Arkansas Blog

It is interesting to review the history of the DHS/ADH annulment bill - SB191. First version had the Chief Health Officer, who must be a graduate of an approved medical school, be the director of the Department of Health. By the time you get to the final version, that Chief Health Officer becomes the Surgeon General, an advisor on health matters, and the Director of the Department of Health has no qualifications needed except to be appointed by the Governor. So it looks like Elliott would not have been possible with the original bill, but could qualify under the final version.

Well this will Arkansas's chance to be first again- a high school teacher turned union boss to be Director of a health Dept. She took teachers out on strike- will our public health workers be encouraged to strike? Will those infected in pandemic flu be kept after school?

After seeing that piece in the D*G last week about the Higher Ed honcho interviewing at UAF, has there been any rumors on her replacement?

Has anyone else noticed the lack of support in the Dem-Gas for Roy G. Brooks since the election? No glowing editorials? A dearth of support for the LRSD Merit Pay Plan though funded by the Hussman Foundation and the Walton Foundation? Does it really make a difference that some of those schools appeared on the dreaded School Improvement List? I think I once heard about rats leaving a sinking ship.

Why does the Chief Medical Officer continue to refer to his title as Arkansas Surgeon General when his title has NOT yet been changed legally???

Seems bizarre

The special meeting of the LRSB board last week was a maneuver by Mitchell to get Brooks ousted with only three votes. She knew that board members Fox and Kurrus were out of town and that she could win a 3-2 vote against Brooks. Berkley and Curry didn't fall for it.

This whole issue is so absurd! I mean to allow Larry Berkley of all people to comment about racial issues and people being kept in the dark! Please Larry, say it ain't so! Larry Berkley has one of the most hateful, racist, and divisive attitudes of any board member I can think of in the recent history of the LRSD Board.

Case and point is to be made when only a few months removed, there was a majority white board. Larry Berkley, Tony Rose, Brian Day, Baker Kurris, Tom Brock, Sue Stickland, and to many other whites to name, have made decisions concerning the LRSD for as far back as the state of Arkansas is old. If Dr. Brooks is so great and has made so much progress, why is the entire LRSD on alert? Why do you need to get white people to support a black man that the black community clearly has no respect for or confidence in? Is not the district's parent's majority black (70%)? Larry do you consider these parents and children to be people or some invisible thing? Do you not care that no significant gains in student performance has been made in terms of drop out rates or minority student achievement when the majority of the almost $6,000.00 per student per year comes from these children?

So who and what is it that you are speaking of that Dr. Brooks and his programs have helped to improve? Larry, show it to us in statistical data as it relates to the African American or Hispanic student's of the district, please! In your comments to the Democrat Gazette, you and both Dr. Brooks seem to think that the African American community does not deserve to be heard and should be ignored. You refer to the white members of this so-called grassroots group, who has enough money to take out a full page racist ad in the D-G as "The People"- what is everyone else- animals? You make me sick to say that I am an Arkansas when people like you and Hussman give Arkansas a black eye on these issues every time we turn around. It's the children who are not learning, STUPID! If you want to impress us, then put as much energy and time and effort in supporting these children and families as you do for the four schools and parents in the district where mostly white children attend, listed in the D-G today.

So, please do not come to us with your racial slurs and ignorance Larry! Now that you can longer count on your back room dealings and hide under the disguise of Executive Meetings, you revert to racist tactics to divide people. You come out and publicly (maybe even illegally, definitely in violation of board policy) to state what was said in a closed Executive session. I dare you ever say anything to anyone about meetings that involve private personnel matters or any other issue for that concern. Larry, you should resign and go back to the private schools that you really believe in. Don't waste our time and money with your private school agenda that you would like to create in the public school systems! Larry, if you can do no better than to play on the ignorance of the public by feeding them kibbles an bits of information, than you are dumber than what I thought- definitely more racist!

I say that Dr. Brooks has become a divisive piece of dynamite that has exploded in our faces. He must go, like yesterday if this district/community is ever to heal and move forward. The national media will definitely continue to write about the ignorance and racist attitudes that still persist in Little Rock 50 years later. So, what good is the end of the desegregation case, when this type of behavior exists? As longs as this continues, there will be no celebration or commemoration of the Central High Crisis that has positive lasting impact on this city. I think parents should strike and pull their children out of school until their children have a leader who respects their needs and wants the best for their children in addition to white children. I think people should picket and boycott all of these so-called Central High Celebrations and let the national press know that we have not made any progress in Little Rock and are still stuck in racist manure fifty years later. If Baker Kurris, who I respect, does not have the courage to be the voice of reason and to publicly state his distaste for what Larry Berkley is doing, then I am ashamed to say that everyone in the country should rightly think that all white people in Little Rock feel as Larry does. Baker, please let Larry know that he does not speak for all white people and that his actions are unacceptable and if he can not control his attitude and use better judgment, then maybe he should resign!