01-19-2021 Alief ISD School Board Patron Presentation, Damon Barone

Greetings, Damon Barone, Alief ISD parent, taxpayer, and alumnus.

Alief ISD continues to mis-educate our kids and misrepresent our community.  As an Alief ISD parent, alumnus, and former employee, I have witnessed the district continue to make decisions that were best for its administrators.

When you consider the new Board Educational philosophy, Alief ISD has admitted to institutional racism.  The new school board policy, AE (Local), says that decisions will be based on racial and social equity.

How can decisions such as agenda item #6.10, additional days school year pilot and calendar, be based on equity if parents were not consulted on what is best for our families?

Parents did not choose this educational Plymouth Rock, called additional day’s school year pilot, but Plymouth Rock has been forced to land on us, under the direction of Superintendent Chambers,

Visually speaking, the School Board mirrors a reflection of the community which it serves, meaning that the demographics of the board reflect the demographics of our Alief community; yet, departmental leadership, especially at the administration building, and the superintendent are not reflective of the community which they serve, and unfortunately their ongoing actions continue to show it.

As Alief parents, we trusted that our district would hire, provide professional development, and approve contracts with diversity in mind, but that is not what is happening. If the district is truly trying to be culturally responsible to the community it serves, those in charge should be reflective of our community.

Those whom have recently been promoted or whom have had district positions created for them by superintendent Chambers, are not reflective of our community. The department heads are making money on the backs of children of poverty and communities of color. 

This Board approved Mexican - American studies and African - American studies, yet the classes are not being offered to our kids.  Research shows that educators should be a reflection of the community that they serve. We have a minority majority community of color being ran by the minority in Alief. 

I ask that this Board think about why this district is constantly testing programs on our children, but not providing a high quality of education with all of you alls piloting initiatives.

In honor of Dr. Martin Luther King Jr., let’s remember and honor his dream, he had a dream that his four little children would one day live in a nation where they would not be judged by the color of their skin, but by the content of their character. Let's take his dream one step farther, let’s not hire people based on the color of the Superintendent's skin, but by the content of their character and qualifications. 

Student outcomes will not improve until adult behavior in our district changes.  Maybe it is time to change out the adults who are and have been making decisions for our children and our community.

One only has to look at the district’s equity audit, hiring practices, firing practices, and financial practices since 2011 when Mr. Chambers took over the district to understand the roots of inequity in our district.

I also noticed that there is a grievance on tonight’s agenda, agenda item #10. The school board has adopted a back-room standard of not hearing grievances and accepting whatever decisions the district alleges that it based on the policies which the district also created or recommended to the board.

I will end with this, as the board continues to quote the very same policies, procedures, and practices that the district created to use against students, parents, community members, and staff, for 89 years, from 1776 until 1865 slavery was written into law and perfectly legal here in the United States; however, it is and has always been morally wrong, and arguably centered around economics or the personal gain for those whom championed for it.

We have since spent the last 156 years trying to morally mend those legal practices that were written into law to intentionally oppress its victims. Let’s not continue allowing our community to be victimized by those seeking to gain economic and personal gains on the backs of our children and the struggles of our community.

Damon Barone, Alief ISD parent, taxpayer, and alumnus.