|
January 18, 2004
"When our children see the buildings in which they are schooled falling down around them, they understand in their own way, where they fall in the list of priorities of the adults in their world, at the bottom."
anonymous
In my open letter to the PD, dated 11 - 3 - 03 
I choose to write about a subject that has held my interest since first writing about it, a month before the vote on what now is commonly known as Issue 14, the levy to reshape the
schools. The subject of my discontent at that time was, and still is the old East High School gymnasium.
At that time, I wrote about the gym in an open letter titled, Cleveland Public Schools (renovation/rebuild of 122 buildings). Parts of it
are worth repeating. Barbara Byrd-Bennett had made some comments ( * see footnote for source ) I felt needed
repeated community awareness.
She stated in part, " What East High told us is that we cannot wait to address this crisis...
" What Ms Byrd-Bennett was not tilling us in her article is the crisis could have been avoided. The fact is the collapse of the gymnasium roof did not receive priority treatment years ago, when people saw the handwriting (deplorable conditions) on the wall, and did report it to officials in the system. Building deterioration doesn't happen overnight. The wake up call came and went, when according to what the CEO wrote concerning the 44 roofs which already received attention, before the gymnasium collapsed. She added,
" Today, all but two roofs had been replaced, " Which schools were they? Did the East High gym receive priority attention? 44 roofs! All 44 roofs
were in a critical state of deterioration but the East High gym was not considered a wake up call when the other roofs received attention.
" ...and an additional nine schools that were not on the list have had roofs replaced.
" But the East High gym was not included. Amazing! Many people knew the East High Gym roof was a crisis waiting to happen.
Byrd-Bennett received notice of this open letter via email, my favorite form of communication. No, she does not have a direct email address. But where there is a will,
there is a way. She did receive it...via email.
In the PD letter, I stated, " This structure ( the gym ) not just the roof, needed immediate attention. Where were the city building inspectors? Why was this gym passed by and others repaired? The structure according to insiders, had a cracked beam. And because of the questionable flaw in the beam, the building was already a safety hazard, an accident waiting to happen. Fortunately, no one got hurt when it finally gave way. "
The last sentence needs correcting. After delving into past historical news accounts of the collapse, I found that three students and two adults
were slightly injured.
Although the injuries were minor, I firmly believe the mishaps could have been avoided, if officials ( many still in power ) had either authorized rehab work on the gym, or had it closed, out of
priority concern for human life. Five people were injured plus multitudes of others were placed in harms way, BEFORE THE COLLAPSE! There is absolutely no excuse, among all buck-passing excuses, to cause harm to anyone. And I cast the blame where it belongs. At the feet of Mike White and Byrd-Bennett. But the blame as usual from that end, had to be transferred to the citizens of Cleveland.
First, came the "Wake-Up!" ( excuse ) call. There is no rehab money (citizen tax dollar) available and this is why...
Issue 14 became a planned emotional event. The kickoff blame factor to the citizens can be traced to Byrd-Bennett's speech at the City Club about a month before the May 8th,
2001 election. This is what she said in part, " To drive by most of our schools, things might not look too bad. But a closer look reveals just what is holding our buildings together and the conditions the community is asking its students to learn in and its school staff to work in." The school chief went on to say that East High,
" ...is one of the city's newer schools...a mere 25 years old.
Unfortunately, it was built in an era when cronyism was more important than quality construction and accountability was virtually
nonexistent. "
" Unfortunately... " Remember the above statement. It could be a reflection
of what is to come.
I repeat, what happened to the East gym was pure negligence on the part of Mike White and Barbara
Bryd-Bennett. They heard the wake-up call & chose to ignore it. This
irresponsible act is inexcusable. They were warned about the dangers that lurked in the gym from many people in the community. That was the original "Wake-Up!" call. But they did nothing. Why!? Why was the gym
( perhaps the worst roof of them all ) absent from the list of more than fifty
structures that received attention?
The gym became a grand-standing, emotional catalyst for Issue 14 that worked. But was there another way of winning the
campaign? I think so. I call it the honest way and will detail it here shortly. I realize ethics in city government is an approach some officials tend to stumble over but...being honest with the public would have gained the same campaign results. But instead of ethics ruling, Issue 14 became a distressing point for many citizens who felt showcasing the gym, cast the spotlight on man's inhumanity to mankind.
I had urged the PD to provide a historical perspective on the old gym when they reported on the grand opening of the new. They did just that and went one step further. December the ninth of last year, marked the official opening of the new gym. Five days later, Chris Sheridan, associate editor of the PD,
described a bleak scenario of the old gym. She painted a picture of a deteriorating gym that was no surprise to many people who echoed the original " Wake Up " call. Sheridan's article " Will oversight collapse, again? " was dated, 12/14/03. Citizens concerned about the future of the new gym, should read it and than
reflect. But most of all, allow no official in the future, to point fingers of
ignorance toward the community, for their own negligence if buck- passing continues.
Issue 14 had a good chance of passing if local officials choose to do the right thing as opposed to placing human life in harms way. The old gym should have been
condemned and locked against all activity long before the roof collapsed. Students and adults should have been placed in other facilities to fulfill
physical activities of the day. There are no excuse... THERE ARE NO EXCUSE!...none at all, in putting human life in harms
path.
Again, the PD's quick endorsement of Issue 14, side-tracked the most important issue of all. Or at least this is a fact until the White, Byrd-Bennett or the PD, states otherwise. I have always encouraged feedback to share with readers. This is the kind of open
commutation I call democracy in action.
The information Sheridan provided in her article did not come to her in a dream at midnight , or suddenly pop up in an email on a computer which revealed the deplorable conditions of the old gym. Letters To The Editor
were sent...and
ignored. The PD could have done something humanitarian and noteworthy in helping the common folk with many " wake up " call articles. And it would have been news that could have caused people to
read and observe what follows.
White could have had city- building inspectors, take the findings from special PD reports ( if of course the PD did the right thing )
and follow up. Than hand his version of evidence to Byrd-Bennett with an order to padlock the old gym doors forever more. White could have initiated
Issue 14 campaign on a positive note. A " humanitarian " note.
Surprise, surprise. The cracked support beam I wrote about was found...to my surprise.
In a PD editorial dated, 12-13-03 and titled "Roof that raised schools' hopes " This is what the PD wrote in part.
" The piece of wood looked innocent enough - no more than two feet long, and narrow enough for Barbara Byrd-Bennett to clutch in one hand.
As the school district's CEO held it aloft, however, the jagged edges of the violently cracked timber was evident. This stick was the culprit, Byrd-Bennett declared, ' the beam that caused the East High School roof to collapse. ' "
Yes and no. Yes, I thought the beam was the culprit based on community echoes to officials before the collapse happened. But no, in
Sheridan's article she states, " ...the roof's wooden beams began to split. " Which is right? Beam or beams. If it's beams, the
ignorance of officials to condemn and padlock the doors is worse than I thought. Or was
Sheridan's statement a misprint?
Will history repeat itself? Yes, if school officials continue ignoring concerns common folk bring to
there attention. In a sense, history is now repeating itself as I write this letter. What about school buildings already marked for the wrecking ball? What about the safety hazards that are already imprinted on the minds of citizens in schools (slated for the wrecking Ball ) on the East and West sides of Cleveland. Will the red flagged schools
receive proper maintenance until the ball starts crashing in on them , one, three, or
several years down the road? It's been said, politicians only act after something
traumatic happens. When the gym roof collapsed, building inspectors were dispatched to several schools. But was it just temporal to sooth community upsets? What about
today? From what the PD claims, the schools is a " Hands Off! " situation with Mayor Campbell. Which could mean city building inspectors will be much to busy, sighting infractions on privately owned structures. Is this right? Absolutely not! Where are the checks and balances
from members of city council? The old East High school gym is a prime example of government
complacency. Will history repeat itself? What do you think?
What I think as a " common folk " member in good standing, is evident when I raised the issue of overcrowding at Rhodes High School.
School
buildings do have human restrictions and when the count goes beyond the norm,
it can lead to safety hazards. I call it common-sense reasoning. The kind fire
marshals tag the community when inspecting private buildings that violate limitations. What kind of reaction did the Rhodes letter receive?
Plenty!..from the common folk. But the status quo remains. I'm not surprised. Overcrowding simply put, means capital gain can be dispersed into areas not related to direct student-teacher services. Am I wrong? I'm always open to email debates.
Overcrowding at Rhodes has now raised the stress level in many students to the point of dropping out. Yes Drop-Outs! If they are not happening now...soon. I am in contact with a student who will be dropping out of Rhodes by the end of this month. What are the reasons? His classrooms are overcrowded and learning anything is at best,
minimal. Since school started, he has had three English and four History teachers. For him it was like starting over when a new teacher came into the
classrooms. Believe it or not! One of the history teachers graded him more on
grammar than the content of his history assignment. His mother was outraged
over all the chaotic antics and sent a critical letter to the principal.
She feels a move out of Rhodes now, is vital before her son becomes a " social promotion " problem.
That term relate to passing students on to the next grade before they are ready.
Once the move is made from Rhodes into a charter school, she plans to share
the letter and other concerns with readers of this WebSite.
Here I go again. Cleveland City Council needs an Education Committee. I am encouraging all members to read the following report from a retired Cleveland school
custodian. Than ask yourselves this question. Are schools scheduled for the wrecking ball years down the road, NOW SAFE for human occupation.
http://www.catalyst-cleveland.org/01-01/0101custodian.htm
And remember, the wrecking ball was not much of an issue in most of the schools this
custodian worked in.
Byrd-Bennett's speech at the City Club failed to address the other side
( the custodians ) of the story. And she failed to address her responsibility toward maintaining safe buildings, no-matter how
badly she thinks they had been constructed. Buck-passing is not a business management college
course, but if it was I could recommend a few politicians who would make excellent
instructors. And what about that word " cronyism " uttered in her speech. Today as in the past,
cronyism is a fact of life in government circles. And cronyism as most common folk know,
contributes to reduction of quality of services coming out of government. CEO's in private businesses are
very careful about mixing cronyism with professionalism.
Is there a need for an Education Committee?
"When our children see the buildings in which they are schooled falling down around them, they understand in their own way, where they fall in the list of priorities of the adults in their world, at the bottom."
anonymous
To be continued...
* Educating Cleveland's Children - Feb/Mar 2001 issue ( a bimonthly publication of the cleveland municipal school district
)
Anyone wondering if I received a courteous response from Regina Britt concerning the last letter addressed to the
PD. The answer is no. The reason could be anyone's guess. But please note. Whenever I address an open letter to the PD in the future, notice will be sent to Brett unless advised otherwise.
If the reader feels this message is worth sharing with others, send it out by clicking on email in toolbar, scan down to " Send a Link " and share your own opinions in the quest for better government.
Old Glory
HomePage
Community Bulletin Board
|