OPINION
The Chronicle
Ernest H. Pitt
Publisher Emeritus
1974-2015
617 N. Liberty Street
336-722-8624
www.wschronicle.com
Elaine Pitt
Donna Rogers
Wali D. Pitt
Business Manager
Managing Editor
Digital Manager
Our Mission
The Chronicle is dedicated to serving the
residents of Winston-Salem and Forsyth County
by giving voice to the voiceless, speaking truth
to power, standing for integrity and
' encouraging open communication and
lively debate throughout the community.
Don't look to
school board
for democracy
example
They say one of the best ways to begin a political
career is to run for the school board. Winston
Salem/Forsyth County Schools Board of Education
member Mark Johnson appears to have taken that to
heart.
Johnsot) ran for North Carolina Superintendent of
Public Instruction and won in November. Now he
will be going to Raleigh to do who knows what. The
Chronicle can't tell you what he will do because he
has not responded to requests by one of our reporters
to tell us.
Meanwhile, the local school board tramples on
democracy in trying to replace him.
At the meeting, on Nov. 29, the school board
decided not to open the position to the public and
take resumes. No, that would take too much time.
Democracy takes too much time. (Is it even taught in
the schools?)
Instead, a name was thrown out among the board
members, and there seemed to be an agreement that
that person should be contacted to see whether she
wants to be on the school board - again.
That person just left the school board in 2014.
What is this about?
According to the school board's rules, when
someone leaves the school board, that person has to
be replaced by someone from the same political
party. Mark Johnson is a Republican, so a registered
Republican has to fill the position. So, why not open
it up to such people? Why not open it up so another
black Republican can. have a chance to be on the
school board?
The board says it needs someone who already
knows how things work because of the busy year
coming up, with all the projects the bond money will
produce. If you are not going to open up the position
to outside candidates, why not have a list of people
to choose from, conduct interviews and make a deci
sion? Why not put John Davenport in the position?
He is a black Republican who was on the board
before, in fact as a vice chairman. He ran for an at
large seat in 2014 and lost as the other person men
tioned at the school board meeting was leaving the
school board.
This is the school board that allowed many of the
schools in the district to be labeled underachieving
in one way or another. This is the school board that
allowed an elementary school to be called so bad in
teaching students to read that its name was changed
to reflect that deficit. The school board did not act
until after the state labeled the school a poorly run
school.
According to the WS/FCS website, the Winston
Salem/Forsyth County Schools Board of Education
is comprised of nine members elected to four-year
terms of office. Board members are elected from two
districts within the county. Two members are elected
from District 1, which is mostly the city of Winston
Salem; four are elected from District 2; and three are
at-laige seats.
Three of the nine members are African
American. One of those is a Republican who was
elected to an at-large seat in 2014.
All seats on the school board expire in 2018.
Now is the time for the community to rise up and
hold the school board accountable. Now is the time
to start grooming candidates to replace the people on
the board so that in 2018, they will be ready to run
for office and will be able to be elected to the posi
tions.
That's when democracy will return to the school
board.
? / .
I CONCEDE!]
LETTERS TO THE EDITOR
Not pursuing
charges
in Scott death
undermines trust
in justice system
To the Editor:
Use of deadly force against
African-Americans and other minori
ties by law enforcement remains a
crisis across the nation. Today's
[Nov. 30] decision not to pursue
criminal charges in the death of Keith
Lamont Scott [in Mecklenburg
County, N.C.] undermines public
confidence in die ability of our crim
inal justice system to produce out
comes that are just and fair.
Here, the District Attorney's
Office, with the assistance of the
state, described a process that estab
lished the prosecutor as judge and
jury, having reviewed the facts lead
ing up to death of Mr. Scott without
the benefit of a grand jury determina
tion or a trial.
Too often, we find that prosecur
tors simply lack the political will to
seek justice in these cases.
We will continue to push for fed
eral reforms and the systemic
changes necessary to ensure that law
enforcement agencies across our
country maintain constitutional and
equitable policing practices that
ensure equal justice under law for all.
- Kris ten Clarke
President And Executive
Director
Lawyers' Committee for
Civil Rights Under Law
Washington, D.C.
Lawmakers should
pass bill to form
independent
redistricting plan
To the Editor:
Once again, unconstitutional ger
rymandering by the legislature has
led to litigation and now the need to
hold a special election. This is a
golden opportunity for state law
makers to put North Carolina voters
ahead of partisan politics and estab
lish an independent process for re
drawing the state's legislative maps
free from gerrymandering.
Just this past session, a biparti
san majority of N.C. House mem
bers co-sponsored House Bill 92,
which would have taken redistrict
ing power out of the hands of parti
san legislators and given it to non
partisan legislative staff.
We strongly urge lawmakers to
pass that independent redistricting
plan when they return for their new
session in January, so that North
Carolina citizens can finally have
confidence that their legislative dis
tricts are drawn in a fair, impartial
and constitutional way that avoids
further confusion and delay.
Bob Phillips, Executive
Director,
Common Cause North Carolina
Raleigh
Note: A federal court on
Tuesday, Nov. 29, ordered North
Carolina lawmakers to redraw the
state's legislative districts by March
and ruled that a special legislative
election must be held in 2017. The
decision comes after the federal
court ruled this summer that law
makers had unconstitutionally gerry
mandered 28 legislative districts
along racial lines, but allowed the
already scheduled 2016 legislative
elections to proceed under those
unconstitutional maps.
We can begin
to work toward
stronger future
in North Carolina
To the Editor:
I am elated to congratulate
Governor-Elect Roy Cooper on his
recent victory.
The people of North Carolina
have spoken and I look forward to
working with our new Governor.
Together we will continue to grow
the economy, strengthen our public
education system, invest in infra
structure, and stand up for the rights
of all North Carolinians.
We can now put this election
behind us and begin working toward
a stronger and brighter future for our
great state.
US. Rep. Alma Adams (NC-12)
Washington, D.C.
Educators glad
the stall tactics
have ended
To the Editor:
Educators across North Carolina
congratulate Governor-Elect Cooper
on an outstanding victory.
We look forward to a champion
for public school students and edu
cators in the governor's office.
We are glad the stall tactics have
come to an end because North
Carolina educators are Ready for
Roy.
m Mark Jewell
President
North Carolina
Association of Educators
Raleigh
Radical forces
outside N.C.
defeated McCrory
To the Editor:
?
North Carolina Values Coalition
thanks Governor Pat McCrory for
his commitment to the people of
North Carolina. His leadership over
the last four years will not be forgot
ten.
Not only has Governor McCrory
created a booming economy in
North Carolina, where businesses
and families thrive, but he has stood
strong to protect the privacy, dignity,
and safety of our citizens.
Governor McCrory's defeat was
orchestrated by radical forces out
side North Carolina that poured mil
lions of dollars into the state to
"eviscerate" our state's leaders and
fundamentally change our state's
values. It was an organized and
well-funded strategy, laid out in
Blueprint, N.C., and supported by
left-wing, out-of-state donors like
George Soros, Planned Parenthood,
and the Human Rights Campaign.
They outspent the Governor two to
one.
North Carolina Values Coalition
will continue to work with the lead
ers in the House & Senate to assure
grown men are never allowed access
into women's bathrooms, locker
rooms or changing facilities and that
businesses are free to live and work
according to their deeply held reli
gious beliefs. We want to put
Governor-elect Cooper on notice
that the citizens of North Carolina
will not stand for any attempt by
out-of-state interests to fundamental
ly change our values or compromise
the privacy and safety of our chil
dren.
Tami Fitzgerald, Executive
Director
North Carolina Values
Coalition
Raleigh
I
We Welcome Your Feedback
Submit letters and guest columns to let
ters? wschronicle.com before 5 pm. Friday
for the next week's publication date.
Letters intended for publication should be
addressed "Letters to the Editor" and include
your name, address, phone number and email
address. Please keep letters to 350 words or
less.
If you are writing a guest column, please
include a photo of yourself, your name,
address, phone number and email address.
Please keep guest columns to 550 words or
less. Letters and columns can also be mailed
or dropped off at W-S Chronicle, 617 N.
Liberty St., W-S, NC, 27101; or sent via our
website, www.wschronicle x:om.
We reserve the right to edit any item submit
ted for clarity or brevity and determine when
ana whether material will be used.
We welcome your comments at our website.
Also, go to our Facebook page to comment.
We are at facebook.com/WSChronicle.
Send us a tweet on Twitter.
We are at twitter.com/WS_Chronicle.
J ] K