Monthly Archive for April, 2005

Page 8 of 8

Thurs. School Board Meeting Racially-Charged

Thursday night’s school board meeting sounds like it was pretty tense. In yesterday’s Progress, James Fernald wrote:

A split in the crowd of more than 150 at the meeting was evident as most speakers either showed support for Superintendent Scottie Griffin or criticized her.

Mark Krebs, a former School Board member, asked the board to consider removing the superintendent.

“This is a superintendent who has made her race an excuse for her incompetence,” Krebs said. “Do these comments make me racist?” Many in the audience shouted over his “no” with an emphatic “yes.”

[…]

M. Rick Turner, dean of African-American Affairs at the University of Virginia and president of the local chapter of the NAACP, again at Thursday’s meeting accused members of the City Council and School Board of being racist.

“This insidious form of racism and corruption has taken us far away from solving the achievement gap,” Turner said. “A modern-day lynching is happening right before our eyes.”

Hey, don’t hold back, Dean Turner — tell us how you really feel.

cvillenews.com member “Upset” has his/her own account of the meeting, describing what went on.

To pack all of the school board/Griffin news into one post, Courteney Stuart has a piece about Griffin in this week’s issue of The Hook, while Cathy Harding has a big ol’ story about the state of Charlottesville schools and where the current situation fits into the long-term narrative.

57th HoD Race: Rossman Is Out

UVa professor Jeffrey Rossman, one of the Democrats considering tossing their hat into the ring in the 57th House of Delegates race, has decided not to run. He’s one of a half dozen potential candidates who have bowed out, with only former mayor David Toscano running so far. The seat is currently held by Del. Mitch Van Yahres, who has occupied it for 24 years. Rossman’s open letter on his decision can be read below the fold.
Continue reading ’57th HoD Race: Rossman Is Out’

Sideblog