Initially, Bob Ross, president of the Prince George’s County’s NAACP, said his members would mobilize to oppose County Exec. Baker’s proposal. Now his statement is “It is time to put the madness aside. It is time for the community to come together for our children, and that is what we are trying to do,” from the Gazette. Citizens for an Elected Board co-chair Janis Hagey voiced her disappointment with the NAACP’s support of Baker but noted that it would not stop them from collecting signatures to bring the school takeover to a referendum vote. Prince George’s County NAACP will hold a education forum to discuss and develop a plan for submission to the County Executive and County School Board prior to them finalizing their formal plan for restructuring the county school system. Forum will be held at the District Heights Municipal Center, 2000 Marbury Drive on Thursday May 30, 2013, 7:00p-9:00p.
Bob Ross, Prince George's County NAACP
The decision marks a significant break with the education watchdog organization Citizens for an Elected Board. The two organizations worked together in 2002 when the elected school board was replaced by an appointed board, and fought successfully to restore an elected board in 2006. 'I’m clearly disappointed in the decision of the [NAACP] executive committee to join with the political forces of the county to shut out the voice of the people in the governance of the schools. It’s clearly counter-historic,' said Janis Hagey, co-chair of Citizens for an Elected Board.
Hagey said there are benefits to waiting until 2015, saying it would give time for all sides to get together and decide how to move forward. The coalition still plans to collect signatures for a referendum vote. It needs 8,000 signatures from registered voters by May 31 to prevent the bill from going into effect June 1, and 24,000 signatures by June 30 to force the legislation to a vote of Prince George’s County residents.
***PGC Blog strongly disagrees with that statement. There is a dire need for an excellent superintendent NOW and waiting until 2015 would be like chopping a chicken's head off and not expecting it to run around in circles and die. ***
Deborah Sell, president of Prince Georgians for an Informed Citizenry, a community advocacy group that has taken a leadership role in the coalition, said an informational meeting is planned 6:30 p.m. May 24 at the Sasscer Administration Building in Upper Marlboro.
Christian Rhodes, education adviser to Baker, said the county executive supports people’s right to exercise their rights, but said that waiting two years to install a permanent superintendent could have a detrimental impact on education. 'We’ve had emails from hundreds of county residents saying they support the bill,” Rhodes said. “They’re ready to move forward and so are we.'”