{"id":1783,"date":"2011-07-09T22:41:24","date_gmt":"2011-07-10T02:41:24","guid":{"rendered":"http:\/\/www.l-a-k-e.org\/blog\/2011\/07\/its-not-about-the-children-its-about-somebodys-ego-sam-allen-fvcs-7-july-2011.html"},"modified":"2011-07-09T22:41:24","modified_gmt":"2011-07-10T02:41:24","slug":"its-not-about-the-children-its-about-somebodys-ego-sam-allen-fvcs-7-july-2011","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"http:\/\/www.l-a-k-e.org\/blog\/2011\/07\/its-not-about-the-children-its-about-somebodys-ego-sam-allen-fvcs-7-july-2011.html","title":{"rendered":"&#8220;It&#8217;s not about the children.  It&#8217;s about somebody&#8217;s ego.&#8221; &mdash;Sam Allen, FVCS, 7 July 2011"},"content":{"rendered":"<p><a href=\"http:\/\/www.youtube.com\/watch?v=deIH1VPrToI\"><br \/>\n<img decoding=\"async\" style=\"float:right;border:none;\"   src=\"http:\/\/i4.ytimg.com\/vi\/7gpMa7tkfiU\/default.jpg\"><\/a><br \/>\nSam Allen asked in various ways:<\/p>\n<blockquote><p>\n&#8220;What about the children?&#8221;\n<\/p><\/blockquote>\n<p>He made it clear he doesn&#8217;t think school consolidation will help the children,<br \/>\nand it will definitely hurt current Valdosta teachers and staff,<br \/>\nso he says don&#8217;t do it.<\/p>\n<p>\nContinuing<br \/>\n<a href=\"\/blog\/2011\/07\/were-here-to-save-our-schools-sam-allen-fvcs-7-july-2011.html\"><br \/>\nthe FVCS press conference,<\/a><br \/>\nSam Allen asked some good questions,<\/p>\n<blockquote><p>\n&#8220;If the school system was good enough for them, why isn&#8217;t it good enough for us?&#8221;\n<\/p><\/blockquote>\n<p>and<\/p>\n<blockquote><p>\n&#8220;If there&#8217;s not going to be any change, why are we doing it?&#8221;\n<\/p><\/blockquote>\n<p>\nHere&#8217;s<br \/>\n<a href=\"http:\/\/www.youtube.com\/watch?v=deIH1VPrToI\"><br \/>\nPart 1 of 9:<\/a><\/p>\n<p><!--more--><\/p>\n<p align=\"center\">\n<iframe loading=\"lazy\" title=\"YouTube video player\" width=\"480\" height=\"390\" src=\"http:\/\/www.youtube.com\/embed\/deIH1VPrToI\" frameborder=\"0\" allowfullscreen><\/iframe><br \/>\n<br \/>\n<small><br \/>\nPart 1 of 9:<br \/>\n<br \/>\nNo school consolidation,<br \/>\n<br \/>\nPress Conference, Friends of Valdosta City Schools (FVCS),<br \/>\n<br \/>\nValdosta, Lowndes County, Georgia, 7 July 2011.<br \/>\n<br \/>\nVideos by John S. Quarterman for LAKE, the Lowndes Area Knowledge Exchange.<br \/>\n<\/small><\/p>\n<p>\nSam Allen ridiculed the alleged unification cost savings:<\/p>\n<blockquote><p>\n&#8220;Save money? Not in this lifetime!&#8221;\n<\/p><\/blockquote>\n<p>He wanted to know why do we let somebody we never laid eyes on give us something to sign?<br \/>\nHe added:<\/p>\n<blockquote><p>\n&#8220;If this should pass, on November the ninth, the Valdosta School system will cease to exist.&#8221;\n<\/p><\/blockquote>\n<p>\nHere&#8217;s<br \/>\n<a href=\"http:\/\/www.youtube.com\/watch?v=Z6Lrog6d6I4\"><br \/>\nPart 2 of 9:<\/a><\/p>\n<p align=\"center\">\n<iframe loading=\"lazy\" title=\"YouTube video player\" width=\"480\" height=\"390\" src=\"http:\/\/www.youtube.com\/embed\/Z6Lrog6d6I4\" frameborder=\"0\" allowfullscreen><\/iframe><br \/>\n<br \/>\n<small><br \/>\nPart 2 of 9:<br \/>\n<br \/>\nNo school consolidation,<br \/>\n<br \/>\nPress Conference, Friends of Valdosta City Schools (FVCS),<br \/>\n<br \/>\nValdosta, Lowndes County, Georgia, 7 July 2011.<br \/>\n<br \/>\nVideos by John S. Quarterman for LAKE, the Lowndes Area Knowledge Exchange.<br \/>\n<\/small><\/p>\n<p>\nSam Allen wanted to know what would schoolteachers and staff do for<\/p>\n<blockquote><p>\n&#8220;Thanksgiving when your check don&#8217;t clear?&#8221;\n<\/p><\/blockquote>\n<p>He said CUEE can&#8217;t tell you what will happen.<br \/>\nAnd who should be in charge should be the two school systems.<br \/>\nThat got applause.<\/p>\n<p>\nHere&#8217;s<br \/>\n<a href=\"http:\/\/www.youtube.com\/watch?v=7gpMa7tkfiU\"><br \/>\nPart 3 of 9:<\/a><\/p>\n<p align=\"center\">\n<iframe loading=\"lazy\" title=\"YouTube video player\" width=\"480\" height=\"390\" src=\"http:\/\/www.youtube.com\/embed\/7gpMa7tkfiU\" frameborder=\"0\" allowfullscreen><\/iframe><br \/>\n<br \/>\n<small><br \/>\nPart 3 of 9:<br \/>\n<br \/>\nNo school consolidation,<br \/>\n<br \/>\nPress Conference, Friends of Valdosta City Schools (FVCS),<br \/>\n<br \/>\nValdosta, Lowndes County, Georgia, 7 July 2011.<br \/>\n<br \/>\nVideos by John S. Quarterman for LAKE, the Lowndes Area Knowledge Exchange.<br \/>\n<\/small><\/p>\n<p>\nSam Allen wanted to know:<\/p>\n<blockquote><p>\n&#8220;Where do we get those answers from?&#8221;\n<\/p><\/blockquote>\n<p>Then he told us something CUEE never has:<\/p>\n<blockquote><p>\n&#8220;We&#8217;ve been told over and over and over again<br \/>\nthat there was only one way that this question could be put on the ballot.<br \/>\nAnd that is for the city residents to give up its charter.<br \/>\nThat&#8217;s the only option.<br \/>\nWell, that should have been worded a little bit different.<br \/>\nThere&#8217;s more than one option.<br \/>\nBut the other option we didn&#8217;t want to use because we knew that the<br \/>\ncounty would not vote for it.<br \/>\nNow we&#8217;re going to dump 7,000 kids on Lowndes County,<br \/>\nwith them to not have a say on whether or not to consolidate.&#8221;\n<\/p><\/blockquote>\n<p>\nHere&#8217;s<br \/>\n<a href=\"http:\/\/www.youtube.com\/watch?v=z51VvL3PLMs\"><br \/>\nPart 4 of 9:<\/a><\/p>\n<p align=\"center\">\n<iframe loading=\"lazy\" title=\"YouTube video player\" width=\"480\" height=\"390\" src=\"http:\/\/www.youtube.com\/embed\/z51VvL3PLMs\" frameborder=\"0\" allowfullscreen><\/iframe><br \/>\n<br \/>\n<small><br \/>\nPart 4 of 9:<br \/>\n<br \/>\nNo school consolidation,<br \/>\n<br \/>\nPress Conference, Friends of Valdosta City Schools (FVCS),<br \/>\n<br \/>\nValdosta, Lowndes County, Georgia, 7 July 2011.<br \/>\n<br \/>\nVideos by John S. Quarterman for LAKE, the Lowndes Area Knowledge Exchange.<br \/>\n<\/small><\/p>\n<p>\nSam Allen pointed out Lowndes County gets its curriculum from the state,<br \/>\njust like every other public school system in the state.<\/p>\n<p>\nHere&#8217;s<br \/>\n<a href=\"http:\/\/www.youtube.com\/watch?v=OH9LA7QonvM\"><br \/>\nPart 5 of 9:<\/a><\/p>\n<p align=\"center\">\n<iframe loading=\"lazy\" title=\"YouTube video player\" width=\"480\" height=\"390\" src=\"http:\/\/www.youtube.com\/embed\/OH9LA7QonvM\" frameborder=\"0\" allowfullscreen><\/iframe><br \/>\n<br \/>\n<small><br \/>\nPart 5 of 9:<br \/>\n<br \/>\nNo school consolidation,<br \/>\n<br \/>\nPress Conference, Friends of Valdosta City Schools (FVCS),<br \/>\n<br \/>\nValdosta, Lowndes County, Georgia, 7 July 2011.<br \/>\n<br \/>\nVideos by John S. Quarterman for LAKE, the Lowndes Area Knowledge Exchange.<br \/>\n<\/small><\/p>\n<p>\nSam Allen gets to the root of the matter:<\/p>\n<blockquote><p>\nIt&#8217;s not about the children.<br \/>\nIt&#8217;s about somebody&#8217;s ego.<br \/>\nThey want to consolidate these schools,<br \/>\nand to take over our government.\n<\/p><\/blockquote>\n<p>Yes, the obvious next step would be to consolidate the Valdosta<br \/>\nand Lowndes County governments so the old boys could run both<br \/>\nmore easily.<\/p>\n<p>\nHe also pointed out that unification without consolidation of schools<br \/>\nmade no sense, since with the current Valdosta schools 85% black,<br \/>\nbusing would be required to balance racial differences.<\/p>\n<p>\nHere&#8217;s<br \/>\n<a href=\"http:\/\/www.youtube.com\/watch?v=WqF1Cex53Mo\"><br \/>\nPart 6 of 9:<\/a><\/p>\n<p align=\"center\">\n<iframe loading=\"lazy\" title=\"YouTube video player\" width=\"480\" height=\"390\" src=\"http:\/\/www.youtube.com\/embed\/WqF1Cex53Mo\" frameborder=\"0\" allowfullscreen><\/iframe><br \/>\n<br \/>\n<small><br \/>\nPart 6 of 9:<br \/>\n<br \/>\nNo school consolidation,<br \/>\n<br \/>\nPress Conference, Friends of Valdosta City Schools (FVCS),<br \/>\n<br \/>\nValdosta, Lowndes County, Georgia, 7 July 2011.<br \/>\n<br \/>\nVideos by John S. Quarterman for LAKE, the Lowndes Area Knowledge Exchange.<br \/>\n<\/small><\/p>\n<p>\nSam Allen pointed out your children&#8217;s education is at stake,<br \/>\nand asked if you&#8217;re willing to gamble that on a plan nobody can explain.<\/p>\n<p>\nHere&#8217;s<br \/>\n<a href=\"http:\/\/www.youtube.com\/watch?v=m28HYgGhngY\"><br \/>\nPart 7 of 9:<\/a><\/p>\n<p align=\"center\">\n<iframe loading=\"lazy\" title=\"YouTube video player\" width=\"480\" height=\"390\" src=\"http:\/\/www.youtube.com\/embed\/m28HYgGhngY\" frameborder=\"0\" allowfullscreen><\/iframe><br \/>\n<br \/>\n<small><br \/>\nPart 7 of 9:<br \/>\n<br \/>\nNo school consolidation,<br \/>\n<br \/>\nPress Conference, Friends of Valdosta City Schools (FVCS),<br \/>\n<br \/>\nValdosta, Lowndes County, Georgia, 7 July 2011.<br \/>\n<br \/>\nVideos by John S. Quarterman for LAKE, the Lowndes Area Knowledge Exchange.<br \/>\n<\/small><\/p>\n<p>\nSam Allen says FVCS is here to look out for our teachers, children, and community.<br \/>\nWell, somebody needs to.<\/p>\n<p>\nHere&#8217;s<br \/>\n<a href=\"http:\/\/www.youtube.com\/watch?v=n60mfzpTo_8\"><br \/>\nPart 8 of 9:<\/a><\/p>\n<p align=\"center\">\n<iframe loading=\"lazy\" title=\"YouTube video player\" width=\"480\" height=\"390\" src=\"http:\/\/www.youtube.com\/embed\/n60mfzpTo_8\" frameborder=\"0\" allowfullscreen><\/iframe><br \/>\n<br \/>\n<small><br \/>\nPart 8 of 9:<br \/>\n<br \/>\nNo school consolidation,<br \/>\n<br \/>\nPress Conference, Friends of Valdosta City Schools (FVCS),<br \/>\n<br \/>\nValdosta, Lowndes County, Georgia, 7 July 2011.<br \/>\n<br \/>\nVideos by John S. Quarterman for LAKE, the Lowndes Area Knowledge Exchange.<br \/>\n<\/small><\/p>\n<p>\nFinally former school superintendent Sam Allen thanked current superintendent<br \/>\nDr. Cason and elected officials for coming out.<\/p>\n<p>\nHere&#8217;s<br \/>\n<a href=\"http:\/\/www.youtube.com\/watch?v=T-oIyknopf8\"><br \/>\nPart 9 of 9:<\/a><\/p>\n<p align=\"center\">\n<iframe loading=\"lazy\" title=\"YouTube video player\" width=\"480\" height=\"390\" src=\"http:\/\/www.youtube.com\/embed\/T-oIyknopf8\" frameborder=\"0\" allowfullscreen><\/iframe><br \/>\n<br \/>\n<small><br \/>\nPart 9 of 9:<br \/>\n<br \/>\nNo school consolidation,<br \/>\n<br \/>\nPress Conference, Friends of Valdosta City Schools (FVCS),<br \/>\n<br \/>\nValdosta, Lowndes County, Georgia, 7 July 2011.<br \/>\n<br \/>\nVideos by John S. Quarterman for LAKE, the Lowndes Area Knowledge Exchange.<br \/>\n<\/small><\/p>\n<p>\nHere&#8217;s a <a href=\"http:\/\/www.youtube.com\/playlist?list=PLB3358C32081F8B86\">playlist<\/a> for the whole press conference.<\/p>\n<p>\n-jsq<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"<p>Sam Allen asked in various ways: &#8220;What about the children?&#8221; He made it clear he doesn&#8217;t think school consolidation will help the children, and it will definitely hurt current Valdosta teachers and staff, so he says don&#8217;t do it. Continuing the FVCS press conference, Sam Allen asked some good questions, &#8220;If the school system was [&hellip;]<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":1,"featured_media":0,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"open","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[97,40,1376,15,3305,3967,1105,1106],"tags":[4141,3407,8869,8701,548,8702,12,7,3405,3796,1648,6],"class_list":["post-1783","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","hentry","category-activism","category-community","category-cuee","category-education","category-fvcs","category-fvcs-7-july-2011","category-lcboe","category-vboe","tag-7-july-2011","tag-friends-of-valdosta-city-schools","tag-fvcs","tag-georgia","tag-john-s-quarterman","tag-lake","tag-lowndes-area-knowledge-exchange","tag-lowndes-county","tag-no-school-consolidation","tag-press-conference","tag-sam-allen","tag-valdosta"],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"http:\/\/www.l-a-k-e.org\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/1783","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"http:\/\/www.l-a-k-e.org\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"http:\/\/www.l-a-k-e.org\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"http:\/\/www.l-a-k-e.org\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/1"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"http:\/\/www.l-a-k-e.org\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=1783"}],"version-history":[{"count":0,"href":"http:\/\/www.l-a-k-e.org\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/1783\/revisions"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"http:\/\/www.l-a-k-e.org\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=1783"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"http:\/\/www.l-a-k-e.org\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=1783"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"http:\/\/www.l-a-k-e.org\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=1783"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}