Lancaster parents call for removal of school board president

interestedcitizen, says:

Let's correct the record. It is not true that much of the discussion at Monday nights meeting concerned Carolyn Morris. Specifically, two people got up during citizens communications and called for her resignation. None of the other speakers mentioned Carolyn by name. Two speakers spoke about other issues. One speaker, Ellen Clark, said that the items identified by the TEA for correction by the district, were trivial, and she went on to criticize other people who weren't in her opinion, sufficiently involved in trying to raise academic performance in Lancaster.

One person calling for Carolyn's ouster was a pastor. If he is an individual and a voting constituent in Lancaster, he should speak as an individual, and make it clear he is only speaking as a citizen, not as a representative of his church. If he is acting as a lobbyist for his congregation, he's out of order, because churches can't do political lobbying.

I ask, why is it primarily the pastors who are calling for Carolyn's resignation? Why are the constituents who elected her not calling for her resignation? She won by a majority vote, didn't she? Didn't she, also, win her current position by a 5-2 vote? How then, given our faith in a democratic process, can we now call for her resignation? What we have now is essentially mob rule. The Democratic process worked, and resulted in Carolyn's election. It is mob rule to now ask for her ouster after she was so recently placed in the position as president.

Now, let's remember who did the bickering at the July 28 meeting. The issue was whether to hire an investigator. The only people who bickered during that meeting were Ed Kirkland and Marie Elliot. Carolyn Morris did not bicker.

Why then, did the pastors focus their attacks solely on Carolyn Morris and not on Ed Kirkland and Marie Elliot?

It appears to me that the pastors are not so much concerned with stopping the bickering, as they are determined to depose Carolyn Morris, whether she bickers or not. They give Ed Kirkland and Marie Elliot a free ride, only because they are on their side.

It appears that Ed Kirkland and Marie Elliot are extremely upset that they find themselves voted out of power, and they just can't take it.

The people demanded change. They didn't want the status quo to continue. Mendoza, Johnson, and Stanmore, had their heels dug in and wouldn't budge. They needed to go.

remoned, says:

To further correct the record,

No one at the Aug 4 board meeting called Carolyn Morris by name, as it is not allowed by law, supposedly, to call sitting board members by name when being addressed from the citizens. As such, she was referred to, by the position she holds, board president. As for one person identifying himself as a pastor, he simply responded to the requirements of the board, which state that one should identify themselves and their relation to the city.

Many people who speak before the board relay to the counsel their addresses, followed by how long they've lived in the city, and even how many children they have that either graduated from the district or, are currently being educated by the district. Presenting oneself as a member of a church, and even, to what church, does'nt make him a lobbyist for his congregation. But rather a member of said congregation that is not ashamed to let it be known that he is a worshipper and won't hide behind that fact, as closet Christians tend to do. Not to turn this into a religious debate, but as Christians, if we say we are, we are called to stand up against injustice anywhere. And whether you believe it or not, there's a great injustice going on under the guise of an opeating school board, that pretends to care about the children of it's district.

It's not only pastors who are calling for the removal of Mrs. Morris, I know first hand, because I am a part of a movement of disenfranchised 'Concerned citizens', who clearly see that Carolyn Morris and her band of appointed supporters have an agenda which is solely based on the removal of the current School Superintendent, Dr. Larry Lewis.

Yes, Morris did win by a majority vote to replace Ed Kirkland, who had served his one year term fully, and could not run again, as concurrent seats in the position are not allowed. It is also factual that Morris stood outside the polls, greeting those who entered to vote, and campaigning under the premise that her first order of business would be to remove Dr. Lewis from his post. It is also key to mention that she also aligned herself with a local minister who ran for mayor on the same platform, who not only does not reside in the city of Lancaster, which is against election regulations, but who also is currently under investigation by law enforcement officials for fraudulent selling of foreclosure properties to people who were looking, in earnest, to purchase homes for they and their families. So automatically the question of association arises, with regards to the board president.

In addition, since 2006 her voting record has yielded 29 votes "no" , 17 "abstain from votings", and not a single "yes" in almost 2 full years with regards to anything presented to further the advancements of the school district which she now helms. She knowingly and falsely reported to the Dallas Morning News that per a conversation between her and TEA officials, she was informed that a conservator would be sent to monitor the district. A report that the Dallas Morning News would later recant.

The newspapers later reported that according to the TEA president in Austin, a conservator would be sent to monitor the district as a result of Morris' request to have one sent. A statement which she denies, of course. Just like she denied in the Aug. 4th meeting, that she had no prior knowledge that the law firm that the board would proceed to hire that night, was scheduled to appear. To which the law firms representative refuted her claim in the open board meeting, by informing her that they were again, sent in accordance with the conversation she had with the law firms president. Are you starting to see the pattern here?

As for the former board members who were either forced to vacate their seats following losses, or chose not to run again, note that two of the board members CHOSE not to run again, for personal reasons, and the new members who filled their seats ran unopposed. Also note that other than Morris, not one of the new Morris supporters have children that attend school in the district, or educated their children in the district when their children were of school age. Yet we're supposed to believe that these are the people who have the best interests of the district and it's children at heart?

These are the same members who vote FOR everything that Morris votes for, and likewise against. They're her 'clique'. And it's obvious to any one observing that their allegiance and sole purpose for serving is to aide in the removal of Dr. Lewis. How else can you explain requesting tat a conservator be sent to monitor a district that has achieved "above average", "superior", and one "average" ranking in 4 out of the last 5 years' fiscal reports? Or how can you explain hiring a law firm who reportedly walked into a board meeting off the street, offering their services because they'd seen/heard of the LISD plight in the local news and written media?

Why would you proceed to vote to hire them on the spot, and not do due diligence by seeking out and interviewing various legal fims, and THEN ascertaining which one would be best served to retain their services of, as a result of a thourough investigation? Are you still not seeing the picture? The continous web of lies, the deceit, the obvious smear campaign being ran in the media outlets such as the local papers... claiming Dr Lewis is stealing money, and the district is in such financial woes that their going bankrupt, and credit cards are being abused, etc. All of which have turned out to be false claims. Imagine that.

What's factual is that, again regardless of what you think of Dr. Lewis, during his tenure at LISD TAKs scores have risen each year. In fact, at last Dallas Morning News glance, LISD had all of it's elementary and secondary schools pass all aspects of the TAKS. A feat that has never happened before here in the district. And the only school not to pass all areas of the TAKS was the high school, who only missed out by 5% points, in the area of math.

As a contrast, Desoto ISD had 3 schools that did not make the grade. (Their high school, a middle school and one elementary.) Anyone out there still beleive LISD is a step above Wilmer Hutchins? Beside the current school board president, of course. Also 85-90% of all LISD teacher's are certified. And the attendance rate for Alternative school participants has dropped from over 300, down to 45 the last school year. Lewis helped passed a bond that saw the building of a brand new state of the art high school, the elevation of it's fine arts program to rival that of Dallas' Arts magnent, and has just implemented the highest ranking academic curriculum in the world.

Yet at each board meeting I sit in the audience amongst principles and teachers, who wonder aloud, what is the board going to do for them with regards to supplies and materials, instead of spending $15,000 on the first day of school on a conservator and the hiring of a lawfirm to investigate the Superintendent, which will cost the district untold thousands of dollars out of the general budget, tax payers dollars, when it readily admits that the districts finaces are limited at best.

Isn't this the same board that claimed to be for the children? Yet the children go without, in favor of paying a lawfirm a $7500 reatiner fee, and the lead lawyer $250 an hour to investigate the super for insubordiantion, failing to deliver info to the board in a timely fashion, and mail tampering? Which according to federal law can only be the case if stamped/meterd mail was involved, which it was not. For anyone interested, Dr. lewis recievd a ox containing manilla envelopes in it, to be passed to the individual board members. He then inserted items of paperwork to be included in the packages, before proceeding to pass the material out. yet this is the mail tampering that Morris wants Lewis fired/invesitgated because of. And be clear, the purpose of the investigation is to try to find some sort of damnding evidence to pass vote amongst the morris factios of 5, to have the suoer intendent fired, so that the district then, won't have to pay the remainder of his salary. Or pay TEA to find his replacement, and then have to pay the replacement as well.

I encourage people who live in the community to start attending the meetings, and see for themselves the truth of what is going on, and not believe the hype, the lies and the web of deceit, that is being perpretrated by those who claim to have the best interest of the district at heart.

I am a resident of Lancaster, who has graduated one child from the district and have two others comign through the district now. And what I, as a "Concerned Citizen", angry pastor as I've been labeled, or whatever else... care about the progress of this district. And it's progress alone. if those who are currently in the voting majority, who sit on the board, have their way, any and all progress made up til this point, will ceast to exist, as I see.

As a citizen and as a parent of this community I'm not angry, I'm passionate. Yet when i think about the circus that is going on within the school board, i should BE angry, and so should you.

Notice I choose not to hide behind a moniker.