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District takes heat for not showing speech

Published Tuesday, September 15, 2009 3:51 PM

By Michael Tannebaum
Summerville Journal Scene ®

Dorchester District 2’s decision to not broadcast the speech President Barack Obama delivered to students Sept. 8 was still on the minds of the droves of people who attended Monday night’s board meeting.

With people who couldn’t find a seat either standing in the back of the boardroom or watching from the hallway, Superintendent Joe Pye explained that the district was unaware Obama was scheduled to give a speech until parents started calling the week before and that officials had “no prior knowledge” of the content of Obama’s speech.

The district did not have the technological capabilities to air the speech live in every classroom, said Pye, who added that the decision to have each school record the speech rather than attempt to air it live was made by him and the principals, not the school board.

During the period for public comments, roughly 10 people voiced their displeasure about the fact the speech wasn’t shown live.

William “Bernie” Mazyck, who graduated from Summerville High School about 30 years ago, thanked Pye for his explanation about technological limitations, but said, “the damage has been done.”

“I brought my diploma with me and have toyed with the idea of giving it back to you,” Mazyck said. “That’s my level of disgust.”

Mazyck asked that the district provide an itemized list of all technology expenditures in the last five years as well as a list of all speeches that the students have been shown.

“The impact of the decision and the inability of this district to be able to do what was necessary to see the (speech) may never be repaired,” Mazyck said. “We’ve seen reports in the past of the high school dropout rate that Dorchester 2 is not immune to (and) that one speech could have made the difference.”

Last week, Dorchester 2 Public Information Officer Pat Raynor said that in the days leading up to Obama’s speech, the district received hundreds of phone calls and e-mails from parents who didn’t want their children to view the speech.

At Monday’s meeting, the Rev. Gralin Nix Hampton asked that the district teach students how to make sound decisions for themselves.

“I wouldn’t even think about calling to ask you to show the president’s address,” Hampton said. “I would think that would just be something that would happen.”

Hampton added, “What is educationally unsound about the President of the United States of America, who happens to be a constitutional law professor trained by Harvard, (addressing our youth)?”

Technology limitations may have prohibited the district from showing the speech live, but shouldn’t keep the district from airing the speech district-wide now that each school has a copy, said Felisa Geddis.

“I’d like to see that this speech is played at the same time for each student,” Geddis said. “Let’s do it on one day, the way it was planned. These students need it now. I cannot imagine any speech given by anyone with regard to the importance of education being offensive.”

Geddis said school officials and parents are partners and that both must fulfill their obligations to the children.

“You can depend on me as a parent, but I’m depending on this school board and the members of (my daughter’s) school,” Geddis said. “We’re holding you all accountable for these decisions. Voting time will come around again, trust me.”

At the end of the meeting, Pye thanked the public for attending and expressing their concerns.

“You have every right and should demand to be heard (because) we’re all in this together,” Pye said. “No one ever dreamed (this) would take on wings of this nature.”

Before showing the speech to their students, teachers will inform parents so they have the option to exempt their children. Pye assured those in attendance t hat no child who wants to see the speech would be denied that opportunity.

“The majority of the children, which I will tell you will be 95 percent of them, will be watching the speech but the teachers will have had time (to inform parents),” Pye said. “I think the president should be allowed to speak to the children in our schools.”

Contact Michael Tannebaum at 873-9424 ext. 215 or mtannebaum@journalscene.com

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