It’s July 4th..Stand up for Freedom! Stand up for Justice!

As our beloved  nation celebrates the Fourth of July, we no doubt heard and told the story of how our forefathers banded together to fight the tyranny of their British colonizers.

We heard and told each other how a small group of people resisted a larger and nearly insurmountable force and demanded fair and equitable representation. From this patchwork quilt of States rose a new type of political system and activism never before seen.  At the heart of this resistance was money (isn’t it usually the case?), specifically taxes, and the right of a people to be fairly treated by a larger and more powerful entity.

I’m speaking of the Dallas ISD, an entity which is determined to impose its own will and construct an 850 student school after it spent 2.6 million in renovations on the historical O.M. Roberts elementary in 2005 only to demolish the renovated structure in July 2011.  Recently in January 2012 the Dallas ISD board voted to close what was left of the school a vacant field, despite the overwhelming protests of the citizens of the affected area this entity that promotes honesty and integrity now plans to reconstruct a brand new 22 million dollar facility and you guessed it with of your tax dollars, despite  This is no small red school house but rather a corporate monstrosity!

The affected residents of Jubilee Park have encountered great resistance to the idea that their voice and wishes should not be subordinated to an entity that is saddled with numerous violations and city hearing battles (6 in Dallas). What gumption that a small group of people should believe that they have the right to not be affected by this presence, one that has no concern for them but rather for its own bottom-line!

How this battle will play out is yet to be fully determined. The City of Dallas convened on this matter and offered its recommendation to the Dallas ISD which is in no way obliged to honor it and they made it clear that they wouldn’t by threatening a law suit against the City of Dallas if approval for the new facility wasn’t satisfied.  However, like the Founding Fathers who fought and prevailed over tyranny, the citizens of Dallas, Texas must challenge this intrusive entity.  There are three under utilized area schools that the Board members should revisit for consideration and the board must listen to the will of the people and overturn the decision to further destroy a community with unnecessary parking lots and vacant geo-thermal fields in-between homes. The documented damage (to air, to water, to roads from traffic, to people’s quality of life, etc.) far outweighs any benefits.

Americans are in jeopardy of losing their most cherished freedoms, the very rights given to us by our constitution, that piece of paper that belongs to each and every one of us.

I urge readers to join the affected citizens of Jubilee Park in this fight.  We must reach out to our elected officials and show what real patriotism and activism looks like.  Contact DISD at 972-925-3700! Contact State Representative Eric Johnson at214-565-5663 and let him know you are outraged with DISD’s unstable plans.