Tuesday, August 1, 2017

Priester speaks!!!

Jackson Ward 2 Councilman Melvin Priester, Jr.  provided this information about Mayor Antar Lumumba's nomination to the school board, Letitia Johnson:


Mayor Lumumba has nominated Atty. Letitia Simmons Johnson to serve on the school board for Ward 2. If you aren't familiar with her, here's a link to her CV.

Normally, the procedure is that the mayor puts nominees on the regular agenda and then we'll have a separate confirmation hearing. The reason for having the separate meeting is so that people can do research on the nominee and figure out where they stand.

I'm not sure if we'll dispense with the separate confirmation hearing given the debilitating shortage of school board members right. I know the nominee well and I think she'll be a benefit to JPS. She has professional experience that is particularly relevant. She's a former financial consultant with Salomon Smith Barney. She has also served as a guardian ad litem so that gives her practical experience with kids who are going through the system and need help. Her kids came or are coming through JPS. She's genuinely smart. She's even keeled. She's an active parent and I don't think she'll be a yes-person.

I'm not sure whether other council members know her as well as I do, however, and so depending on their comfort with this pick I assume we will decide at this afternoon's work session whether to vote on this nomination during tomorrow's 10 am council meeting or have a separate confirmation hearing. We certainly won't delay long give the reality of the situation but school board nominees are the most important board we have. It behooves us to make sure everyone has a chance to get up to speed.

Kingfish note: This is a much better resume than what one has seen from most school board nominees over the last couple of decades.  

21 comments:

LSJ4JPS said...

"..she's also black and, well, we all know there ain't fidna be no damn devils on OUR school board..."

Anonymous said...

12:53 what racists Hole did you crawl out of? Are you offended by a well educated and experienced
JPS Board nominee?

Anonymous said...

I guess 12:53 is unaware that basically the entire JPS school board is black. JPS is likely the least diverse school district in the entire state.

LSJ4JPS said...

Sign... ya can't even understand a good trolling today... I give up.

Anonymous said...

JPS least diverse school board...

this person has not been to all the counties in Mississippi where there is not one person who is not white in an appointed or elected position

Anonymous said...

I agree with the councilman. I think she's a great pick. I'm glad they confirmed her today.

Anonymous said...

"She's genuinely smart."

As apposed to what? Being phony smart?

Anonymous said...

The JPS board has one white member, Jed Oppenheim.

Anonymous said...

JPS student body is 1% white.No need for white Board members. A shame.

Anonymous said...

I do not know her but she gets a gold star for agreeing to serve. This Board has a tough job.

Here's a related Mark Twain quote:

In the first place God made idiots. That was for practice. Then he made School Boards.

Anonymous said...

3:19, the student population may be 1% white, but the $30 million plus that the school board is spending comes from a population that is largely white - approaching 90% of the tax base. However, I always understood that race should not be the basis for determining qualifications - and I am sure that Ms. Johnson is qualified. Its just a shame that of those taxpaying citizens that are still a part of the system that it is impossible to find anyone qualified among them.

Anonymous said...

90% of the tax base is white

The incorrect facts that some of the posters use to support their positions is mind blowing. This is truly sad. Yet some of these people are so convinced they are actually correct.

Kingfish said...

I hear that type of number thrown around but I've yet to see any proof of it. Maybe some assessments or property tax collections by zip code would be nice.

Anonymous said...

90% is totally bogus unless this is 1960.

Anonymous said...

90% totally bogus? Then what do you suppose it is? Check the property tax rolls, which is what supports the schools. Its an easy calculation to make.

I agree that the 90% claim made above is probably high, but would bet that it is north of three fourths of the tax base.

Anonymous said...

Easy? How? How do you identify what is white in Jackson? Certainly no longer by ZIP code. ZIP+4 maybe but not straight ZIP. How about buildings owned by businesses or corporations?

Anonymous said...

Who uses phrases like "even-keeled?" I can't even begin to describe how nerdy that sounds. I feel like I am reading a law school exam or a rough draft of a Chuck Schumer speech.

Anonymous said...

Maybe since it appears to be so one sided, you think we can get the justice department to come in and mix everything up to give the white kids a chance, or nah? #hellofromcleveland

Anonymous said...

10:36 pm How would you define her temperament in that sentence so we can all be as "cool" as you imagine yourself?

And, 2:50 pm as opposed to 1)suggesting you have an MBA from Wharton when you had a last ditch transfer to the undergraduate business school from a lesse important business school 2) telling everyone you are smart without the credentials to test scores to back it up 3) being admitted to an Ivy League by legacy rather than academic achievement to name a few.

In a time when too many people are disingenuous, I think the councilman used a meaningful adjective.

You are both right that it's in vogue ( thus not nerdy) to be disingenuous, inarticulate, unsophisticated, and ill mannered. Rather than have our children aspire to be well educated, well spoken, ladies and gentlemen regardless of their financial status, I suppose you'd rather they aspired to the lowest common denominators in society.

Anonymous said...

You people can be petty asf. It appears that we have an intelligent professional who is also a JPS parent willing to step in the fire to help out an ailing school district. Why can't we just wish her well? Why the snark? It's people like you that make all of the professional, innovative people leave the state. They get one year of work experience here and realize it's like beating your head against a brick wall trying to modernize the state. You're damned if you do and damned if you don't here.

Anonymous said...

MEMO to BabyChok: Actions speak louder than copious words and vegan bullshit.


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If you get tired come relax at the Fox News Tent. To gain admittance to the VIP section, bring either your Republican Party ID card or a Rebel Flag. Bringing both will entitle you to free drinks.Get your tickets now. Since this is an event for trolls, no ID is required, just bring the hate. Bring the family, Trollfest '07 is for EVERYONE!!!

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