Dr. Marilyn McCluskey Address of A Continuous Practice and pattern of the Valdosta City School Board & System and Local News Media WHITEOUT Machine. Why?

Valdosta City School Board & System of Education Monthly Meeting
Dr. Marilyn McCluskey Addresses, (May 24, 2010, 7:00 PM)

SUBJECT AREA: Valdosta City School System

I just got Teacher of the Year (2010) and I never got a gift from her and so. Ah, I know and I want to address this first. I know some of you probably say that I am a trouble maker and I though long and hard about this and I thought long and hard before I came before you guys and I did some soul searching and I said you know; Harriet Tubman I am sure was a trouble maker, and Martin L. King Jr., and Malcolm X, Sojourner Truth, Rosa Parks, Dr. Dorothy Heights, I am sure Leigh Touchton and Beverly Madison. They are also trouble makers and I am pretty sure that the biggest trouble of them all right now is probably President Barack Obama. But the one thing I can say is; if it had not been for these trouble makers. I would not have been able to walk through the front door of the Valdosta City School Board (VCSB) and I would not be able to stand here before you tonight holding a doctorate from the University of Georgia.

So if my trouble making will make a change in the Valdosta City School System guys I am sorry, but I am going to have to make a little more trouble. Because I hope that I am really, really I want you to see that I am not trying to work against you. I really, really just want change to come and the emphatics for me starting all of this was in my class room and most people don’t know this.

My students and I would go to the news paper and we would pull articles out and our thing was we were looking at the crime section and we looked for those students, those people that are 25 and below and we clipped out the articles and we would post them and discuss them and we realized something quickly. Most of those people were people that we knew most of those people were people that had dropped out of the Valdosta City School System. And my goal was we got to do something. We have to make a change.

One of us could be that person sitting in the Waffle House refusing to give up our wallet to somebody that the Valdosta City School System failed. And that’s the bottom line. That’s the biggest point that people do not understand. It’s not whether or not we like each other. Ah, I like yawl but by the way. But it’s not all about whether we like each other it’s about doing what is right for kids.

What I want to talk about to you tonight and it’s a policy that I am sure that you guys don’t know about. Last year we were instructed to send our old students to the PLC. As 8th grade teachers we had to identify students that were going to the 16 in the 9th grade and we ended up sending 17 students I know from the 8th grade did not go to the high school. The seventh grade teachers identified 20 students, and our 6th grade teachers identified 15 students and what we did is that ended up with us sending 52 students to the PLC.

Now I had a problem with that then because the next thing that came up was you know the PLC is a separate school now and the first thing I said is, O’ my God. They are going to dump kids over there because those test scores would not count and when I looked at the test this time of course that’s what happening. Those 22 9th graders that took the math tests at the PLC; every last on of them failed. And so my thing is this. I have a question and I am hoping one of you will answer it. Why was the Pineville Learning Center turned into a regular school? And why is it that we had 52 students, Valdosta Middle School only had 4 and you know it would not be bad if you send them over there. If you want to call them out and if you were going to do something special for them the come up with something innovative to really get them learning. But it’s not equal over there.

They had less resources than both middle schools. I know I personally sent a e-mail to a Board Member saying this is ridiculous. These kids are using this text book. This science test book that we threw away this year and we disregarded two years ago. And so after I fussed, and baulked a little bit. They finally got science text books, brand new science text books. I know because I personally pulled them out of my closet and sent them over there. They got work books finally. I had 5 computers and when I would go over to work with science teachers at the PLC. I felt so bad because here I am sitting with 5 computes. I could do WEB QUEST and at that time he had one.

So I am begging you tonight if you are going to dump them at the PLC then at least take times out of your busy schedule and go over to the PLC. This is something that you need to see for yourself because know they say women lie; men lie, numbers don’t lie. Go see it for yourself and you will see that the items are not there. You will see what text books they have and to me. It made me think about the school that my mom use to talk about back in the 60s, and I really, really, really, really feel. That if you are really concerned and if you are really interested please go over there and do something for our kids and its kind of sad because people are looking at their watches and things.

And I am going to be honest with you a change is not going to come until you are ready for a change to come and if you are not ready to do right by the kids of Valdosta. Then you will not see a change in Valdosta. The crime will continue to go up and pretty soon it will be over the creek side on the other side of town and then it will be too late.

Thank you!


This INFORMATION was a total WHITEOUT by local media in Valdosta, Georgia and shows a continuous practice and pattern of our local unacceptable News Media. Moreover I have transcribed it (here) because citizens have a right to know what transpires at public meetings in the State of Georgia in 2010.

This practice and pattern have existed for decades and have left citizens deaf, dumb, and blind to the times and unable to make intelligent decisions based on facts from public meetings in our community. But who cares in our beloved Republic in 2010?