They're few and they're proud...and now they're going to be in 9th grade...

...Fucked up scary shit from the Atlanta Progressive News pipeline...

Apparently DeKalb County is opening up a military style PUBLIC school in conjunction with the Marines, possibly as early as August 2009.

According to Dale Davis, public information officer for the DeKalb County School System, the school is not a "replacement" for Junior ROTC programs or military academies but is "an addition" for parents to consider.

Here's a cute quote: DeKalb School Board Superintendent, Crawford Lewis, told the AJC, the magnet school will be: "For the mom who believes her child is capable of going to college but lacks discipline." He goes on to say, "This is a choice."

And just to "clear things up"...Brad Bryant, Board Member of the Georgia Board of Education for the fourth Congressional district is quoted as describing that the model in Georgia is not about discipline reform, but, "seeks to identify a small number of students who wish to pursue a more rigorous math, science, and technology education at a pace which is more accelerated than their home school."

What's most shocking- as far as I can tell from the reports- parents and community members were not consulted about the proposal for the school, and learned about it through a press report.

Mind you, the Board of Education receives on average over 50% of individual local property tax. According to the sample tax assesment on the DeKalb County Tax Commissioners website, the BOE levies 57.97% of your tax statement. Also, as far as I know, something as major as school creation requires serious citizen approval- through neighborhood unit voting, through school district jurisdiction approval... even a city and county wide vote, considering it's a magnet school!?

But...since our 'normal' public schools have obviously gone to hell in a handbasket, why not kick everyone while we're all down and slip in some crazy shit like...outsourcing education to the Marines! But I guess it's okay to unknowingly invest local public money into militarization because what we really need to get through these tough times is just a little bit more good old fashioned DISCIPLINE!

Awwww...just imagine of all the chances some little 13 year old son or daughter will have now...with that big math-science-technology-brain they earned in military school. They'll totally, "attend college or move directly into the workforce" just like Superintendent Lewis says...
Maybe they'll get some mini-Marine hazing experience too!?

It is reported by APN that the 2 weeks ago, the DeKalb School Board hired a Marine commandant to handle issues not related to academics. The school will also have a principal who will handle academics, and who has yet to be hired.

Please read the full article by Jonathan Springston here:

"Planned Public Military High School Draws Outrage in Dekalb"

...and here: the AJC article.