|
Comment on this article |
Email this Feature
|
|
News :: Children |
|
Champaign School Board Closes Hearings -- General Public Ordered To Leave The Building |
Current rating: 0 |
by Sascha Meinrath
Email: sascha (nospam) ucimc.org (unverified!) |
30 Oct 2002
|
|
Two days of hearings have been called by the Champaign School Board; the decision to remove Assistant Superintendent Deloris Henry appears to be a foregone conclusion. On Tuesday evening, the School Board ordered a recess of proceedings and refused to continue the hearings until the general public left the building. Community activists are asking the general public to exercise their right to witness and document the actions of this public body by showing up at this evening's meeting -- 6:30p.m. at the Mellon Administrative Building. |
|
#file_1#
Champaign, IL: Tuesday evening the Champaign School Board refused to allow the general public to witness the proceedings against Assistant Superintendent Dr. Deloris Henry. The school board, following proceedures it appeared to be making up as they went, ordered a recess at the beginning of the hearing and "requested" all members of the public to leave -- the hearing did not go forward until members of the public left the building.
On Wednesday evening the hearings will continue at 6:30p.m. Community activists are strongly encouraging the public to attend this School Board hearing and exercise your right to witness and document the actions of the Champaign School Board. The hearings are being held at the Mellon Administrative Building (on the corner of New and John Streets in Champaign).
Deloris Henry has been an active advocate for addressing racial inequitities in the Champaign Public School System. Drawing from her own experiences as an African American in public schools, and her ties with the local African American comunity, she has repeatedly been at the forefront of public debate over this contentious issue.
Racial inequities have been documented by the Office of Civil Rights, and by the School Districts own hired experts. The Champaign School school system is roughly 40% minority; however the school board does not reflect this diversity in its own composition and is 100% white:
#file_2#
Members of the Board of Education
(Left to right, back row first)
Mr. Mark R. Klaus
Mr. Jim Butler, Secretary
Mrs. Nicole Storch
Mr. Jeff Wampler, Vice President
Mr. David Sholem
Dr. Scott F. Anderson, President
Mr. Phil VanNess |
|
See also:
http://www.cmi.k12.il.us/Champaign/
|
Related stories on this site:
For-Profit U.S. Schools Sell Off Their Textbooks
|
