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Tuesday, December 15, 2005
CMS recommendations draw criticism
Continued from page 1A
example, the number of
board members would be cut
fiom nine to seven, including
one who is appointed, and
candidates would be forced to
run a more costly county wide
campaign to be elected.
And at least one person
said that, despite good inten
tions, the overall aiucational
needs of aU CMS students,
regardless of socioeconomic
background, stiU would not
be met because the task force
Nagin
talks to
evacuees .
Continued from page 2A
planning to assess damage
to their destroyed properties
and decide if it is feasible for
them to return. Lastly, New
Orleans businesses may be
encouraged to reopen and
operate in New Orleans if
given tax incentives.
“New Orleans is coming
back, but it will take time.
You cannot entirely fix a city
that was entirely devastated
in three or four months,”
Mayor Nagin maintained.
‘Tm trying to make it better.
But I can only do so much. 1
need your help.” He stressed
the importance of writing
letters to state and federal
lawmakers to apply pres
sure.
“We’re sitting around with
anger, but we need to get
more vocal and speak up.
Washington is afi-aid that
we’re going to wake up and
apply pressme!” he insisted.
The meeting that was
scheduled for two hours
stretched into five, as the
mayor then opened the floor
to questions. Two long lines
formed immediately, with
evacuees asking questions
regarding environmental
concerns, such as air quality,
toxic fiimes and contaminat
ed topsoil, to Katrina flu
rumors. Several wondered
whether the hardest hit
areas—New Orleans East
and the Lower 9th Ward—
would be rebuilt. Many in
attendance felt that those
areas will not be rebuilt and
are being purposely over
looked
“We demand that one of
our members be in those
planning meetings,” stated
Dorothy Stukes of the
ACORN Katrina Survivors
Association. “We demand
that there be some form of
public relations on behalf of
the city to clean up the
image of the New Orleans
people. The media has por
trayed us wrong.”
Along with Nagin were
FEMA officials who received
heated words finm several
fiustrated evacuees who felt
they were being treated
unjustly by the federal
agency
“There is no consistency
when you phone FEMA!”
shouted Danyell Santiago,
who worked in the profes
sional nursing field. She
complained that she has con
stantly faxed and mailed her
documents to FEMA only to
have them lost.
neglected to implement
black history in the curricu
lum.
Gantt and Bessant said
the task force estimates it
will take three years to
implement all their recom
mendations, if they are
accepted.
“1 don’t know if there’s
really all that much to get
excited about at this point,”
said Gail Fowler, who lives
off TUckaseegee Road and
has two boys attending CMS
middle schools. “They can
say all they want I just don’t
feel good about it. We don’t
have a lot of money, like
some of those people in
south Charlotte, and I just
worry about my child falling
through the cracks. I still
have a hard time believing
they’re going to give my child
the same amount of money
as those kids in Myers Park,
“m believe it when 1 see it”
Gantt said people tike
Fowler need not worry
The task force’s recommen
dation for school funding
calls for basing the budget of
each school on student
needs. Low-income students,
gifted students and students
with other special needs
(English as a second • lan
guage and the disabled)
would provide extra money
for a school.
“This is designed to provide
more money to the students
who need it most,” said
Gantt, who has been work
ing on the task force since
March. “If a student needs
more money, he’s going to get
it. And if he leaves that
school and goes to another,
that money’s going to follow
him.
“Now, after that, the onus
falls on the principals at
each school and how they
use the money to benefit the
students. What we’re trying
to do is level the playing field
for our students. And I
believe this is something
that really can work. We
believe in it”
And there were plenty of
advocates in attendance
Wednesday
Vanessa Johnson, the
mother of sons age 15 and
12, heaped praise on the
task force.
‘This is the type of change
our school system needs,”
Johnson said. “We couldn’t
go on the way we had been
going, with students at one
school doing weU and stu
dents at another school
doing poorly. 1 had to take
one of my sons out of CMS
and put him in a private
school to improve his grades,
and I shouldn’t have to do
that.
“The recommendations are
good. CMS wasn’t growing,
and not enou^ people were
being held accountable. This
way, everyone would be held
accountable. That has to be
an improvement. I think (the
task force has) done a great
job.”
But while (jyasi Foluke
wasn’t critical of any specific
recommendations the task
force put forth Wednesday,
he was visibly upset by the
absence of one thing.
“Nothing is going to be
accomplished until they
incorporate black history
into the schools for these stu
dents,” Foluke said. “We
have to be serious about edu
cating our youth - complete
ly Ri^t now, they’re getting
education for assimilation,
as opposed to education for
liberation. And education for
liberation is more important.
That’s why we need black
history in the curriculum.
“Until the task force steps
up and does that, none of
this other stuff today really
matters.”
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