The post about Emily Alpert is HERE.
Shelia Jackson, board member of San Diego Unified School District, says things that need to be said. Why is she the only one?And why did I think her name was Sheila? Sorry, Shelia, that I garbled your name. I always liked the name Sheila; maybe that had something to do with it. But I must say that Shelia is perfect. It takes a small step away from a European name, and the result is something that perhaps sounds even better, and more importantly gives an African-American woman her own identity. Your parents did a good job on naming their baby.
SAN DIEGO SCHOOLS
Jackson Settles in as Chief Dissident
School board member Shelia Jackson... is running for reelection against Xeng Yang, has become a firebrand whose statements have earned her both hostility and respect.
By EMILY ALPERT
Oct. 23, 2008
School board member Shelia Jackson was disappointed when former Superintendent Carl Cohn threw in the towel at San Diego Unified last year. She blamed another board member for berating Cohn, praised the superintendent for gradual and cautious reforms, and stayed mum on the scandal that ejected one of his top appointees.
"You can't have someone who is constantly undermining your authority at every turn," Jackson said last September. "And that's what some board members have done."
Now Jackson is being accused of -- and praised for -- doing the same. Under a new superintendent, Terry Grier, Jackson has become a firebrand whose bold statements have earned her both hostility and respect. Her voting record has long pitted Jackson against her peers on teacher layoffs and spending equity across the school district, but her role has shifted under Grier, a newcomer who has quickly made waves with new projects and made enemies in the teachers union. Now, Jackson has become the school board's chief dissident.
"We're not elected to support the superintendent," Jackson said in an October interview. "We're elected to hold him accountable."
[Blogger's note: YES!!!!!]
Her opponent in the coming election, Xeng Yang, complains that she criticizes Grier in public; Jackson fought a policy that would bar her and other trustees from publicly criticizing the superintendent and his staff, something she rarely did to Cohn. She called for an investigation of Grier and fellow board member Katherine Nakamura after a campaign meeting with principals became a political hot potato; she has hinted publicly that other board members should be ousted in the coming elections.
Yang argues that his opponent is beholden to the teachers union. "I don't think she wants to keep the superintendent. She goes along with the teachers. She was elected by the people to represent students, not a group of adult teachers," he said, adding, "She seems like she doesn't get along with other school board members."
[Blogger's note: And whom does the majority of board members represent? Developers, self-serving politicians, and insurance companies? Insurance is a multi-million dollar industry in many local school districts, and these companies wield power through their lawyers, paid by taxpayers to instruct and direct board members. Insurance companies do not care about kids. I have problems with the teachers union, too, but I think the union is needed to keep a balance in decision making.]
The race between Yang and Jackson has been quiet compared to other contests. Yang, a computer teacher, has fumbled in public forums and netted only a few endorsements, most notably from the county Republican Party and the conservative-leaning Lincoln Club...
[Blogger's note: It seems that Voice of San Diego has also found its voice. Reporter Emily Alpert finds the story behind the story, revealing schools as hotbeds of political intrigue and financial and legal shenanigans. For far too long, school officials were able to keep the truth about themselves hidden, hiding behind a sea of smiling children whom they pretended to care about.]
No comments:
Post a Comment