality). Please note - there is NO linkage between their skin color and the outcome. It was 100%: arrogance, ignorance and incompetence - as people who saw an opportunity to "get into government power" got elected while the constituencies fell for the wrong attributes in a candidate that appealed to them at the time.
With the (White) adversary gone and "Mission Accomplished" planted into cement moorings something unanticipated happened. Soon was formed a "Progressive Democratic Faction A" versus a "Progressive Democratic Faction B". None of these people had any policy set that was different than the other. When Obama was running for election the clique that was on the outs had "CHANGE" on their billboard as well. Unlike Obama they were talking about CHANGING out fellow Democrats who were a part of the other clique. While these were battles amongst a broader set of political seats - this closely matched the conflict in the school board.
I have noticed that a position on the school board is used as the initial foray into politics. The need for name recognition and evidence of having been elected go a long way in making a political career of a school board victory. As a result of this the new Black majority chose to go with the "loudest" and most "committed to FIGHT for their children" as members of the school board.
The community soon learned that while it is no doubt important to have advocates on a body - when (nearly) everyone is an advocate - the conditions quickly erode. While not everyone on the board was a bad apple - there were not enough educational professionals, and most importantly no one with financial skills at running a multi-million budget for an organization. This imbalance soon showed as personal conflicts had run off a successive number of superintendents and the board came to a stand-still.
The Southern Association of Colleges and Schools (SACS)
SACS is an accrediting agency for hundreds of schools in the Southeast. In this case they provided, in my opinion, the necessary backdrop of a boundary which put a stop to the foolishness and shook up the entire community, having them focus on the need to promote the children over the beefs between adults.
Now keep in mind there are several people who don't see it this way. "Fight The Power Radio" is now seeking to "Put The Judge On Trial". With SACS' board as majority White (if not all) they see this as a slap against BLACK POWER. This (White) external body is coming into the community with the power to strip away the accreditation.
In their mind - as usual:
- The police are worse than the criminals
- White folks can't stand to see Blacks with power
- The performance lapses in "our" schools is due to discrimination in funding
Instead of sanctioning Black folks - OUR FRIENDS need to be FIGHTING the (Republican) ESTABLISHMENT on behalf of Black people!!!
I am thankful for SACS. With the mindset that is documented by those who represent themselves as the purveyors of the best interests of the Black community as such - they have no ORGANIC limits that they will apply in their own quest for power. With the combination of obfuscation in which they blame others for the failed results - their own actions become totally abstracted from the results.
In their mind, despite having academic problems and leadership instability - it was SACS that rendered the blow in Clayton. When masses of Black parents moved out of the county down to neighboring Henry, Fayette and Coweta - it was done - NOT because of any intrinsic fault with Clayton but because SACS took their accreditation away unnecessarily.
The most disgusting attribute of "Fight The Power" is that they will always have a significant following among Black folks. Those who have their level of disgruntlement higher than the evidence of their human resource management acumen will continue to believe that it is "Fight The Power" that has their interests and the Black community's best interests in mind - results be damned.
I applaud Clayton County for remaining out of the news for at least 12 months (aside from the normal static that is associated with all local governments). This is a county in transition. Their challenge is to retain their property & economic development values.
If they are wise they would look past the loud mouths and focus on competency in governance.
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