CM PRESS # 219

ORANIA--A RARE TOWN IN SOUTH AFRICA WITH A LOW CRIME RATE AND HAPPY PEOPLE--A PLACE WHERE RESIDENTS DON'T HAVE TO LOCK THEIR DOORS

It's all White.
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STOP THE PRESSES: Geoff West, who calls himself the Pot something or other, wants you to know that he believes Foley's two kids still attend CMHS.

He also wants you to know that I played the part of a reporter in a movie many years ago, along with Richard Dreyfuss and some other actors who you might know. (Naturally, I played the part brilliantly.  And, yes, my best scenes are on the cutting room floor.)

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ISRAELI SMEARMEISTERS NOW TRYING TO SMEAR STEPHEN HAWKING BECAUSE HE IS BRINGING ATTENTION TO THE PLIGHT OF THE PALESTINIANS

If you follow world events, you could have predicted these smear attempts.
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PARENTS AND STUDENTS WITHOUT PROPER REPRESENTATION

Here in Costa Mesa, Katrina Foley supposedly represents a large part of  Costa Mesa on the school board.

However, Ms. Foley has, according to the unconfirmed buzz, pulled her two sons out of Costa Mesa schools (which are in walking distance of her home) and put them in Newport Beach schools.

So, if Ms. Foley truly has her kids in Newport Beach schools,  does she really represent Costa Mesa parents and students?  We don't think so.  We think her interests lie with her kids in Newport Beach schools, if that is where they are--which is natural for a parent.

HERE'S an article about an even more egregious situation that is happening in East Ramapo, New York where there is a "civil war" raging between Blacks and Latinos on one side, and Orthodox Jews on the other, and it shows what can happen when a school board does not represent the people it is supposed to represent.

The full article is long, so here's a short summary of the salient points:

--East Ramapo School District has 18,000 students, but 10,500 of those go to private Jewish schools. The rest are mostly Black and Latino and go to public schools.

--The seven member school board consists of six Orthodox Jews and only one Black. There are no Latinos on the school board. The six Orthodox Jews on the school board all send their children to private Jewish schools, not the public schools that they supposedly represent.

--The Blacks and Latinos accuse the Jews of diverting resources, like public buses, to the private schools.

The CM PRESS's point is not that there should be seats on school boards based on race or ethnicity, but that the members of school boards should not pretend to represent parents and students in certain areas, if they themselves have children but put their children either in private schools or in schools not in the area that they supposedly represent.

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