{"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":"<a href=\"http:\/\/www.youtube.com\/watch?v=deIH1VPrToI\">\n<img decoding=\"async\" style=\"float:right;border:none;\"   src=\"http:\/\/i4.ytimg.com\/vi\/7gpMa7tkfiU\/default.jpg\"><\/a>\nSam Allen asked in various ways:\n<blockquote>\n&#8220;What about the children?&#8221;\n<\/blockquote>\nHe made it clear he doesn&#8217;t think school consolidation will help the children,\nand it will definitely hurt current Valdosta teachers and staff,\nso he says don&#8217;t do it.\n<p>\nContinuing\n<a href=\"\/blog\/2011\/07\/were-here-to-save-our-schools-sam-allen-fvcs-7-july-2011.html\">\nthe FVCS press conference,<\/a>\nSam Allen asked some good questions,\n<blockquote>\n&#8220;If the school system was good enough for them, why isn&#8217;t it good enough for us?&#8221;\n<\/blockquote>\nand\n<blockquote>\n&#8220;If there&#8217;s not going to be any change, why are we doing it?&#8221;\n<\/blockquote>\n<p>\nHere&#8217;s\n<a href=\"http:\/\/www.youtube.com\/watch?v=deIH1VPrToI\">\nPart 1 of 9:<\/a>\n\n<!--more-->\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>\n<br>\n<small>\nPart 1 of 9:\n<br>\nNo school consolidation,\n<br>\nPress Conference, Friends of Valdosta City Schools (FVCS),\n<br>\nValdosta, Lowndes County, Georgia, 7 July 2011.\n<br>\nVideos by John S. Quarterman for LAKE, the Lowndes Area Knowledge Exchange.\n<\/small>\n<p>\nSam Allen ridiculed the alleged unification cost savings:\n<blockquote>\n&#8220;Save money? Not in this lifetime!&#8221;\n<\/blockquote>\nHe wanted to know why do we let somebody we never laid eyes on give us something to sign?\nHe added:\n<blockquote>\n&#8220;If this should pass, on November the ninth, the Valdosta School system will cease to exist.&#8221;\n<\/blockquote>\n<p>\nHere&#8217;s\n<a href=\"http:\/\/www.youtube.com\/watch?v=Z6Lrog6d6I4\">\nPart 2 of 9:<\/a>\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>\n<br>\n<small>\nPart 2 of 9:\n<br>\nNo school consolidation,\n<br>\nPress Conference, Friends of Valdosta City Schools (FVCS),\n<br>\nValdosta, Lowndes County, Georgia, 7 July 2011.\n<br>\nVideos by John S. Quarterman for LAKE, the Lowndes Area Knowledge Exchange.\n<\/small>\n<p>\nSam Allen wanted to know what would schoolteachers and staff do for\n<blockquote>\n&#8220;Thanksgiving when your check don&#8217;t clear?&#8221;\n<\/blockquote>\nHe said CUEE can&#8217;t tell you what will happen.\nAnd who should be in charge should be the two school systems.\nThat got applause.\n<p>\nHere&#8217;s\n<a href=\"http:\/\/www.youtube.com\/watch?v=7gpMa7tkfiU\">\nPart 3 of 9:<\/a>\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>\n<br>\n<small>\nPart 3 of 9:\n<br>\nNo school consolidation,\n<br>\nPress Conference, Friends of Valdosta City Schools (FVCS),\n<br>\nValdosta, Lowndes County, Georgia, 7 July 2011.\n<br>\nVideos by John S. Quarterman for LAKE, the Lowndes Area Knowledge Exchange.\n<\/small>\n<p>\nSam Allen wanted to know:\n<blockquote>\n&#8220;Where do we get those answers from?&#8221;\n<\/blockquote>\nThen he told us something CUEE never has:\n<blockquote>\n&#8220;We&#8217;ve been told over and over and over again\nthat there was only one way that this question could be put on the ballot.\nAnd that is for the city residents to give up its charter.\nThat&#8217;s the only option.\nWell, that should have been worded a little bit different.\nThere&#8217;s more than one option.\nBut the other option we didn&#8217;t want to use because we knew that the\ncounty would not vote for it.\nNow we&#8217;re going to dump 7,000 kids on Lowndes County,\nwith them to not have a say on whether or not to consolidate.&#8221;\n<\/blockquote>\n<p>\nHere&#8217;s\n<a href=\"http:\/\/www.youtube.com\/watch?v=z51VvL3PLMs\">\nPart 4 of 9:<\/a>\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>\n<br>\n<small>\nPart 4 of 9:\n<br>\nNo school consolidation,\n<br>\nPress Conference, Friends of Valdosta City Schools (FVCS),\n<br>\nValdosta, Lowndes County, Georgia, 7 July 2011.\n<br>\nVideos by John S. Quarterman for LAKE, the Lowndes Area Knowledge Exchange.\n<\/small>\n<p>\nSam Allen pointed out Lowndes County gets its curriculum from the state,\njust like every other public school system in the state.\n<p>\nHere&#8217;s\n<a href=\"http:\/\/www.youtube.com\/watch?v=OH9LA7QonvM\">\nPart 5 of 9:<\/a>\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>\n<br>\n<small>\nPart 5 of 9:\n<br>\nNo school consolidation,\n<br>\nPress Conference, Friends of Valdosta City Schools (FVCS),\n<br>\nValdosta, Lowndes County, Georgia, 7 July 2011.\n<br>\nVideos by John S. Quarterman for LAKE, the Lowndes Area Knowledge Exchange.\n<\/small>\n<p>\nSam Allen gets to the root of the matter:\n<blockquote>\nIt&#8217;s not about the children.\nIt&#8217;s about somebody&#8217;s ego.\nThey want to consolidate these schools,\nand to take over our government.\n<\/blockquote>\nYes, the obvious next step would be to consolidate the Valdosta\nand Lowndes County governments so the old boys could run both\nmore easily.\n<p>\nHe also pointed out that unification without consolidation of schools\nmade no sense, since with the current Valdosta schools 85% black,\nbusing would be required to balance racial differences.\n<p>\nHere&#8217;s\n<a href=\"http:\/\/www.youtube.com\/watch?v=WqF1Cex53Mo\">\nPart 6 of 9:<\/a>\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>\n<br>\n<small>\nPart 6 of 9:\n<br>\nNo school consolidation,\n<br>\nPress Conference, Friends of Valdosta City Schools (FVCS),\n<br>\nValdosta, Lowndes County, Georgia, 7 July 2011.\n<br>\nVideos by John S. Quarterman for LAKE, the Lowndes Area Knowledge Exchange.\n<\/small>\n<p>\nSam Allen pointed out your children&#8217;s education is at stake,\nand asked if you&#8217;re willing to gamble that on a plan nobody can explain.\n<p>\nHere&#8217;s\n<a href=\"http:\/\/www.youtube.com\/watch?v=m28HYgGhngY\">\nPart 7 of 9:<\/a>\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>\n<br>\n<small>\nPart 7 of 9:\n<br>\nNo school consolidation,\n<br>\nPress Conference, Friends of Valdosta City Schools (FVCS),\n<br>\nValdosta, Lowndes County, Georgia, 7 July 2011.\n<br>\nVideos by John S. Quarterman for LAKE, the Lowndes Area Knowledge Exchange.\n<\/small>\n<p>\nSam Allen says FVCS is here to look out for our teachers, children, and community.\nWell, somebody needs to.\n<p>\nHere&#8217;s\n<a href=\"http:\/\/www.youtube.com\/watch?v=n60mfzpTo_8\">\nPart 8 of 9:<\/a>\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>\n<br>\n<small>\nPart 8 of 9:\n<br>\nNo school consolidation,\n<br>\nPress Conference, Friends of Valdosta City Schools (FVCS),\n<br>\nValdosta, Lowndes County, Georgia, 7 July 2011.\n<br>\nVideos by John S. Quarterman for LAKE, the Lowndes Area Knowledge Exchange.\n<\/small>\n<p>\nFinally former school superintendent Sam Allen thanked current superintendent\nDr. Cason and elected officials for coming out.\n<p>\nHere&#8217;s\n<a href=\"http:\/\/www.youtube.com\/watch?v=T-oIyknopf8\">\nPart 9 of 9:<\/a>\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>\n<br>\n<small>\nPart 9 of 9:\n<br>\nNo school consolidation,\n<br>\nPress Conference, Friends of Valdosta City Schools (FVCS),\n<br>\nValdosta, Lowndes County, Georgia, 7 July 2011.\n<br>\nVideos by John S. Quarterman for LAKE, the Lowndes Area Knowledge Exchange.\n<\/small>\n<p>\nHere&#8217;s a <a href=\"http:\/\/www.youtube.com\/playlist?list=PLB3358C32081F8B86\">playlist<\/a> for the whole press conference.\n<p>\n-jsq\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"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;]","protected":false},"author":1,"featured_media":0,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"open","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"jetpack_post_was_ever_published":false,"_jetpack_newsletter_access":"","_jetpack_dont_email_post_to_subs":false,"_jetpack_newsletter_tier_id":0,"_jetpack_memberships_contains_paywalled_content":false,"_jetpack_memberships_contains_paid_content":false,"footnotes":"","jetpack_publicize_message":"","jetpack_publicize_feature_enabled":true,"jetpack_social_post_already_shared":false,"jetpack_social_options":{"image_generator_settings":{"template":"highway","default_image_id":0,"font":"","enabled":false},"version":2},"_links_to":"","_links_to_target":""},"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"],"jetpack_publicize_connections":[],"jetpack_featured_media_url":"","jetpack_shortlink":"https:\/\/wp.me\/p585fK-sL","jetpack_sharing_enabled":true,"jetpack-related-posts":[],"_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}]}}