Henrico’s Board Continues To Support Morton’s Discriminatory Actions Toward Henrico’s Employees of Color

UGOTNERVE received this report regarding the Ms. Lucas’ suspension hearing on yesterday:

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Henrico board upholds teacher’s 60-day suspension

 

Saturday, May 31, 2008 – 12:45 AM 

 

By LISA CRUTCHFIELD

TIMES-DISPATCH STAFF WRITER

The Henrico County School Board has voted unanimously to uphold the superintendent’s suspension of a special-education teacher.

On May 5, Superintendent Fred S. Morton suspended Kandise Lucas, a special-education teacher at Elko Middle School, for 60 days with pay for insubordination in violating direct orders not to prepare or send correspondence regarding personal grievances during school hours and for unprofessional behavior.

At a public hearing yesterday, which she requested, Lucas challenged that suspension.

Lucas said her e-mails to the superintendent between April 24 and her suspension were an attempt to clarify his directives and to understand the legal reasons behind them.

Lucas has claimed she was targeted because of her race and her whistle-blowing on what she says are unsafe conditions at John Rolfe Middle School, where she was employed until February. She was then reassigned to Elko.

Morton’s attorney, Bradford A. King, said Lucas could have used established channels for filing a grievance and that her use of school time to repeatedly e-mail the superintendent was inappropriate.

“He never told her she could not complain. He said if you have a personal grievance, there is a time and place,” King said.

In Lucas’ e-mails to Morton, she has referred to his actions as unethical, immoral and racially motivated. She is black and Morton is white.

“There is nothing in the records she produced that show [Morton] suspended her for any reason other than the letters,” King said.

After one hour’s discussion, the board sided with Morton. 
Contact Lisa Crutchfield at (804) 649-6362 or lcrutchfield@timesdispatch.com.

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Those that attended the hearing stated that the there was no way that they board could rule against Lucas because if they ruled against Lucas, they would have ruled against the guidelines outlined with the EEOC which permit employees to refuse any directives that they deem, in good faith, to be discriminatory.

The board heard testimony of how Lucas repeatedly requested clarification from Morton and how he had permitted a hostile work environment to exist which included Lucas receiving threats, Morton sending school employees to her personal residence, and even using falsified documents to recommend her nonrenewal.

Lucas shared the concept of “institutionalized racism” as a fault that exists within Henrico County Public Schools where employees, especially employees of color are expected to take whatever treatment is given to them by white administrators.  She also shared the blatant double standard that exists when the county is dealing with African-American employees as opposed to white employees.

In Lucas’ closing statements, she stated that the board needed to carefully consider their decision and what message they were sending to other educators that dare to speak out about injustices that exist within the county that go unattended to by the board, superintendent, and administrators.

During the hearing, Morton and his attorney stated that when Lucas advise Morton that he should be ashamed of himself for permitting discriminatory practices to go on in Henrico, she was being disrespectful, unprofessional, and derogatory.  Morton acknowledged that he never answered Lucas’ request for providing her with the legal grounds for demanding that she not deal with school related grievances, which included discriminatory practices as it relates to students with special needs and other.  

Lucas then advised the board that if insubordination is the grounds that Morton is using to suspend her, her asking that he clarify his directive and provide legal grounds for the directive in no way supports insubordination due to the fact that one one requests clarification, one is not refusing to obey the directive.  Lucas gave the example of when she, as an educator, gives a student a directive, if the student asks for clarification or requests to be shown where the directive is in the student code of conduct, that is not at all insubordinate.

At the closing of the hearing, Lucas was asked if she had any faith in the fact that the board would do the right thing.  Her response was “no, I do not have faith in politics or systems that think that it is acceptable to deprive black and poor children of equal access and equal quality of education.  I cannot have faith in that type of system to make moral and ethical decisions. I do have faith in justice and truth prevailing no matter who tries to hinder it.  I also have faith that the incompetence that exists within this county at every level, as well as all of the illegal and unethical actions that Morton and others have orchestrated in the dark will be exposed to the light.  After all, you have to remember that during the Civil Rights movement, justice never came at the local and state levels.  It always had to go higher in order to make people do right, and I am going to take this as high as necessary to make it right for our children and this county.  We already have one victory with Morton leaving, so we have to keep pushing on.”

KEEP UP THE NERVE!

 

“A Time To Kill” Comes To Henrico

We received a powerful email from a parent that attended last night’s school board meeting and was simply enraged at the school board’s actions, especially the Varina representative, who they stated was to represent the people of the East End, not the white folks that do not live in this county but work here.

The email said the following:

“It is a “time to kill” in Henrico County Public Schools.  I am not talking about actually killing someone, I am talking about the mindsets of those people last night.  It was just like in the movie, “a time to kill.”  The movie showed a little black girl being raped, beaten, urinated on, strung up on a tree, and left for dead by two white men.  Her father killed both of them because he knew that a black child’s life, a black child’s suffering, a black child’s welfare is secondary to whites.  So he took justice into his own hands for the sake of his child.

After he was arrested for killing the two white men, he hired a white lawyer to defend him against the death penalty.  He said that he hired the white lawyer because he knew that he would think like the white jury and when the case.  The lawyer did think like the white jury when he told them to imagine that the girl that was raped, beaten, urinated on, and hung from a tree to die was NOT black, IMAGINE THAT SHE IS WHITE.

That is what I want to tell Henrico’s school board.  We can’t make them white, but you can pretend that there are white children every time that you make a decision about who to put over them, what things to give them, how to make them safe, if they deserve hot water, if they are entitled to caring teachers and principals that know how to do their jobs, if they need books; I want you to pretend that our kids are white whenever you make a decision about them from now on, then maybe you will see them and their families as human beings that should not be expected to just accept abuse by you.  Imagine our children being white just like your children and all those West End children from last night.”

WOW…….

THAT IS NERVE!

Attorney Agrees To Offer Services Pro Bono For Parents That Wish To File Suit Against Henrico

Yes, that is right!  Email us for more information if you wish to file a civil suit against Armstrong, Morton, and the board.

KEEP UP THE NERVE!

Allegations That the Process to Hire Armstrong Permanently Was Fixed!

Sources involved in the selection process that resulted in the hiring of Andy Armstrong as the permanent principal of John Rolfe Middle School are crying “foul play!” by the district.  While the committee members were sworn to confidentiality, one member stated that confidentiality does not apply to us if we feel like they broke the law during this process.  We don’t have to keep quiet about that.  The committee member went on to state that Kinlaw and Royal were more concerned about keeping the process under the cover by threatening them, than keeping it fair and legal, which is what forced them to vote against what their heart told them.

Allegations being made state that not only was Armstrong given prior notice of the job posting by school officials, but it was shared that he may have also been provided with the interview questions in advance by inside sources.  Allegations also state that committee members felt pressured into voting for Armstrong, even though they knew that he was not the best qualified candidate for the job, due to administrative pressure from central office and Armstrong himself.  One member of the committee went as far as to say that they wanted to keep their job because they needed it, so they voted for Armstrong.

UGOTNERVE is going to follow-up to expose what we all know was a process that lacked integrity.  Those involved in the process stated that they trusted school officials when they stated that the selection would be fair and objective, however, it is clear that personal biases and subjectivity, along with illegal job posting practices gave Armstrong the unfair advantage that he needed to obtain the position that he would not have otherwise had if the selection were actually completed legally.

It is reported that central office staff went as far as to recruit teachers that are leaving Rolfe Middle School this year to speak in favor of Armstrong during the meeting if the need arose to defend his appointment.

Individuals from a school that Armstrong had previously interviewed at and was rejected in October 2007, despite reported efforts by Marilyn Royal to “strong arm” the selection team into choosing him as building principal, were equally shocked by Armstrong’s appointment and have voiced their support for joining in the effort to have the appointment reversed based on legal grounds.  

Several candidates and potential candidates that did not have sufficient time to apply during the illegal three day posting timeframe that ended on a holiday, expressed their intent to file charges of employment discrimination with the EEOC against Henrico County Public Schools next week.

“What is done in the dark comes to the light, even for good ol’e boys that make every effort to hide their dirt!”

KEEP UP THE NERVE!

Henrico’s NAACP Recruits New Advocate For Their Educational Committee

UGOTNERVE was just informed that late last night, Ms. Lucas has been recruited to serve as an advocate for Henrico’s NAACP Chapter, focusing on the educational needs that are presented to the nearly century old civil rights group’s whose fundamental mission is:

“to ensure the political, educational, social, and economic equality of rights of all persons and to eliminate racial hatred and racial discrimination.”

Lucas was recruited last night following the school board’s “slap in the face”, as Dr. J. Vines characterized it, when the school board continued is denial and refusal to acknowledge the valid issues of unsafe conditions and poor leadership at John Rolfe Middle School.  

The board, specifically Varina’s board representative, demonstrated their complete disregard for the voices of concerned parents and educators when they unanoumously voted to appoint Andy Armstrong, who had been the acting principal at Rolfe that is presently under investigation for violation of district, state, and federal laws within his role as acting principal.  Armstrong has also admitted to lying to parents and educators alike.  The superintendent and all school boards were aware of Armstrong’s violations that have resulted in dangerous conditions and deteriorating quality of instruction for the 70% African-American and 40% low income school, yet opted to appoint him anyway.

Parents that met on last night have resolved to take whatever actions are necessary to remove Armstrong, Morton, and the other school board members that have knowingly and repeatedly condoned his neglect of the children at Rolfe.  

Sources state that the primary focus of last night’s meeting was to begin the actions for “judicial review” of the school board’s actions as outlined in Virginia’s Code. National legal support will be called upon to assist in this process which must be file in Henrico’s Circuit Court within thirty days from yesterday.  The effort to remove the school board members will also continue, beginning with Varina’s representative that vocalized how much of a “good job” Armstong has done while at Rolfe for the past eight months.

As one National Action Network officer stated, that attended last night’s meeting, “Montgomery was right! Armstrong has done a good job of lying, breaking the law, protecting others that break the law, and covering it all up by not having any integrity or accountability when dealing with our black children.

Montgomery is clearly a “good o’le boy that will back good ol’e boys like Armstrong and Morton no matter what they do, even if their actions lead to the death of a black child, I am sure that someone like Montgomery would justify it for the sake of preserving the good o’le boy brotherhood, and Morton would back him up.”  He also commented on how abrupt and evasive Montgomery was when approached by parents regarding his nomination and support of Armstrong.  In addition, comments were made that if Montgomery viewed Rolfe’s children and family on the same level as his own children and family, then Armstrong would have never been appointed.

The “legal eagles” shared that each parent, educator, and advocate can file individual complaints with all civil rights organization regarding the board’s actions on last night.  A phone call was made to the NAACP’s new national president, Benjamin Jealous, in order to encourage his intervention regarding this gross injustice that is condoned by the board.  

Six parents have organized to file personal lawsuits against Armstrong as a result of his negligence over the past eight months.  A local attorney that attended last night’s meeting shared that each of the parents had solid cases against Armstrong, Royal, Morton, the board, and Henrico County based on the requirements for proving negligence in the court of law.  These individuals will be meeting next week in order to determine if they will file a class action or individualized suits.  As one parent stated, “since the board refuses to hold that white boy accountable for what he has allowed to happen to our black children, then we will go to the courts to do it.”

African-American parents have also voiced their utter disgust with the responses of African-American leaders within Henrico County Public Schools.  Some have referred to Lamont Bagby, Fairfield’s board representative, and Marilyn Royal, the Director of Middle Schools, and Mychael Dickerson, Henrico’s Head of Security and spokesperson, as “uncle toms and uncle tomasina”, as a result of their willingness to go along with the “good ol’e” boy system to keep their positions.  Parents commented on how Bagby gave them a card and Royal pretended to greet them warmly in an effort to give the illusion of supporting them, but as Dr. Vines stated, “we have talked enough and we must never be above protesting and picketing.”  Parents and others agreed.

Others shared their frustration in the open racism that Armstrong, Morton, Montgomery and others exhibit with no remorse or consideration for children. 

Ms. Lucas has vowed not to stop until every board member and Armstrong are removed from their position of influence over our children.  As she stated during last night’s meeting, “uncaring adults are the worse type of child abusers, and they must be treated just like any other adult whose actions result in harm to our children.  I promise to mobilize advocates on the local, state, and national levels to hold Henrico County Schools accountable.  We are going to have to go “ol’e school with these good o’le boys”.  It is clear that the federal government will need to intercede in Henrico today, just like they did years ago when the forefathers of these same people refused to allow our black children into public schools.  In fact, they chose to close down the schools before they would let our children get what their children got.  Nothing has changed.  This district would rather close down integrity and fairness in order to give themselves an unfair advantage, all at the expense of our children. I agree wholeheartedly with Dr. Vine’s comment indicating that WE must be their conscience because they do not have one when it comes to my child, your child, or any black child because they do not see us or our children as their equals or as human beings deserving of respect.  They see us as slaves that are to accept any and every way that they abuse us without complaint.  It is going to be my pleasure to see that these people are held accountable for the devastation that they have carried out on the civil rights of our children, educators, and parents. They continue to expect us to follow the rules that they establish knowing full well that they are not going to follow them themselves because if they play fair, they do not have what it takes to win.  That is the root of their integrity issue, their insecurity and intimidation of those of us that play fair and win. I have told the district that I will not be silenced or intimidated by their bullying tactics.  Martin Luther King, Jr. said it for us, the oppressor will never give justice or equality freely, we will have to take it from them for ourselves!”

Lucas has organized massive protests before, one protest shut down the administrative building at New York State College.  She has also had litigation experience, serving as her own counsel in a $1.1 milion dollar lawsuit that went to the federal level, where she prevailed in the case.

While she hoped to focus on living a peaceful life by being a mother, wife, and educator when she was initially recruited for Henrico schools, Lucas shares that she now knows that she was sent here to fight yet again for those that have no voice and are being violated by oppressive individuals and systems because of her aversion to injustice, even if her child is not directly impacted, someone’s child is.  

Lucas says that she is definitely up for the challenge of transforming Henrico’s East End from the “dumping ground” that the district has made it into a the schools of excellence that it should be and that our children are entitled to.   She also states that she plans to travel to NAACP’s national headquarters next week in order to meet with their leadership team on behalf of parents, educators, and students on Henrico’s East End.

KEEP UP THE NERVE!

 

Parents, Educators, Advocacy Groups To Organize Against School Board’s Latest Discriminatory Decision

We know that you are anxiously awaiting our commentary on tonight’s school board meeting, so here we go.  Forgive us for the delay, but our staff was swamped with calls.

If you missed tonight’s school board meeting at Henrico County Public Schools, you missed institutionalized racism and total disregard for the welfare of at-risk children at its worst as demonstrated by the superintendent and the board members.

Henrico’s superintendent and board have opted to “slap us in the face” as Dr. J. Vines of Henrico’s NAACP stated, by promoting the illegally appointed Andy Armstrong as the permanent principal of Rolfe Middle School, and continuing to ignore the voices of students, parents, educators, and advocates that follow the rules but are consistently ignored, degraded, silenced, or even harassed by the district.  

Parents, educators, community activists, as well as the media were shocked at the arrogance, disrespect, and complete nullification of the voices of parents, students, and educators that have spoken out against the unsafe conditions, discriminatory treatment, poor dress code, and lack of integrity that has been clearly documented as committed by Rolfe’s administrators, specifically Andy Armstrong, in addition to other administrators.  

The need for “INTEGRITY”  by the board and administrators was repeatedly stressed  by all  who spoke, but it did not seem to matter to them in the least.  One speaker stated that the board expects the double standard to be in place and for us nigga’ to shut up and take whatever they do to us. If there was ever a time that they showed us what they really think about us, it is tonight.  They shouted out that we are just nothing more than “niggas” to them by the way they acted.

Parents shared how they have repeated voiced their concerns regarding Amstrong’s incompetence and the fact that Rolfe Middle School is worse off today than it was when Armstrong was mysteriously appointed by Morton days after having been rejected by another middle school.

When John Montgomery was approached by Ms. Lucas, the spokesperson for The Community Council For Integrity In Education regarding his decision to uphold the recommendation to appoint Armstrong, who has admitted to lying to parents, students, and educators, as well as violating district, state, and federal laws regarding students and educators; Montgomery responded that “he has done a good job!” as he scurried away from Lucas and the parents that were with her attempting to have Montgomery justify his decision to support Armstrong to the families that had suffered the greatest under his leadership within the last eight months

As one African-American grandmother tearfully shared, “our children are nothing more than animals to them, really, they are less than animals to those people on that board and that superintendent.  Now it is time for them to go and for us to do what we need to remove that lying Armstrong.”

Another community activist stated that Henrico’s superintendent and school board have put their stamp of approval on corruption, lies, dishonesty, and lack of integrity by hiring Armstrong, who is still under investigation by several federal agencies as a result of his actions.

The sole African-American male board member, Lamont Bagby, had no problem voting in support of Armstrong, even after month of complaints about the school and stirring account of a thirteen-year old African-American student from Rolfe that was pepper sprayed by school police when Armstrong and other administrators repeatedly refused to protect him from a verbally and physically aggressive student after the student had been sent to the office twice in one day.  The student’s grandmother held back tears as she recalled the incident and the fact that the superintendent and board members were so heartless as to “reward” an individual like Armstrong, who not only lied to them, but attempted to cover-up the truth of the incident.  

Another shared her disgust stating, “Henrico County Public Schools has turned into hell as of this very moment.  Now every demon from all over is welcome to be over my child and yours with the board’s support, they are disgraceful.  Mr. Armstrong should have been fired when he lied to my family and I, but he is white so that make him more valuable than my black boy.  Our voices mean nothing.  Our lives mean even less to them.”

In the upcoming weeks, complaints will be filed with the local district court in an effort to confront the legality of the board’s decision in appointing Armstrong when he was clearly given an unfair advantage as a candidate.  Advocates and parents have already contacted the National Action Network, NAACP, EEOC, and The Community Council For Integrity In Education voicing their disgust with the superintendent and board members and asking what can be done to remove them all, including Armstrong.

As the backlash builds regarding the board’s latest decision, the general perception is that the selection process was altered in favor of Armstrong from the start when the decision was made to advise him of the posting in advance, have him announce that he was running for the position before his subordinates that were to choose the next principal, and only run the job posting for three days, ending it on a holiday.

As one civil rights activist shared, “They have lost their minds, but that is what white people do.  When they know that they cannot win the contest by playing by the rules that everyone else plays by, they break and manipulate the rules to give themselves the advantage.  They have done this for far too long.  How can they promote white males like Armstrong for unprofessionalism, lying, incompetence, and lack of integrity, but suspend and attempt to dismiss African-Americans females for the same  reasons?

Tonight, we all witnessed Henrico County Public Schools reach an all time low integrity-wise.  By their actions, they have costs our children their futures, and as one African-American father that spoke before the board tonight shared, “they don’t even care, its like we are nothing to them.  I voted for that Montgomery, but I wish that I had never laid eyes on him.  He would not even explain himself to us.  What kind of man runs away when someone asks him to defend his decision? A guilty man that knows that he did not do the right thing for our kids like he promised he would.  He is a guilty man. And a man can only be guilty when he knows that he is wrong.  Montgomery is some type of preacher in his church, so how can he do this when the God I serve would not do it?  I know he has a son.  What if a principal let this happen to his son, would he promote him? I know he would not.  Our kids are not his kids.  He does not care.

UGOTNERVE wants to encourage those that took this horrific injustice so hard.  Remember, we are fighting against a good o’le boy system that has its roots in the oppression and abuse of people of color and poor people.  Those that are the beneficiaries of “white privilege” are not going to give up their privilege willingly, especially when they can go to this extreme “thinking” that they will not be held accountable.  

Believe us, they will……….a lie cannot live no matter who tries to keep it alive or how they work to do it!

Thank you to our readers in Richmond, Chesterfield, Hanover, Petersburg,  Virginia Beach, DC, North Carolina, New York, Sweden, Germany, and everywhere else.  Keep passing us on and spreading the word!

Don’t forget about Lucas’ Public Hearing to be held at Elko Middle School in Henrico County at 4pm on Friday, May 30.  Educators, attorneys, and the media alike are interested in seeing how the superintendent’s attorney will justify what all have determined to be Morton’s illegal censorship actions toward Lucas when he repeatedly demanded that she not “plan” or “respond” to him regarding school-related concerns during school hours.  Others are curious to see if Morton and the board will “reinvent” the law, apply the double standard rule, or just plain ignore it as they did tonight…..if only Lucas were white!

KEEP UP THE NERVE!

Weekly Word: God’s Wake Up Calls!

See:

Bishop Tudor Bismark:  

http://youtube.com/watch?v=0fGPrQjc8Kk&feature=related

 

Dr. Carolyn Showell:  

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=uscxUTesbuU, 

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=9qcKfD_-cH8&feature=related

 

 

Last Henrico County School Board Meeting Tonight at 7pm

Remember to SHOW-UP and SPEAK-OUT during Henrico’s last school board meeting of the year. See:www.henrico.k12.va.us for details.  Also come out to the public hearing where Ms. Lucas is challenging the illegal suspension that was issued by the superintendent all because she “planned” and “sent” a series of emails to him, in response to the injustices, discrimination, and ill-treatment of people of color.

The selection of Rolfe’s principal is still being monitored and it is expected that an announcement will be made later today.  The question is whether Morton will act in integrity or continue to “play the politics” game with Rolfe’s children, staff, and administrators that are of color and/or economically disadvantaged.

Perhaps he will finally do the right thing and remove Armstrong, then replace him with an instructional leader that has a “heart, passion, and competence for children.”

Time will tell and we will be ready to challenge and raise hell behind ANY decision that is made that does NOT support stability, security, and success for our children.  ROLFE DOES NOT HAVE TIME FOR ANOTHER LEARNING CURVE FRED! AT LEAST GET THIS RIGHT BEFORE YOU “RELOCATE”.

KEEP UP THE NERVE!  AND WE ARE WATCHING!

 

Kinlaw and Royal To Help Choose Rolfe’s Principal

UGOTNERVE received a communication stating that Patrick Kinlaw, Assistant Superintendent of Administrative Services,  and Marilyn Royal, Director of Middle Schools, were placed on the selection team that is choosing John Rolfe Middle School’s principal.

It is interesting to note that neither Philip Jepson, Director of Human Resources, nor Fred Morton, superintendent, have been visible during this process, but we can be assured that they are working behind the scenes to pull strings for Andy Armstrong, the previously appointed principal that was given an unfair advantage when he was advised in advance that the position was coming open.

The integrity of Kinlaw, Royal, Jepson, and definitely Morton are a point of great concern for parents, educators, and community members considering the lack of integrity that has been demonstrated by central office officials as it pertains to John Rolfe Middle School, its students, parents, staff, and educators.

One thing is for sure, if Armstrong is chosen to be principal, it will solidify this district’s commitment to corruption, deceit, discrimination, retaliation, unfair treatment of students, parents, and adults.  In addition, the board that confirms him will condone his previous acts of lying, falsifying, fabricating, and just being a poor leader that has no regard for the souls, hearts, or futures of children.  The board is fully aware of his illegal activities and has done nothing to intervene on behalf of our children, their families, and educators to date.  Instead, they have “upheld” the injustice and, at times, protected and defended it to the detriment of our children, not their children, ours. 

The thought that they would even consider placing Armstrong back at Rolfe is proof of their lack of value of our children and the fact that they have no desire to give our children an instructional leader of excellence as they deserve…after all, they are only poor, black, special ed kids.

Words of Wisdom to the board:  Choose Armstrong and you choose death for our children, their families, and our educators.  Competence and stability for our children are more important than cronism and weak leaders for the sake of selfish agendas of adults.

We will see if the board makes the right decision or chooses continued death and failure for our children, our families, and our communities.  Our choice is simple, if they chose him, we don’t choose them.

KEEP UP THE NERVE!

 

Lucas Joins Sharpton’s Advocacy Group As President

Ms. Lucas, the educator and advocate that has been put through hell and then some by Fred Morton, Henrico County’s Superintendent, and his cronies on the board and off the board, has been appointed as the president of the National Action Network for Richmond, Virginia.  Local and national organizers requested that she head the organization some time ago after witnessing her relentless advocacy and courage on behalf of those that have endured injustice, including herself.  

One NAN organizer referred to Lucas as a “pitbull in pumps,” when commenting on her fierce pursuit of justice when faced with injustice, no matter the person.  Others commended Lucas for her expertise, leadership, motivation, and organization abilities when it comes to empowering those that have been the subjects of injustice.

Lucas was unavailable for comment, as she is in Washington DC, but we can rest assured that Henrico County Schools will be one of her priorities as the National Action Network’s newly appointed president.   NAN organizers are planning to hold a press conference in the upcoming weeks to announce their formation and to encourage others to join in, as well as reach out to those in need.

 

KEEP UP THE NERVE!