Parents Express Concerns To School Board

After extending a warm welcome to a new superintendent and an olive branch to the school board, a mostly minority crowd Tuesday once again challenged district officials on what they saw as a supplies shortage, disparities in special-needs services and questionable spending in the public schools. "If and when we see that your desire is to continue to make sure our public school students succeed, you have our support," Pastor Glenn Wilson of the Restoration Family Worship Center said. "There's been a history, especially for the last 10 years; it seems to be an agenda for the need of the public schools to fail so that agenda can succeed. . . . This public has spoken many times, and the board has not listened." The presence at the meeting — the last before school starts — is the latest move by an organizing group of black and Hispanic parents and church leaders following a swell of outrage over the board replacing the popular acting superintendent last month. Read Zach Patberg's report here.