My heart is heavy this morning for our youth. I was compelled to write this. Excuse the typos. It was written with pain and rage!! The attack on Black youth in this country is profound. From Ferguson to New York to Philadelphia, all around this country, Black lives mean little to nothing. Mike Brown and Eric Garner and so many other young Black men and women lives were diminished prior to their untimely deaths. The diminishment of Black children begins in the public school system. They are often not encouraged to succeed because they are seen as inferior by the overwhelming presence of young white male and female teachers. They cannot relate to our children because they are ignorant to their culture and the social ills in which the children have to deal with on a daily basis such as extreme poverty. We do have some excellent teachers in our school system that posses the skills and compassion needed for such a career. We have teachers who constantly spend their own money to provide necessary supplies for their classrooms because the school district does not. School Superintendent William Hite Jr. announced on August 16th that 32 million in spending cuts will act as a temporary measure. The attack on public education is a direct attack on Black youth. I can easily name 10 places where Nutter and Corbett can obtain the funds to close the budget gap. Just to name a few: incorporate a full fair funding formula, pass the $2.00 cigarette tax, tax Comcast, end the 10 year tax abatement, utilize the prison expansion budget for public schools, and use the funds from the Welcome America 4th of July celebration. These are some short and long term solutions. The cuts will impact the maintenance of our schools and the free transpasses given to students in 6th - 12th grade. Not only are our children provided with an inadequate education but their schools will be filthy, and they will not be given free transportation to make sure they get to school. Our children deserve better!!! I cannot stress enough how detrimental the transportation cut will mean for our children. Children who have parents who are living from check to check will not be able to provide tokens and transpasses for their children on a weekly basis, especially parents who have multiple children in school. The cost for tokens and transpasses is not economically feasible for working poor parents. If transportation is cut, we will see a massive increase in students being absent, and truancy will become an issue. If they are not in school, we know they will be hanging in the streets. We know that means, open season for the city of Philadelphia police. The only resolution to this problem is to demand and fight for a full fair funding formula for our school system. Pennsylvania is one of three states that do not have a formula. For all that believe in public education now is the time to rise up!!!
Posted on: Wed, 20 Aug 2014 14:09:25 +0000
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