Deja Vu all over again!

As you know, we began following the workings of the school board and district when we heard about the Diversity, Equity, Inclusion (DEI) senior position being planned back in March 2021. We started reviewing the entire DEI industry, a subsidiary of Education Incorporated, and understood this was window dressing for staffing up even more ‘experts’ at the district headquarters. And we voiced our concerns.

Foolishly, we didn’t delve deeply enough into our own school district, the one to which we’re paying taxes to EDUCATE kids. If we had, we would have found 2260.02 – RACIAL EQUITY POLICY (found here: https://go.boarddocs.com/fl/ircs/Board.nsf/vpublic?open#), approved by the board in Feb. 2020. And like the DEI job description, it’s a word salad of unintelligible jargon (BS) that subtly asserts many things about our country, local community and even our teachers.

This masterpiece claims first that the district has “systemic inequities and practices that lower black students’ abilities to achieve” but people will find them and stomp them out. One might ask – we do? Where and who…our teachers…our staff? Why haven’t they stopped? Fortunately, “the Superintendent shall lead from a system-wide racial equity lens.” Aren’t you relieved?!

It includes “modeling racial equity in business practices, replacing inequitable operational practices… and focusing accountability systems and metrics on racially equitable results. This is interesting if you think about the fact that our district has been under a Desegregation Order over 50 years. You’d think our administrators would have been attuned to these inadequacies and had righted them. But if that were the case, we wouldn’t need to spend money satisfying the Ed Inc.elites.

I asked this in 2021 and I’ll ask it, again, what board member can describe in detail what any of the jargon/BS means? What methods to judge accomplishments for all of the items in the policy has the board been involved in implementing? How have students’ scores and graduation rates improved? Ms. Barenborg, Mr. Barefoot – can you explain what inequitable systems we have functioning in the district and what you plan to do about them?

From a Wall Street Journal op-ed from March 2021, ‘Equity’ Is a Mandate to Discriminate: “Equality means equal treatment, unbiased competition and impartially judged outcomes. Equity means equal outcomes, achieved if necessary by unequal treatment, biased competition and preferential judging…It is why radical claims for unequal treatment must be carefully buried in word salads praising equity and social justice.” And to my point: “Hidden, too, are the extensive measures that would be needed to achieve equal outcomes.” Those measures would necessarily be tyrannical, as well.

Although we missed this policy, we did delve into the big picture and started seeing the method behind the madness. At its heart, DEI is a cash cow for Ed Inc. and one of a number of ways to hijack our education system in order to start conditioning our kids to become good little collective bots. As we’ve said before, what better way to play down individual achievement and push for the betterment of the collective than to tell all white kids they and their ancestors are/were oppressors, and they owe black students equal outcomes.
The professor who penned the opinion piece said it best: “Since the ultimate goal is achieving equal outcomes, these evasions raise the hardest question of all. Isn’t equity just a new brand name for the oldest program of achieving equal outcomes? Its name is socialism.”

Back in 2020 when this policy was created, I can just see Dr. Mara Schiff leading the board and administration on the elements of systemic racism and her expertise – Restorative Justice. If we are going to ‘restore justice’ for the generations of blacks since the end of slavery, we must have this policy and follow its guidance…I doubt she mentioned lip service.

But if you saw the last school board meeting, you know there are other ‘real world’ problems to be addressed. At the meeting “Discipline Problems” were top of mind for many because there have been a number of incidents in our local schools. But we’re not all on the same page here – when the Education Elite say “Safe Schools” they aren’t talking about students being safe from predators or other violent students, they mean students feel safe to be anything they want and behave anyway they like – for instance demanding different pronouns.

One last thought on DEI, and it’s not spoken…the need for eradicating Systemic Racism WILL NEVER END. That’s right, that position they wanted to fill…it was permanent; this policy, it’s permanent; White Privilege, we’ll always have it. So, you see, there will always be a need for more ‘experts’/ consultants, curriculum, books, materials and statistical analysis. It’s a perpetual industry.

So back to the district’s Racial Equity Policy…the FL Department of Education recently flagged it along with policies from nine other districts and suggested it doesn’t meet the new state statutes. It appears the state’s greatest concern is the introductory “Purpose” and that’s all the Superintendent plans to change. I believe the policy should be eliminated altogether.

Please take the time to consider this information and contact the district administration and school board members to express your thoughts and concerns.

Oh, by the way, did I say cash cow? In a recent Imprimis from Hillsdale College, the article linked here https://imprimis.hillsdale.edu/education-as-a-battleground/ discusses many of the topics we’ve focused on in the past year including the growth in administrative staff in public schools from 2000 – 2019. This chart speaks volumes about where an increasing number of tax dollars are going.

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As we celebrate the birth of Jesus Christ and other religious holidays, we are reminded of the importance of spirituality in our lives and the importance of spiritual knowledge and goodness, of kindness and joy. Ponder the topic, if you will, as we look at the need for teaching spiritual growth and goodness in our schools. Until then,
Merry Christmas and a very Happy New Year!

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