Friday, August 29, 2003
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Friday, August 29, 2003 |
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Organizer of NAACP meeting on schools stresses 'positive' By J. FRANK
LYNCH
Delvonnie M. Burgess says she's just a member of the community trying to create a "positive experience" in Fayette County, with hopes that her efforts spread throughout the Southeast. The five-year resident of Fayetteville is education committee chair of the Fayette County NAACP chapter and scheduled a town hall meeting "several weeks ago" to address school issues relating to African-American students. But the forum held last Saturday came amidst a series of public relations nightmares for the school district, and parents let loose on Superintendent John DeCotis and the school board. Complaints included insensitivity to black students, unfair discipline policies and the lack of Afro-centric studies in schools. Burgess, a professional lobbyist, is president of Public Policy Development of the Southeast Region Inc., a non-profit committee she organized with a mission to evaluate policies on the local level relating to education, health care, labor relations and other issues and work with government agencies to promote and instill change. "What we're doing in the whole Southeast region is looking at different policies to ensure tbhey are sound policies," she said. Addressing policy on the local level is not a concern of the NAACP, said Burgess. The PPDI hopes to fill the gap, she said. Saturday's gathering at Holly Grove AME Church in Peachtree City was an NAACP-sponsored event, Burgess said, with the PPDI board members providing suppport. Burgess said the PPDI is in good standing with the Georgia Secretary of State's office, which registers non-profits and lobbyists. She has no affiliation with the dissolved DMB & Associates, Inc., as reported Wednesday, but at one time operated her own lobbying efforts under the name DMB & Associates, her intials. Burgess called her relationship with Superintendent John DeCotis "nothing but positive." DeCotis confirmed Burgess served on a committee to evaluate the district's student code of conduct policies, under the direction of Wayne Robinson, Assistant Superintendent of Operations. No specific incident or request prompted Saturday's meeting, Burgess said, and it remains to be seen what issues or policies might need to be addressed with the School Board. "I've been in government relations for over 25 years," said Burgess. "I understand conflict resolution. As for policy, policies are formed and a lot of times people aren't at the table to discuss the flaws in them. Are they sound policies? That's an area in which we can help make improvement." Saturday's forum was not intended to be an attack on the school system, administrators or the community, she said. "It might have been overwhelming on Saturday, because there was such as positive force there," she said of the packed meeting. DeCotis said concerns raised at the forum, particularly the impression that black students were to blame for the poor showing of six schools on Georgia's "Adequate Yearly Progress" report, we're taken seriously and will be addressed. A new letter to all parents clarifying the facts surrounding AYP was to go out this week, DeCotis said. And he will appoint a communications committee to act as a liason for the NAACP and the Board of Education. "A lot of the issues we heard were related to poor communication," said DeCotis. "This will give us a proper, formal method for people to bring their concerns to us." "I have faith in the school system," said Burgess, who has two grown children who did not attend schools here. "And I have confidence that things are going to be done for the good." PPDI has six board members, according to Burgess: Chairman Ferdinand Hilton, Stone Mountain; Secretary Westly Gilbert, College Park; Treasurer Ted Burgess, Fayetteville; and members Olivia Hilton, Stone Mountain; Malika Reed, McDonough; and Alan Zimmerman, Fayetteville.
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