DeKalb Schools Military Catch Basin
Michael Burke -
At least one DeKalb County high school that we know of is totally ignoring the 1987 and 1988 ruling of the Searcy v. Crim case decided by the Eleventh U.S. Circuit Court of Appeals. With every misdeed and instance of corruption in past years, by the DeKalb Board of Education (BOE), one would think our latest superintendent, Michael Thurmond, interim though he may be, would look into what's going on at Cross Keys HS and other county high schools.
Let us all have a fair accounting of what's really going on in our county schools -- do we own these schools or does the Pentagon? Military recruiters are being given free reign of CKHS and we're hoping the new fulltime principal, Mr. Heard, will get a firm grip on this situation and diligently work
with Mr. Thurmond, by paying heed to the current violations of the court ruling outlined above. Our organization is certainly not picking on CKHS alone, it's more like we're focusing on this school because of its' many violations of Searcy v. Crim over the years. At the very least, we must have
a true accounting of why a detachment of three USMC recruiters were allowed into CKHS on the school's opening day?
Since then they've been back several times and so have we. Army recruiters are not far behind in showing a presence. Again on Thursday, September 18, Marine recruiters were actually pulling juniors and seniors out of their classrooms to check on the students' progress -- as in how ripe were these children for induction, training and deployment a year or two from now? Yes, high school students are all children unless they have reached adulthood, which in Georgia is eighteen.
Unfortunately, the foregoing is not the entire story. Searcy v. Crim specifically rules that if military personnel are permitted access to the school's annual career day then other groups and prospective employers will also be allowed to set up tables and distribute literature to students. Yet here's another Catch 22 -- according to the head CKHS guidance counselor, Tanya Henderson, there is only one career day a year -- in November!
Well then, what were three USMC recruiters doing out in the main hallway, chatting with the interim principal, Leroy Jenkins, on opening day? Peace groups and other organizations for instance, are not given an equal opportunity to meet youngsters on the first day of the new school year. Mr. Jenkins, the exiting interim principal at Cross Keys High School told me that CKHS is comprised of about 80% Hispanic, 12% African American and 8-10% Caucasian and other. Might this have anything to do with the armed forces preying on schools that are comprised primarily of students of color and on the lower end of the socio-economic ladder?
Those three USMC recruiters on opening day were all African Americans; two females and one male. Can one even begin to imagine the same military component entering Dunwoody HS on any day much less the first day of the new school year? Of course race is involved! CKHS is the primary military feeder school along the Buford Hwy corridor that keeps military recruiters coming back time after time. The high school also has a Navy JROTC unit and there's even a possibility the Army is establishing a recruiting desk inside the JROTC office. Isn't there something terribly wrong with this picture?
Superintendent Thurmond, will you please pay attention to what's going on in your school district as far as the U. S. Eleventh Circuit Court of Appeals, Searcy v. Crim ruling? The last thing we DeKalb County taxpayers and the Board of Education needs is more legal and court costs in defending itself against violations of this 11th U.S. Circuit Court of Appeals ruling.
Sincerely,
Michael J. Burke
Veterans for Truth
in Military Recruiting