Page 4 - Florida Sentinel 1-28-20

Letter To The Editor
Superintendent Search We Will Live To Regret
As a life-long resident of Hillsborough County who has been involved in the Hillsborough County School System as a stu- dent, parent, grandpar- ent, volunteer, student / parent rights advocate, etc., since the early ’70s, this latest search and Su- perintendent alleged search can best be cate- gorized as totally insin- cere (fake) and one all of Hillsborough County cit- izens and students will live to regret for many years to come.
Well, let's count the many ways listed below.
1. Once again it's ap- parent that "no matter" how qualified an African- American may be, this County has no intentions of ever hiring an African- American for the top job. Even though several Black community per- sons expressed "unfavor- able" opinion of Mr. Harrison, currently Chief of Schools for Hillsbor- ough County, I can as- sure you there were
several other Black appli- cants that should have been considered that magically didn't make any of the semifinal cuts.
I had an opportunity to sit down as a focus group participant with the search team and along with others who at- tended different sessions believing that an "hon- est" effort was going to be made to find a diverse "highly qualified" group of applicants. Boy, were we all fooled.
2. When through other media published articles and as some board members admitted to personally recruiting their choice, it was clear to me that the $46,000.00 paid to the search firm was a thinly veiled cover to make it look like a truly honest search. We should de- mand our refund if not from the search firm, board members them- selves.
While the evidence may not be obvious as I
write this op-ed, I believe that some type of quasi- communications be- tween board members occurred, but the only question is did it meet the threshold of "Sunshine Law” violations.
3. By any fair and ob- jective measurement of Addison Davis’ history, support from charter school financial backers, small county mentality, etc., how could he from the beginning, be the overwhelming favorite. I urged the readers of the Sentinel to do your own research and you will easily concur with my as- sessment.
4. Our community needs to understand that the local "teachers’ union" has way too much influence when it comes down to controlling the philosophy, policy and practices, i. e., in particu- lar with citizen full in- volvement and of particular African-Amer- ican community con-
cerns. The same union who at every turn offered opposition to fairness in discipline of students. The same union that never lifted a true con- cern and influence on teaching and learning im- provements and the same union along, with many underhanded prin- cipals, that rejected the positive efforts at- tempted by Mr. Peters.
Our community needs to keep in mind that at this very moment African-Americans have "no major role or influ- ence" in the Curriculum, Teaching and Learning Divisions of the school system. In my opinion over 40 years of monitor- ing this school system best assure that the teachers’ union is not "a true advocate” of the con- cerns and issues raised from our community re- garding our children.
Once Mr. Davis is offi- cially hired, look for the following things to occur besides those already noted:
1. Continued lack of major influence and re- sponsibilities of Blacks in the Teaching and Learn- ing Division.
2. No Black in the posi- tion of Chief of Schools, unless by the Grace of God, Harrison Peters re-
mains without his hands tied behind his back.
3. Increase in all the areas of school discipline resulting in continued fu- eling the "school - prison pipeline.”
4. More dropouts and out of school suspensions.
5. Lack of Blacks in meaningful leadership positions with the Fi- nance & Accounting Divi- sions.
6. Move to consider "out- sourcing" Food Services, Transportation and a re- newed effort to out- source School Custodial / Maintenance.
Finally, all the mem- bers who said it "was not necessary" to hire an African –American, due to their dislike of Mr. Pe- ters, did you ever review the qualifications of the other brothers and sis- ters? We, as a commu- nity, will live to regret not being more active and ob- servant of the School Board policies, philoso- phy and decisions. It won’t take long and who will step up and admit that the person selected, Addison Davis was the wrong person by a long shot as a Superintendent that we can trust.
Sincerely, ROBERT “PETE” EDWARDS Concerned Community Advocate
Local
Seeking Hidden Pearls In The Community
The Beta Sigma Zeta Chapter of Zeta Phi Beta Sorority, In- corporated, is looking to honor Hidden Pearls in the Tampa Bay Community.
Do you know a remarkable woman in the community who is doing phenomenal things, but goes unnoticed? If so, we would love to hear about her! Submit your nominations at https://forms.gle/ZVkGJXLa8nqZhN7N9.
Zeta Phi Beta Sorority, Incorporated is a Community-Con- scious, Action-Oriented organization, and for over 50 years, the ladies Beta Sigma Zeta, Tampa Chapter have devoted them- selves to exemplifying these ideals.
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