The Zip Code, A National Issue

                                              The Zip Code

                   As I examine the  Stamford Advocate story  of the Connecticut mother arrested for sending her son to a school in a district where she does not ” live” , I have to justify to myself that this situation is a national government issue. While it happened in Norwalk, a city in Connecticut, similar situations are occurring all over the country as districts try to allocate scarce local money for their local students. I can understand that local school districts are struggling. Here in Austin teachers are being fired because of low budget, but does that mean that a homeless  child should be removed from his school? Does that mean that his homeless mother should be arrested and could possibly face twenty years in prison and $15000 in fine for stealing $16000 in education from the Connecticut Kindergarten school her child was attending?According to staff writer Nickerson, the mother  Tonya Mcdowell  is charged with the federal crime of larceny. This is not a local matter anymore. It is a national, federal, government issue. The Constitution  explains the dilema best when it comes  to this mother’s case. The constitution cannot dictate to a State what to do about a public school ,but the constitution can provide equal protection through the fourteenth amendment.  Consequently, besides going to court to avoid jail time, Tonya McDowell , the mother seems to have a case in taking this to higher courts including the supreme court.

       I would fully support that move. Here we have a homeless unemployed mother, moving from shelters to friends, trying to find a stable life, being arrested for trying to put her child in a good school. What is wrong with that? Should a zip code dictate the life and death of a child? Ms. Mcdowell obviously knows the answer to that question when she thought she was doing the right thing by enrolling her child in her friend’s neighborhood school district. In a story done by NPR on this same issue, writer Helena Andrews quotes Henry David Thoreau “Under a government which imprisons any unjustly, the true place for a just man is also a prison." Ironically, only this week for a research, I read a study released by NAACP entitled "Misplaced Priorities: Under Educate, Over Incarcerate” . This sudy reveals that the federal government was spending six times more money on prisons than they were on education as they imprison blacks and browns.  I must conclude that it makes me sad to think that there might be no hope for Ms. McDowell and her son if this horrible trend continues.

Steel Magnolia $94 million

   She is seven months pregnant - active, energetic, dynamic  - moving around in the classroom as she directs her theatre art students in rehearsal for the play Steel Magnolia. Nicki Guckian’s quick smile belie the troubled thoughts and concerned anguish over her soon to be lost job. Yes Nicki and her husband Alan Guckian, also an Austin I.S.D teacher have been slated to be RIFed. Ms. Nicki as her students lovingly refer to her, has not stopped serving her students at Lanier High School.she continues to work diligently and consistently. Her husband Alan, the band director for Eastside Memorial High school keeps taking his outstanding, award winning band students from one activity to  the next. Like thousands of teachers and workers throughout Texas, the Guckians’ are intensely worried about the impending future. Speaking at a recent A.I.S.D board meeting Alan Guckian pleaded for his job, “These cuts are going to cripple my family. If we lose our positions, we lose our home. That’s just a fact.”

            This is the story ; this is a fact. Throughout Texas, devastating layoffs better known as RIF or Reduction in Force are being implemented. It makes me feel  like I am in Gorge Orwell’s Animal Farm, and the Government is finding cute names for the destruction of people’s family, while they the elected leaders wallow in exorbitant spending like 14 thousand monthly rental fee.  A $95 million shortfall, is causing elimination of more than 1,500 jobs from only one school district. The RIF of thousands of positions is causing despair, fear, depression and anguish. “I work hard” is falling on deaf ears in school board meetings, and Legislative House.

     While Ms. Nicki sets the stage for her UIL play Steel Magnolia, her students clearly understand that she works hard, but further down the Avenue in the Capitol someone squeals “She works hard  but I work harder.”  The stage collapsed- Steel Magnolia crumbled. Oops. The Blue Bonnet wept and withered.

Youths ARE not IGNORANT

Paul Stoller, a political blogger on The Huffington Post spoke about the ignorance of some of our political figureheads or leaders. In the article entitled Politics in a Culture of Ignorance, Stoller is specifically referring to former Governor Mike Huckabee , politicians Sarah Palin and Michele Bachmann. He cannot understand the ignorance they demonstrate in their conversations, comments and writings. “… they unflaggingly demonstrate an acute intellectual incompetence as well as wholesale ignorance of American history and world affairs…”

       I think blogger Stoller’s comments were strong but definitely correct. He was emphasizing the message that ignorance can be a dangerous and devastating thing that reflects very negatively on the commentator but even more so on the listeners. He mentioned this because “they still manage to maintain or even increase their legions of followers.” I do not really believe they have a huge following. People do see the ignorance in Huckabee blaming President Obama for his Fathers doing or blaming Obama’s father for Obama’s doing. People are not foolish. They do listen critically. They do analyze. Young people, despite what blogger Stoller pointed out have not fully descended into this “culture of ignorance”. He says that as a professor he would like to blame the public school system for the youths (some of his students) ignorance in listening and following the lying, ignorant republicans.

   The youths cannot be blamed. Look at the demographic that is following the “ignorant republicans” he spoke about. It is not the youths! Look at the politicians he is criticizing. They are not the youths. If the public school system is to blame, did Palin and Huckabee attend public school in the 90’s and 2000’s or did they attend during the 60 s, 70’s or 50’s when the public school was deemed as better? Mr. Stoller, brought out some good points, but he presented the wrong reasons by implicating the youths.

More Than a Thousand Places ...Faces - AISD

The Austin Statesman of  Friday February 11,2011, brought out the horrible news that more than a thousand positions with the Austin ISD (school district) will be cut. This simply means that all these people will be losing their jobs. As pointed out by Michael Houser, the head of human resources "As we make these difficult decisions, we realize there are names, faces and careers behind these positions, and that makes this process gut-wrenching,". It certainly is difficult , when one thinks about it. These people behind these positions have families to feed, mortgage to pay , children to send to school, car notes to take care of , and most importantly the dignity of having a job to go to every morning. What will happen? It is scary to think about, knowing that the cut came about because "Austin is planning for a shortfall of $94 million to $114 million — of a total budget of more than $700 million — in the 2011-12 school year. The district is facing dramatic cuts to state and federal funding and lower local property tax revenue." As a consequence ,all these job loses. The human effect will be tremendous. Think about the child who will no longer has her teacher. Think about the teacher who will be overloaded and overworked. Think about.... I think it's best not to think.It is overwhelming, considering that the legislators at the Capitol  " propose reducing public education funding by about $10 billion over the next two years"
 "It is a heart-wrenching time for our district," Board President Mark Williams said.
http://www.statesman.com/news/local/austin-school-district-may-slash-more-than-1-1248927.html