A prologue to a farce or a tragedy

As Founding Father James Madison once said, “A Popular Government, without popular information, or the means of acquiring it is but a Prologue to a Farce or a tragedy, or perhaps both." Will the July 27th School Board meeting be a farce, tragedy, both, or neither? We have certainly seen a prologue to a farce or tragedy at this point by the School Board’s actions.

On June 23, 2015, members of the Fort Smith School Board (FSSB) brought unwanted, unnecessary, and undeserved negative scrutiny on Southside High School and our city. In a secret meeting, the members present for the “reported” evaluation review of Dr. Benny Gooden, voted to stop using “Dixie” as the school fight song in 2015-2016 and to change the Southside mascot from the Rebel in 2016-2017. The School Board has attempted to divide this community.

What “due diligence” was undertaken before the vote? Did the School Board know or investigate the huge cost of changing the mascot? If not, is that a neglect of their responsibilities? If so, why were we not advised and when did these informal, secret meetings occur? Where are the hundreds of thousands and maybe upwards of a million dollars going to come from to fund this change? Is the School Board going to dip into the $70 million that they recently voted to spend to expand and renovate local schools? Can we trust them to spend taxpayer dollars wisely after this betrayal? Should our School Board not be focused on student achievement and teacher salaries rather than mascot changes?

You and I were not invited to the meeting. School Board documents clearly show deception with documents stating that the meeting was a closed meeting with the purpose being the annual evaluation of the superintendent. The meeting was so secretive, that even Principal Wayne Haver has stated “I was totally unaware that this was in the works … I heard about it from one of my staff members.”

Instead of sending notice to the news media, as required by state law and district policy and procedure, the School Board leaked information to a news anchor with Channel 5 News. The news anchor says he received back-to-back calls from anonymous person or persons stating that “Channel 5 might want to have someone at the meeting because changing Southside High School fight song and school mascot might be voted on today.” Who do you suppose those “anonymous people” were? Is this the kind of conduct and respect by our elected officials that 22,000 Southside High graduates, a 30-year plus principal and hundreds of smart, talented and hard-working SHS students deserve? How should these School Board members be held accountable for their breach of trust?

In early July, I requested the minutes from the June 23, 2015 meeting. I received a response on July 7, 2015 stating, “These documents are working papers only and have not been approved as a record of the meeting.” I have been stonewalled. What is the School Board hiding? Why are they excluding the public from the process?

Immediately after the June 23, 2015 meeting, School Board member Susan McFerran announced in an interview with 5 News, “It’s official. For the School year 2015-2016, ‘Dixie’ will no longer be played and for the school year 2016-17 there will be a new mascot. There was a 30 year class reunion this weekend. It came to our attention that the public has been pretty upset about the Confederate flag, which has already been removed, the rebel mascot, and the playing of the ‘Dixie.’”

Greg Matlock, a 1985 graduate of Southside High School, spoke at the “Rally For the Rebels”  to dispel what he said was a rumor that the effort to change the mascot began during a recent 1985 class reunion. He said a letter was written by one member of the class asking for a mascot change, but said members of the class overwhelmingly oppose the change. Is this the type of “due diligence” we expect from our elected officials when a major, divisive change is being made in our district? If a representative of the School Board has said “it’s official”, why is the School board voting again on July 27th? Is the July 27th meeting nothing more than a farce? As Mr. Matlock suggested, it is the will of the people to leave our fight song and mascot alone. Why not allow the citizens to vote on the change?  This is especially true, since not one of the School Board members attended Southside High School.

According to a statement from the Fort Smith Public Schools, the Board of Education made the decision to change the mascot and fight song of Southside High School based on “…perceived symbols of racism…” Perception is not reality, but people, like the School Board members with stated agendas, rely on perception to make us all see things – as they wish us to see them. Are the School Board members suggesting that the 22,000 proud Southside High School graduates are now “perceived” as racists?

What the School Board initiated on June 23, based on “perception,” not reality, is that they are willing to spend hundreds of thousands of tax dollars to implement a change of the mascot and fight song at Southside High – using taxpayer dollars to do so. Elected officials are sure good at spending our money. Will the School Board members be willing to pay for their change with their private money?

A representative of our School Board stated publicly that their decision to ban Colonel Reb and Dixie were based on perception, not fact. What new event or emotional experience that may occur in the future, that might be based on illusion or perversion of fact, but possibly perceived in a certain way, will our School Board be willing to spend hundreds of thousands of tax dollars to promote or change?

What is the reality about Southside High School?
• Southside has been named a National Blue Ribbon School three times, one of only 29 schools to receive that honor.
• Newsweek has named Southside one of America’s top 1000 schools for nine straight years.
• The Southside Rebel Band was named the best band in the nation this year.
• The volleyball team has won eight state championships and three runner-ups and has claimed 21 straight conference championships.
• The Rebel football team has won seven state championships and five runner-ups – more than any other school in the state.
• The choir has placed more all-region vocalists than any other school in the region.
• The band accounted for 48% of the all-region band selections and had more all-state band members selected than any other school in 2014-2015.
• Southside has won the Regional Science Bowl seven straight years.
• The Quiz Bowl team either wins the state championship or runner-up every year.

One has to wonder exactly what our School Board does not like about the name Dixie Belles. According to Oxford Dictionaries, Dixie is an informal name for the southern United States. The last time I checked, Arkansas is one of them. Belle is defined as a beautiful girl or woman. Is it “dixie”or “belles” that the wordsmiths on our School Board do not think is politically correct? We can all probably safely conclude it is just another attempt to make Southerners think and act the way the elitists want us to think and act. Come to think of it, that is probably the reason the School Board does not like the name “rebel,” a person who rises in opposition or armed resistance against an established government or ruler. I do not know about you, but I am thankful for those revolutionary rebels like Washington, Jefferson, Lee(s), Henry and Mason.

What is it that our School Board does not like about our Southside High School fight song “Dixie”? As one proud graduate of the class of ’84 expressed, “Dixie was written by a Northerner about a person’s longing to come back to his birthplace in the South. If one reads the lyrics in its entirety they will notice that the person in the song has nothing but fond memories of his life in Dixie’s land, and he wants to go back to “live and die in Dixie.” To the vast majority of 22,000 Southside graduates, we see “Dixie” the same way other schools see their fight song, as a rallying point and spirit song. It is our identity.

Whether one is for or against the change of the Southside mascot and fight song, all Americans should be concerned when public officials do their public business behind closed doors. As is stated in the Arkansas Freedom of Information Act, “It is vital in a democratic society that public business be performed in an open and public manner so that the electors shall be advised of the performance of public officials and of the decisions that are reached in public activity and in making public policy.”

It is up to us to hold our School Board accountable. While we have truly seen a “prologue to a farce or a tragedy” at this current moment, we still have the ability to hold the School Board members accountable. Be at the meeting Monday, July 27, 2015. Express your opinion. Vote in the upcoming School Board election. Vote on the School Board’s proposed millage increase.

We will be watching to see Monday night if the School Board members want to continue this tragedy!