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School choice ruffles blacks
By BARBARA BEHRENDT
© St. Petersburg Times,
As Hickey tried to justify recommending Lecanto High School Principal Steve Richardson over Inverness Primary School Principal Teretta Charles for the job of personnel director, activist Mercedia White was unimpressed. "It's not anything that we hadn't heard a thousand times before when a white person is not committed to doing anything . . . and he was saying to us that he was not going to do anything," she said. Richardson is white and Charles is black. White and others have argued that Charles has a much more extensive educational background and she should have gotten the personnel job, which the board approved giving to Richardson. Hickey has refused to explain why he chose Richardson over Charles. On Wednesday, White and others say they're not done. "I thought that he couldn't have cared less about the things that were said," White said. "I think he knows that we're watching every move he makes and we're going to continue to and we'll respond as a community. "Some people think that racist only means vigilantes, people in white robes wearing a hood and burning a cross in someone's yard. But you can be a racist walking around in a suit and tie," she said. Dr. Ed Dodge, who also spoke in favor of Charles at Tuesday's meeting, said Wednesday that he was not surprised that the appointment turned out the way it did even though there had been a strong protest against it. "I was encouraged by the response of the board," he said. "I think they will look at this kind of issue very carefully. I didn't expect more." Dodge said he thinks the group did raise some awareness. "We're anxious to see what Mr. Hickey will do now in follow up. . . . But this was his golden opportunity to show that he was committed to minorities." Tuesday's board meeting was standing room only largely because of the contingent brought there by White. Yet, the television news crews from Tampa Bay were not focused on the race issue but the ongoing controversy about pagan Charles Schrader and his campaign to end prayer at the meetings. White said she learned something from seeing that attention focused on Schrader. "He's persistent . . . and I saw last night how this persistence has brought in national attention," she said. White blamed the board as well saying they were accomplices even if they think there is little they can do to overturn Hickey's recommendation. By law, the board would have to show good cause to reject Hickey's recommendation. Dodge told the board that while he knew and respected Richardson for years, he also knew Charles and knew that her charisma, intellect and breadth of educational knowledge would have made her perfect for the personnel director job. Dodge reminded Hickey of a meeting several months ago when Hickey pledged that hiring and promoting minority candidates would be a priority to him. "I think this is something that needs more than lip service," he said. Dodge, who was raised in South Africa, told the board how being white, Protestant and English-speaking in schools that were none of those things, gave him an understanding of what it means to be in the minority. "I know the minority perspective from experience," he said. "It's important to have people on your administration who are sensitive to minority issues." "We're losing an opportunity to do something that, in our community, needs to be done," said Cynthia Cino. She said she hoped that the decision to hire Richardson over Charles "was not a political payback." Jackie Evans told the board that she didn't expect Hickey to reverse himself on the issue even though Charles has an exemplary educational background. But as a mother, grandmother and great-grandmother, Evans said, "I want the best person possible selecting the future teachers." Jim Bitter said that under the current system of electing a superintendent, there was nothing the board could do to overturn what Hickey had recommended. "It's not a race question. It's a political question and Mr. Hickey is first and foremost a politician," Bitter said. "He must surround himself with people . . . who have supported him in his election efforts." Bitter urged support for efforts to change the elected superintendent to an appointed position so that the superintendent would be answerable to the board. After hearing the attacks, Hickey said he would not respond by talking about personnel issues because he did not think it was appropriate. He did say that both candidate were high-caliber applicants and that the decision was not easy. He also defended the district's screening, interviewing and hiring process and said he would continue to follow it. Hickey said he was not a racist nor a bigot and that the board bore no responsibility for his decision. Board member Pat Deutschman said that she does not think that even Charles thinks Hickey's decision was based on race. She also noted that the controversy surrounding Richardson's appointment has raised awareness that even the selection committees used by the district should include multicultural representation. "I hope that something good will come out of this," she said.
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