The Coalition of Concerned Citizens for African American Children is also sending mixed messages about Friday's dismissal of the lawsuit against the Wake County school board.
In a press release late Friday, the CCCAAC, said the group was "saddened" by the dismissal. But the group also said it was "pleased" that Judge Pittman had found the board to be "in violation of Open Meetings Law." (They're the ones who bolded it.)
Like the statement issued Friday by the attorneys for the plaintiffs, the CCCAAC is focusing on the three unreasonable actions that Pittman said had been made by the board. But those actions were corrected before the suit was filed.
In addition, Pittman worded his decision very carefully, repeatedly using the phrase "alleged violations."
"The Court cannot conclude on this record that the Board engages in continuous violatlons of the Open Meetings Law or that past violations, if doy, will reoccur," Pittman wrote.
Keep in mind that Gerald Wright, the CCCAAC's executive director, was one of the plaintiffs in the lawsuit.
Here's the group's press release:
For Immediate Release
The Coalition Of Concerned Citizens for African American Children is saddened by the decision of Judge Pittman to dismiss the Open Meetings Lawsuit; however we are pleased that the Court found WCPSS Board’s was in violation of Open Meetings Law and the violations are as follows:
1.A ticketing procedure requiring a ticket holder to remain on the premises for hours preceding a meeting is unreasonable.
2.Complete exclusion of members from the public meetings of the COW prior to the meetings is unreasonable.
3.Failure to make accommodations for members of the public who are disabled is unreasonable.
The CCCAAC is pleased to know that the Wake County Board Of Education is taking reasonable actions to correct the past violations of The Open Meetings Law.
We strongly encouraged parents, citizens and taxpayers to continue to closely monitor the actions and decisions of the Wake County School Board Of Education in addition to studying the system policies and procedures of local and state laws that govern our children's education and elected officials. The CCCAAC encourages parents to attend the bi-weekly Wake County Board of Education meetings and Board committee meetings.
CCCAAC believe that children benefit when they attend schools that are economically and ethnically diverse.
Comments
Does anybody know who was
Sun, 05/16/2010 - 10:09 — jenmanDoes anybody know who was denied accommodations for their disability? I didn't see anybody there who appeared disabled and in need of special seating or anything. Of course, it was crowded and I could have missed it. Just curious.
Barbara Garlock
Sun, 05/16/2010 - 11:58 — virginiadareSee her affidavit. She has Stage IV breast cancer which has spread to her bones and caused fractures which make it painful for her to stand for hours. She requested a seat after standing in the hall because of her disability and was denied. All disabilities are not visually apparent.
I hope that she lets someone
Sun, 05/16/2010 - 12:44 — CaryCurmudgeonI hope that she lets someone on the board know when she wants to attend meetings, so that the security staff knows to look for her and get her a seat in the room.
Who specifically denied her
Mon, 05/17/2010 - 09:06 — woodstockWho specifically denied her a chair? Did they know she was disabled? Was it one of the board members...they were the folks named in the lawsuit. Should it be assumed that everyone has every possible disability since they are not all "visually apparent."
No one to my knowledge has
Sun, 05/16/2010 - 10:37 — woodstockNo one to my knowledge has ever been denied access because of a disability. However, Rev. Barber did have one of his assistants bring in "special seating" since the normal-sized chairs provided did not accommodate his generous girth.
Does Calla Wright's merry
Sat, 05/15/2010 - 20:39 — woodstockDoes Calla Wright's merry band of rabble-rousers -- the CCCAAC -- understand that the so-called "violations" were all addresses well BEFORE the lawsuit was ever even filed? The ticketing issue for instance -- devised by WCPSS staff NOT the BoE -- was revised within hours after it was initiated.
The truth is there were NO violations. The entire lawsuit was DISMISSED. The fact that they are "saddened" demonstrates that the value politics over the law.
If the CCCAAC wants something to do, I suggest they encourage citizens and taxpayers to monitor the activities of N.C Policy Watch (w/Fitzsimon and Schoefield) and the N.C Justice Center (w/ Rev. Billy Barber). They claim to be tax exempt, non-profit advocacy groups but they are in fact political action organizations engaged in political warfare and funded by the Jim Goodmon political and media empire.
Political Warfare is Everywhere....
Sun, 05/16/2010 - 07:09 — nickdangerWoodstock wrote:
They claim to be tax exempt, non-profit advocacy groups but they are in
fact political action organizations engaged in political warfare and
funded by the Jim Goodmon political and media empire.
Oh geez, Woodstock----The saddest thing about the current WCPSS debate is that EVERYONE is involved in political warfare and our kids are the ones stuck in the middle!
You seem to miss the point
Mon, 05/17/2010 - 09:05 — woodstockYou seem to miss the point entirely. N.C. Policy Watch and the N.C. Justice Center claim to be non-partisan advocacy groups. However, the truth is they are just a left-wing political action organization funded by the Goodmon media empire. There are very serious legal disclosure and tax-related issues that revolve around the lies perpetrated by these organizations which just happen to be headed by Chis Fitzsimon and Rev. Barber respectively.
The new BOE may not enjoy "universal support" -- who does? -- but they do enjoy very broad and bi-partisan support. That is why they were elected so overwhelmingly with the twice the normal turnout for similar elections and are able to move so effectvely forward with their mandate for change.
LET IT GO people...LET IT
Sat, 05/15/2010 - 17:04 — aquaman4life68LET IT GO people...LET IT GO. It is over, the judge spoke, now move on to actually help. These special groups have nothing to do with actually helping children. All they want to do is sit back and wait for the first wrong move a person can make and then pounce on them!
Help?
Sun, 05/16/2010 - 07:15 — nickdangerAquaman wrote:
LET IT GO people...LET IT GO. It is over, the judge spoke, now move on to actually help.
Aquaman,
Has our school board put forth any solutions for improving academic achievement yet? What are they doing to address the 54% graduation rate of economically disadvantaged students in our system?
Maybe I missed it, but I haven't heard a concrete academic proposal come out of these guys yet. Outside of Johnny's "promise zones"---which won't be ready for two years and which I still haven't figured out how we're going to fully fund----this board has said nothing about improving learning results in our county.
New Promise Zone for Charlotte
Sun, 05/16/2010 - 13:37 — occum_sharpeCheck out the Charlotte Observer Education page to get the latest on Charlotte's New Promise Zone and the wonderful situation created by their Zone Plan.
Most shocking is the little blurb that has info about the white population in Charlotte's Public Schools. In the 90's it was over 60%, now it is hovering around 40%. Is this the road our new board wants to take us down?
What's your point? In the
Sun, 05/16/2010 - 20:23 — Eric_BWhat's your point? In the 90's the percentage of whites in WCPSS was around 70% and now it is at 51%.
Point
Sun, 05/16/2010 - 21:27 — occum_sharpethe point is that Middle and Upper Class whites have fled the Charlotte Public Schools in droves and private schools are booming. In just 20 years Charlotte has moved to a system with almost half of their schools being 75% poverty. Many whites in Mecklenburg that couldn't afford private left for Union County which saw a huge increase in population, especially white population, during that time. Since the Cappachione ruling in 2003, the exodus has been in hyperdrive in many areas.
So then, using your logic,
Mon, 05/17/2010 - 07:03 — jeffrey1So then, using your logic, you must agree that whites have fled the Wake County Public Schools as well, because in just 20 years, the percentage of whites in Wake has gone from 70% to 50%. The percentage of white has fallen by 20% in both school systems.
Actually, this is a case of occum_sharpe not being able to interpret data. While the percentage of whites has fallen in both Charlotte and Wake, the number of whites has increased.
See http://www.wcpss.net/demographics/reports/book09/VB-race.pdf for further details.
The drop in percentages are due to the fact that both areas, like much
of the nation, are becoming move diverse. We have had an influx of
non-whites. In fact, in the not to distant future, whites will become a
minority in the United States.
"Most shocking is the little
Sun, 05/16/2010 - 15:34 — zande"Most shocking is the little blurb that has info about the white
population in Charlotte's Public Schools. In the 90's it was over 60%,
now it is hovering around 40%. Is this the road our new board wants to
take us down?"
Heh...
Mon, 05/17/2010 - 08:17 — Bob_SconceAs long as WCPSS needs to abide by state guidelines like the Standard Course of Study, this will never happen.
question on SCoS
Mon, 05/17/2010 - 08:36 — red_balloonA magnet program objective is "Provide expanded educational opportunities". How is this achieved by staying within the state guidelines for a give grade level? Also, isn't the state guideline basically a "sound basic education"?
Why should the goal be to
Mon, 05/17/2010 - 07:33 — woodstockWhy should the goal be to eliminate effective educational options and only have government-run schools? I think a better goal would be to have a successful county-wide system that adresses the needs of all students and employs all the educational resources available, including strong public/private partnerships.