ocketCityReckoning.com — a website that just went live this past week — contains explosive allegations against Huntsville City Schools (HCS) and its leadership, including allegations of abuse and coverup, corruption and profiteering, mismanagement, and much more. And according to the locals behind the incriminating website, “this is just the beginning,” as tips are reportedly trickling in since the website was unveiled.
But why turn this into a website? Aren’t there proper protocols to go through with regards to this sort of thing? Isn’t a public website a bit “flashy" or just for clicks?
According to the people behind Rocket City Reckoning, they tried acting according to “proper protocols,” exhaustively. They tried pursuing change within the school district the recommended way. It didn’t work. They tried the Desegregation Advisory Committee. It didn’t work. They even tried local media and lawyers. But it didn’t work. Allegedly, nobody was brave enough to take on HCS and their powerful law firm, Lanier Ford.
So, building a website dedicated to raising awareness — in other words, taking a megaphone out in a public space and doing what the “proper channels” were all afraid to do — was a last resort. And since the website went live, their already horrifically large arsenal of allegations has only been growing as more tips come in and more witnesses come forward.
What you make of it is, of course, up to you, but the allegations being made are serious enough to warrant your attention if you’re any kind of stakeholder in HCS.
Allow us to take this as an opportunity to reiterate that, while we here at TVLR will always defend public education from the privatizers and corporate reformers, we also know intimately well how flawed some of our public school systems are, and how they’ve been sabotaged from the inside out by bullies, crooks, narcissists, and profiteers. Huntsville City Schools has long been a toxic climate, severely damaged by misleadership. It is essential that public schools be of, by, and for the PUBLIC. That means putting power back into the hands of the educators, students, and parents; not six-figure bureaucrats and their lawyers and contractors.
It is up to all of us to ensure our local public school districts are operating cleanly, competently, and equitably. Unfortunately, some of public education’s worst enemies come from inside the ranks — crooked superintendents, incompetent HR directors, bully administrators, and so on. They give all of us who care about public schools a bad name. And it is clear to us that while we defend public education from outside threats, we also have to get our own house in order and democratically revitalize our public schools from the bottom-up in order to provide the education our students, parents, educators, and communities truly deserve.
The folks behind Rocket City Reckoning want you to know that if you have any tips, or if you are a victim of district malfeasance ready to come forward, you can contact them at www.rocketcityreckoning.com
For more TVLR coverage of Huntsville City Schools, check out The Tale of Crooked Colonel Casey Wardynski, Right Wing Crank Running For Huntsville, AL School Board, HISTORY WITH ADAM: Desegregation in Huntsville, AL Schools and Its Effects Today, and Interview: Andrea Alvarez, Huntsville School Board District 3 Candidate.
The Valley Labor Report will continue to cover issues relevant to public education and, in case you missed it, check out The Multifront War on Public Education, our recent interview with Dr. Lois Weiner and our discussion of school choice, private ed-tech, and school choice.
