REA Endorsements
The Richmond Education Association has endorsed candidates in several local races. Eugene Mason gets 9th District council endorsement, while no endorsements were made in the 4th or 5th Districts. On the School Board side, the nods go to Adria Scott in the 4th, Otis Mallory in the 5th and Evette Wilson in the 9th.
Anyone else notice that highly misleading article title by the RTD that Richmond Teachers endorse Jones?
I can’t stand Jones and I am a teacher and not a member of the REA.
What ever happened to ethics in media?
It’s been my experience that the REA rarely speaks for Richmond teachers.
“On the School Board side, the nods go to Adria Scott in the 4th, Otis Mallory in the 5th and Evette Wilson in the 9th”
This sentence is pretty cryptic…what does it mean? That the School Board is approving Mallory over Betsy Carr (both running in the 5th)? How can Besty Carr who is currently on school board nod to Mallory who is running against her?
Obviously I don’t get it…. somebody help me out here please.
Never mind… I get it. Reading is fundamental.
Did the REA oppose the charter school back in May?
That very first guy who got up to speak was the president of the REA.
REA sure did oppose it, as did the NAACP and the Crusade for Voters.
Apparently very few members had read Obama’s position papers on charter schools. If only the people having the knee-jerk anti-charter responses would stop and really think about what hope charters bring instead of freaking out and calling everybody a racist. This whole mess reminds me of back when “clustering” caused people to turn on each other in this town.
Nobody appears to be reading closely. Nobody appears to be thinking deeply. It is all reaction, reaction, reaction. When will it ever change?
That’s right, Mr. Wade Ellegood, president of the REA, spoke out against the charter….
I’m sick of all these political education organizations on the left and right…they are more concerned with their political idealogies than the children they hope to educate.
Eugene Mason, are you kidding me?!
Too bad REA couldn’t understand that a PUBLIC CHARTER school does not take away from public schools, but actually enhances the public school system by allowing for innovation.
Had they seen that, perhaps they could have (and should have) endorsed Jonathan Mallard. Mallard is the only 4th District School Board candidate who (1) has CONSISTENTLY supported the Patrick Henry Initiative, (2) actually took the time to read the FIRST Contract and (3) had the critical thinking skills to be able to see the flaws in it.
It would be interesting to hear from him and (others) what they think of the SECOND contract.
BTW, I found Bert Berlin’s attack on Mallard at the forum recently to be mean-spirited. Berlin’s blind-to-the-flaws defense of the FIRST contract (written to please RPS administrators, of course) to be ill-informed and evidence of his willingness to go along with whatever RPS administrators say. Berlin has already demonstrated his ability to flip-flop and say anything he thinks will get him elected.
We definitely do NOT NEED another rubber-stamper on that board! IMHO, of course. Mallard clearly doesn’t make as much NOISE as Berlin, but I appreciate Mallard’s quiet and steady intellect.
I THINK that Mr. MALLARD has presented himself very WELL up to this point in the campaign. I come FROM a long line of engineers and believe SOMEONE who deals in numbers would BE a good addition to the SCHOOL BOARD.
That said, I don’t THINK it’s fair to ACCUSE Mr. Berlin of flip-flopping. HE has amply explained his change in REASONING on his BLOG.
“Amply” is the keyword here. Mr. Berlin tends to go on and on and on. If he considered what he believed in a more deliberate manner before speaking out, he might have spared us all his lengthy explanations of why he says one thing and then another. Were he to be elected, the rest of the city would see such an action as flip-flopping.
Still, I think Mallard would be the better pick. He actually saw the flaws in the PHI Contract and has treated everyone with respect. Mallard can disagree without being disagreeable.
You make a good point. I do like Bert, a lot, but I agree that he (and quite a few other posters) tend to flood the comments section. It almost seems like an attempt to drown out any dissenting opinions, especially when it is coupled with disrepect.
Read Bert’s blog on not receiving the REA endorsement. He even posts the REA questionaire with his answers…I like that. Curious now to see all the candidates answers. Who else is willing to step up to the plate? http://jamesrivermaven.blogspot.com/2008/09/rea-rejects-maven.html .
There are several questions that definitely show that the REA is just a political organization more concerned with it’s self and their friends…they could care less about what the parents want or the education that the students need.
Thank you Bert Berlin for sharing the questionaire and your answers. This is the type transparency we need. Again, I would love to see everyone else’s answers.
I have not decided who I’ll be voting for in November, but in Bert’s defense, he may be loquacious but his heart is definitely in the right place. There are far worse crimes than being long-winded. After the forum I attended, he seemed to be the most knowledgeable about the issues. Mr. Mallard seems great with numbers and the minutae of budgets but seems to lack a bit of heart. Bert wants nothing more than to improve the educations that our city’s children receive. He just needs a good editor. :)
I thank Gray for the question and am happy to post my REA response here:
http://jonathanmallard.com/my-resoponse-to-the-rea/
To Paglina, I respect your opinion as engineers certainly tend to be perceived that way. I would comment that I hope you and everyone else is paying close attention to Fannie, Freddie, Lehman, and AIG.
This is what happens when society stops caring about the numbers and only listens to the endless empty platitudes that are bandied about.
Sadly, we have more to come.
The release of the State’s revenue collections next month will bring painful news for the City and the School System. I’m the only candidate who has consistently said that we have plenty of money already – we just choose to waste a good bit of it.
Thank you Jonathan Mallard. For you and Bert Berlin to share your REA questionaire answers with the public speaks volumes and speaks of your honesty and courage.
Mr. Mallard’s heart shows when he gets upset about the money we waste because he knows it would be put to better use in the classrooms.
His heart shows when he can show us the math that proves we continue to waste CIP money that could make our schools and playgrounds ADA accessible.
His heart shows when he is upset at the number of students we throw out onto the street because we prefer to criminalize normal child behaviors instead of instructing our children concerning better ways to behave and insuring they have the knowledge they need to succeed.
I guess you see what you want to see and hear what you want to hear. I did not attack Mr. Mallard at the candidate forum. I corrected what he said. That is a lot different. If you thought it was mean-spirited, you just weren’t inside my head. I respect Mr. Mallard and find much of what he says to be useful. However, when he makes a misstatement, I think I owe it to the voters to correct him. I also corrected John Lloyd when he misstated the facts about the International Baccalaureate programs.
I also don’t exactly think that I “flood” the comments section to drown out dissent. I have posted to Hills and Heights six times on the post “Another School Board Candidate….” back in June and July, twice on the post “Official Candidates” also in June and July, and three on the post “Patrick Henry Charter Not to Be” in September. That is not exactly flooding.
Apparently I come off as being impolite or disrespectful. I think it is because I am so passionate about the children of Richmond. Perhaps it’s also my frustration with my inability to communicate to you what is so clear to me.
The facts are that I am the only candidate for the school board who was actively involved in the schools long before George Braxton announced that he was not running for reelection. I have spent many many hours in Westover Hills Schools over the last three years working with teachers and children trying to enhance the educational experience. I have spent two years on the Community Advisory Board at Westover Hills School working to improve the school both for children and parents. I spent more than two years on the Board of Directors of Friends of Fourth District Schools working to make RPS schools better for all the children living or attending school in the fourth district. I organized a new Micah Initiative program at Carver School, north of the river. I didn’t suddenly discover Richmond Public Schools in the spring of this year.
Although I have not received the endorsement of either REA or the Crusade for Voters, I am supported by many of the people I have worked with in RPS. For example, Mieko Manuel Thomas, the city-wide coordinator of the Micah Initiative, says:
“I enthusiastically support Bert Berlin for the 4th District School Board Representative because he has demonstrated passion and commitment for our children in Richmond Public Schools for years, as a volunteer and strong advocate. He has worked well with school officials, parents, and students. He has gained their trust through hard work and consistency. With a vote of confidence from the School Board Chairman, that confirms for me that he must be the right person for the job. I also commend him for his dedication to public service.”
Tichi Pinkney-Epps, former President of the Richmond Council of PTAs, says:
“I have had the opportunity to engage with Bert on many issues regarding public education in the City of Richmond. I believe he will be an asset because of his open-mind and profound ability to see the issues from all sides without deference to personal bias and special interest.”
Erin Bishop, President of Friends of Fourth District Schools, says:
“I have worked with Bert Berlin on schools issues for the past three years. He is not a politician–he is truly committed to improving our schools. I like his ideas, and I admire his dedication. We would be lucky to have his service to our School Board!”
George Braxton, current fourth district representative on the school board, says:
“Bert is the only candidate in the fourth district who is ready and able to take over this job in January.”
My candidacy has also been endorsed by Tom Klein, Chair of the Richmond Business Council of the Greater Richmond Chamber of Commerce, and Rev. Benjamin Campbell, pastoral director of Richmond Hill.
One more thing, if flip-flopping means changing my mind when I am shown to be wrong, then I am proud to be a flip flopper. Only a fool never changes his or her mind.
To call someone a flip flopper is a Karl Rove tactic -Kerry was labeled that and we got four more years of hell with George W. I wish the flip flopper had won, the one who voted for war then decided it was a big mistake, rather than the “decider” who said, “bring it on.”
Please no more use of “flip flopper.”
Oh, yes, let’s definitely tie our local elections in to the national ones at every opportunity – heaven knows we’re not hearing enough about them elsewhere.
Apologies for posting on the wrong thread..
I’m certainly not claiming to be 100% right, but I’ve yet to see Section, Chapter, Paragraph, and Clause cited that contradicts my statements.
The Board’s main responsibility is to establish and clarify policy to guide the employees of the system. The board can explicitly hire 3 positions: Superintendent, Clerk of the Board, and Internal Auditor.
The Board can implicitly manage the system by establishing a budget, and approving or denying fund transfers between accounts.
Holding a title doesn’t necessarily grant unlimited authority over a specific subject area.
I think we’ve seen ample evidence what can result from that theory of government.
Bert –
If you want to get elected you need to learn how to speak your mind without sounding so defensive and sarcastic. There are graceful ways to tell the truth.
Gee, Bert …. you’re always right and everybody else is always wrong. Blah, blah, blah, blah ….
Pagalina,
I agree with GetReal. Does “heart” mean speaking style? Does it mean you have to bloviate? Give me somebody who actually thinks more than uses his heart.
School Boards do not run the schools. They hire the superintendant and a few others. They cheerlead, and they have oversight responsibility. Unless you dive into the numbers and understand them, you can’t fulfill your oversight responsibilities and know when you have to kick out the administration.