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Related Story NAACP to Operate Parent Information Centers on Behalf of the MPLS Schools...and on YOUR Dime

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Information Compiled by Doug Mann.
Written and edited by Dr. Vinny, Founder & Publisher.

BACKROOM DEALS PATROL -- On June 28, 2003, a two-thirds majority of the Minneapolis NAACP branch membership voted to not open the two proposed Parent Information Centers that local NAACP leaders had wanted to open--and pay for with federal funds. The membership also voted to return the $152,400 (plus interest) the branch had already recieved as startup funds to open the centers. Most of the membership agreed that it would be a conflict of interest for the NAACP to operate the centers, as they are part of the aftermath of the recent NAACP lawsuit against the state for failing to properly educate students in the Minneapolis Public Schools.

But Minneapolis NAACP Branch President (and former Minneapolis School Board member) Albert Gallmon disagreed. On July 10, 2003, Gallmon convened a special meeting of the NAACP branch executive committee, where the Parent Information Center project was approved through bureaucratic slights of hand. Then, on July 26, 2003, Gallmon stated that he would continue to move forward with plans to open the Parent Information Centers without authorization from the branch membership, thereby defying the people who voluntarily pay the dues that keep the organization afloat!

Protesters Outline their Objections

This incensed many members of the Minneapolis NAACP. Not only was the organization pursuing activities that were a clear conflict of interest, but they were openly defying a membership vote on the matter. So, an ad hoc committee of NAACP members picketed two Minneapolis locations on August 1, 2003, and passed out these leaflets. In the leaflets, the protesters criticized the need for the Parent Information Centers--as the services to be provided there are already offered by the MN Dept. of Education and local school districts--as evidenced by the fact that the Parent Information Centers were only given 50 spots for students--or 10% of the total--in the Minnesota Voluntary School Choice Project, the major reason any parent would need to visit the Center in the first place (which means we're paying up to $381,000 for the Centers to handle as few as 50 students--a cost of up to $7,620 per student).

They also took issue with the Minnesota Voluntary School Choice Project, and compared it to 1960's desegregation programs from the Deep South. Specifically, they criticized the small scale of the program, which offers 500 students the chance to move from an underperforming school in Minneapolis into a stellar school in the West Metro suburbs. The trouble is, 20,000 students attend underperforming Minneapolis Public Schools, and there are only 500 spots--enough for just 2.5% of the students who need a better school. And to make matters worse, the program effectively ends after the 2003-2004 school year, when both the state and the West Metro districts get the chance to opt out of the program.

Finally, the protesters took issue with branch brass for not having conducted an audit of branch financial records since 1998--despite the fact that the NAACP's Constitution and by-laws require an annual audit.

You know, when I first heard that the NAACP President was going to be a former Minneapolis School Board member, I figured things would get pretty rotten, but I didn't expect to be proven right this fast!--Dr. Vinny, South High Sucks.com Founder & Publisher

About Doug Mann: Doug Mann is a South Minneapolis resident who has been a gadfly in local education politics for many years. Mann also ran unsuccessful campaigns for the Minneapolis School Board in 1999, 2001, and 2002. Vinny's Education Coalition, the operator of SouthHighSucks.com, found him to be the best candidate for the 2002 general election. Mann continues to be involved in local education issues, and frequently participates in the Minneapolis-Issues List, in addition to operating his own website, http://educationright.tripod.com, where he regularly posts new articles of interest to education reform advocates. Mann's writings will also appear right here at SouthHighSucks.com on an occasional basis.

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