The "Overtime SACS" waiting game
If you are not familiar with the "Overtime SACS" game, it's fairly simple. It is the process by which you get so fed up with what is happening (or not happening) at your child's school that you start attending school board meetings and speaking up in an effort to help. Once you have tried and tried and get nowhere, you finally decide to take your complaints higher.
You write to the Southern Association of Colleges and Schools (a.k.a. SACS)and hope for a response. You wait and wait. You finally receive an acknowledgment that the group is "looking into it" as you stayed tuned to the local media in hopes they will somehow be able to learn more or do something.
You wait. You hear that SACS is coming to town. You realize that this event is now more exciting to you than Santa Claus coming to town. You worry. You wait. You try not to think about it. You hope they will contact you for more information. You hope you are not alone.
SACS sounds official, but so far, they have done little or nothing to help our children get the education they deserve. They are more likely a paid consultant of sorts for the Superintendent and the best they might be able to offer is another round of warnings or reprimands. You know this. But, still you hope there might actually be one single solitary organization in this entire state that is actually interested in doing the right thing for the children. You wonder if SACS might be "the one" to finally help.
And, then you remember how many times you have been down this path. You're just waiting to be "SACS"ed. You don't know when, but you know you will probably get hit and go down. And, you will have to get back up and start all over again. Is SACS going to help us? Or are they corrupt, too?
We may never know. They may never do anything. But, still, we all wait together. We are still working on our individual fights and living our lives, but collectively we are all very much in the same place at the same time. We all want the same things for our children, no matter what part of the county we live in and no matter what the color of our skin. We are all in this together and that is a very important thing to remember. Before you start to bash another parent, teacher or blame the testing, the children or the funding, just remember that the people who have created this mess are not even here to see the aftermath of their destruction. They are well protected from the ugly truth that they have driven a once great school system into the ground intentionally. And, even if they did see it, they would not care. They have investment partners and big bucks riding on the wave of the future - privatized education, state charters, virtual schools, vouchers. It is all about the money.
The only thing more concerning that the results of the latest SACS visit may be waiting for the Crawford Lewis trail to begin. SACS told us to expect results around the Thanksgiving holiday, so here we are. And, it sounds like they are not finished with their "investigation" (whatever that entails) and we will be on hold for another two weeks.
Mark Elgart, the head of SACS, has two words for us ... "Be Prepared."
Not sure if he is referring to the results of his company's review of our schools or if maybe he is a "prepper" (just joking).
But, whatever it is that we should be preparing to learn, we can handle it. Whether we are sentenced to more sitting in limbo, or we learn that the state will be called to step in and take over, we have made it this far and we can go the distance.
Children grow, learn, develop and move on with their lives the best they can and many are successful due to their ability to overcome hardship and oppression. Many have parents who worry, wait and try to do what is best. And many are left behind after years in a messed up system that was supposed to ensure they received the help they needed.
While the children grow up and the taxpayers look on, the legislature and board members continue to hem and haw and make a mess of things. Please watch the news clip below so you are caught up on the latest game tactics for stalling and calling for extra time out's so the coaches can review the tapes, or alter them, or whatever they do. Don't get your hopes up too high, but don't let them be dashed, either.
The outcome of what we are all doing separately, together and with or without the help of those who have been elected to "represent us" is an important part of history, even if we are still unsure where we are headed.
We may live in one of the toughest economic times in history, but money never has been the path to salvation or the root of all evil, has it? What's in your heart is what your child will know. What you are teaching through your actions about trying, putting in the effort, never giving up, and fighting for the rights of others - is a valuable lesson that no one else is qualified to teach your child but you.
Be proud. Be wise. Be prepared.
And have a Happy Thanksgiving with your family and friends this year because you have each other. We are thankful to have found an online community of like-minded individuals who are willing to think for themselves, show up to vote on the important issues of our time, speak up at meetings and consider the issues. We are all learning together, exercising our rights and waiting patiently for the outcome of our efforts so far.
We will continue to keep you informed about what we learn every step of the way. And, as always, you can share your news with us at sayno2celltowers@yahoo.com. Let us know if it can be reprinted and we will share it on our site.
This is about much more than cell towers, or virtual schools, or charter schools or even corruption. This is about doing the right thing, setting a good example for others and rising about the pigeon holes that the "system" wants to put us all in so they can continue to steal our money and shortchange the children.
Enough is enough.
Mark Elgart wants us to prepare, but what he is really wanting is for us to "wait," so that we will not go any further up the line. He wants us to wait until he is ready or SACS is ready. We have not hit rock bottom, in other words. Just wait. Paul Womack still has a few more weeks in active school board duty since we somehow decided to hold the school board elections in July this year and then leave the ousted board members at their posts for several more months before their replacements can step in.
Brilliant idea. Who thought of that one? Oh yeah, "the state." The same "state" that we now think can do a better job at charter school approvals than our local board? The same "state" that reallocates our tax dollars to other counties like Gwinnett because we have too much money? The same "state" that puts misleading verbiage on the ballot to trick us into voting the way they want us to? Or the "state" that screwed up the whole map issue so that voters thought they had to tax themselves via another SPLOST for five years in order to redraw district lines which would have been done anyway? The same "state" we are all hoping will "take over" when SACS gives them the green light?
How many quarterbacks do you know who are willing to wait to be sacked?
If we can see it coming, why are we still so helpless to stop it? Or, get out of the way? Or stop paying the people who are doing it? Why can't we, collectively, get our team a better game plan, work together and win a game for a change? Perhaps part of the problem is that before you can win a game, you need to know who your opponent is. We all seem to keep pointing the finger at each other instead of looking in the same direction at the same time.
SACS is coming. So, is Santa. And they both say they are acting with "the children" in mind.
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